How to Transfer Avios Between Accounts

Avios is a loyalty currency created by the International Airlines Group (IAG), which formed after British Airways and Iberia Airlines merged in 2011.

Currently, seven airline loyalty programs use Avios as a points currency: Aer Lingus AerClub, The British Airways Club, Iberia Plus, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, Vueling Club, Loganair Loyalty, and Finnair Plus.

One of the unique characteristics of this partnership is that Avios can be transferred between participating programs that use it as a points currency, which can come in handy if you need to move points around to take advantage of a specific program’s sweet spot.

In this guide, we’ll explore the nuances of moving Avios around from within the Avios ecosystem, as well as some examples of why you might wish to do so.

What Are the Different “Flavours” of Avios?

The idea of having seven different loyalty programs that use the same Avios currency can be a bit confusing at first.

To be clear, the seven airlines that use Avios as a currency have seven separate loyalty programs: Aer Lingus AerClub, The British Airways Club, Iberia Plus, Qatar Airways Privilege Club, Vueling Club, Loganair, and Finnair Plus.

However, what’s unique is that the seven separate loyalty programs use the same points currency, Avios, for earning and redeeming. In this sense, you can think of each loyalty program as a different “flavour” of Avios.

Furthermore, you can freely transfer between different flavours of Avios at a 1:1 ratio, which can be useful for several reasons.

For example, in Canada it’s easy to earn British Airways Avios since it’s a transfer partner with many transferable points currencies and there’s a British Airways co-branded credit card. Other flavours of Avios are more difficult to access, since the loyalty programs aren’t partners with transferable points currencies, nor do they offer a co-branded credit card in Canada.

However, since you can transfer Avios between programs, you can essentially access all seven loyalty programs that use Avios as a currency by way of The British Airways Club.

In a similar vein, each loyalty program that uses Avios has its own sweet spots. Rather than booking, say, Qatar Airways Qsuites using the British Airways flavour of Avios, you can stretch your points farther by making a redemption with Qatar Airways Avios instead.

How to Transfer Avios Between Accounts

Earlier this year, Avios introduced a new transfer tool that makes it significantly easier to move points between participating loyalty programs.

Before You Begin

Before initiating a transfer, ensure that all your Avios-linked accounts (e.g., British Airways, Iberia, Qatar Airways) have matching personal information—especially your full name and address. Any discrepancies can lead to transfer delays, and you may need to call customer service to resolve the issue.

Step-by-Step: Using the Avios Transfer Tool

1. Visit the Avios website and log in using the credentials from any of the affiliated programs.
2. From there, you can access the transfer tool and move Avios between:
   • British Airways Executive Club
   • Iberia Plus
   • Aer Lingus AerClub
   • Vueling Club
   • Loganair Clan Account

Note: Transfers to and from Qatar Airways Privilege Club and Finnair Plus must be done through their respective pages. More on that below.

If you haven’t linked your accounts yet, you’ll be prompted to provide the relevant account numbers. While it’s not mandatory to link every single program, I recommend linking Iberia, Aer Lingus, Qatar Airways, and Finnair—you never know when they might come in handy.

Before completing a transfer, you may be asked to enable two-factor authentication (2FA) if you haven’t already.

Once everything is set up, you can initiate the transfer, and most transfers are completed instantly.

Note that this feature is only for transferring Avios between your own accounts. You can’t send Avios to someone else’s account using this method.

Transferring Avios to/from Qatar Airways Privilege Club

On the Avios transfer page, you can transfer Avios to and from Qatar Airways Privilege Club.

After linking your British Airways Executive Club account, you’ll see a “Transfer Avios” button on your Privilege Club dashboard. Simply enter the number of Avios to transfer, confirm, and the balance should update immediately.

Transferring Avios to/from Finnair Plus

To move Avios between Finnair Plus and British Airways Executive Club, you’ll first need to link your accounts—this requires multi-factor authentication (MFA) on both sides.

You can enable MFA by visiting the account settings for each program. Alternatively, head to your My Finnair Plus page, where you’ll find a clear prompt to link your accounts. The prompt walks you through the MFA setup and directs you to the necessary British Airways settings as well.

Once MFA is enabled on both accounts, they may automatically link. You’ll receive a confirmation email once the process is complete. After that, you’ll be free to transfer Avios between Finnair and British Airways.

When Should You Transfer Avios Between Accounts?

The main reason for transferring Avios between accounts is to take advantage of each program’s sweet spots.

For example, a flight between Montreal and Doha in Qatar Airways Qsuites has roughly the same cost using British Airways Avios and Qatar Airways Avios at 70,000 Avios. In this case, there’s no tangible difference in booking with one program or the other.

Similarly, by continuing onward to Bangkok in Qsuites, the total cost would come to 95,000 Avios in either program.

However, if you were to upgrade and instead add an additional leg in Qatar Airways First Class from Doha to Bangkok, you’d most certainly want to book using Qatar Airways Avios for more favourable pricing. In fact, you’d pay the same 95,000 Avios as you would have for two legs in business class, which is a spectacular deal.

On the other hand, to book one leg in business class and one leg in First Class using British Airways Avios, you’d wind up with a cumulative sum of two separate flights, which would be substantially higher than booking with Qatar Airways Avios.

Aside from the Qatar Airways Qsuites sweet spot, you could consider transferring Avios in the following circumstances:

• Transfer Avios to British Airways Executive Club to take advantage of a Multi-Carrier Award or short-haul flights in Europe, Asia, or Oceania
• Transfer Avios to Iberia Plus to take advantage of the North America–Madrid sweet spot for 40,500 Avios in business class
• Transfer Avios to Aer Lingus AerClub to take advantage of cheap economy flights between North America and Ireland
• Transfer Avios to Finnair Plus to take advantage of Finnair awards with lower taxes and fees than British Airways Executive Club
• Transfer Avios to Qatar Airways Privilege Club to take advantage of cheaper American Airlines and Alaska Airlines awards, whose costs were recently increased by British Airways Executive Club

The latest addition to the Avios ecosystem is Finnair Plus, the eponymous program of Finland’s flag carrier. Finnair joined Avios as of March 2024, allowing flyers to earn Avios using a revenue-based model.

Finnair’s lone transfer partner in the US is Capital One Miles, and it doesn’t have any transfer partners in Canada. The airline has no co-branded card in North America, either.

Therefore, other than earning by booking flights, the best way for you to earn Finnair Avios directly is by staying at partnered hotels, such as those belonging to the Accor Live Limitless and IHG One Rewards programs.

How to Earn Different Types of Avios

In North America, and especially in Canada, it’s easier to come by certain types of Avios than others.

British Airways Avios

Of the seven flavours of Avios, British Airways Avios is by far the easiest to earn.

In Canada, you can access British Airways Avios as a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards and RBC Avion – both of which transfer at a rate of 1:1.

You can also earn British Airways Avios directly with the RBC^® British Airways Visa Infinite^†.

Moreover, there are occasional transfer bonuses of up to 30% from both programs. If you manage to take advantage of one of these promotions, your Avios balance will grow quite quickly.

If you dabble in US credit cards, Amex US Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Miles, and Chase Ultimate Rewards also transfer to British Airways at a rate of 1:1. As is the case in Canada, it’s not uncommon to also see transfer bonuses.

On both sides of the border, Marriott Bonvoy points can also be transferred to British Airways Avios at an optimal ratio of 60,000 points = 25,000 Avios.

Aer Lingus Avios

The Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus also uses Avios as a points currency.

Aside from transferring Marriott Bonvoy points at the optimal ratio of 60,000 points = 25,000 Avios, you’ll have to look to the US for other transfer partners and for a co-branded card issued by Chase.

Amex US MR, Bilt Rewards, and Chase Ultimate Rewards all transfer to Aer Lingus Avios at a rate of 1:1.

It’s worth noting that there are occasional transfer bonuses to Aer Lingus Avios; however, the promotions tend to come around less often than the British Airways Avios ones, and when they do, they usually have a lower bonus offered.

Iberia Avios

Iberia Plus is a transfer partner of Amex US MR, Bilt Rewards, and Chase Ultimate Rewards at a rate of 1:1. While there have been some instances of transfer bonuses in the past, they tend to be quite infrequent and don’t go above 30%.

You can also transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to Iberia Avios at the optimal ratio of 60,000 points = 25,000 Avios.

Qatar Airways Avios

Qatar Airways Privilege Club adopted Avios as a currency in March 2022. This addition was a huge boon for the Avios program as it gave way to a new sweet spot for Qatar Airways Qsuites, which is widely considered to be the world’s best business class.

While it may seem surprising that Qatar Airways decided to join forces with Avios, Qatar Airways is the single largest shareholder in International Airlines Group, the parent company of Avios.

In the US, Citi ThankYou points transfer to Qatar Airways Avios at a rate of 1:1.

Beyond this option, you’ll have to look to a less favourable transfer rate from a hotel loyalty program:

• 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points = 25,000 Qatar Airways Avios
• 10 Hilton Honors points = 1 Qatar Airways Avios
• 5 World of Hyatt points = 2 Qatar Airways Avios

As you can see, the easiest way to earn any flavour of Avios is through British Airways on both sides of the border.

While it’s technically possible to access other airlines’ Avios either through hotel programs or other points currencies, your best bet is to enter the Avios ecosystem by way of British Airways, and then transfer to other flavours from within.

Vueling Club

Vueling is a ultra-low-cost carrier based in Spain. While Iberia and Iberia Express call Madrid home, Vueling’s main turf is in Barcelona (BCN), where it operates flights to Spain, Europe, Northern Africa, and the Middle East.

For those living outside Europe, earning Vueling Avios mostly occurs through flights. You’ll get Avios based on the fare you paid, as well as the fare bundle you selected, as follows:

• Fly: 2 Avios/Euro
• Fly and Fly Grande: 4 Avios/Euro

Since Vueling Avios aren’t transferrable to other programs at the moment, it’d be better to credit your Vueling flights to Iberia Plus, the only other program accepted on flights sold and operated by Vueling. Then, you can either keep or transfer your Iberia Avios to other programs, as we’ll discuss below.

Finnair Club

The latest addition to the Avios ecosystem is Finnair Plus, the eponymous program of Finland’s flag carrier. Finnair joined Avios as of March 2024, allowing flyers to earn Avios using a revenue-based model.

Finnair’s lone transfer partner in the US is Capital One Miles, and it doesn’t have any transfer partners in Canada. The airline has no co-branded card in North America, either.

Therefore, other than earning by booking flights, the best way for you to earn Finnair Avios directly is by staying at partnered hotels, such as those belonging to the Accor Live Limitless and IHG One Rewards programs.

Conclusion

Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia Airlines, Vueling, Qatar Airways, Loganair Loyalty, and Finnair all use Avios as a points currency despite having different loyalty programs.

One unique feature of Avios is that you can freely transfer points between all of the above loyalty programs.

As long as you’ve set up your accounts consistently and followed all of the rules, it’s mostly easy to complete the transfer. Moving Avios around between flavours can be useful if you’d like to leverage a specific program’s sweet spot and need to top up your account.