How To Transfer Avios Between Accounts (BA, IB, QR, EI, AY)

Avios is the rewards points currency of several airlines, including Aer Lingus, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, and Qatar Airways. While each airline has its own loyalty program, one of the great things is that you can transfer Avios between accounts in the various programs at no cost. In this post I wanted to take a closer look at how that works.

The five “flavors” of Avios rewards points

There are five loyalty programs that accrue Avios:

• Aer Lingus AerClub
• British Airways Executive Club
• Finnair Plus
• Iberia Plus
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club

While each program accrues Avios, the way that Avios can be earned and redeemed differs between programs. That’s the beauty of Avios, as you can move around your Avios between the various programs based on how you’re looking to redeem, as they each have their own sweet spots.

I’ve written about the best uses of British Airways Executive Club Avios, Iberia Plus Avios, Finnair Plus Avios, Aer Lingus AerClub Avios, and Qatar Airways Privilege Club Avios.

This feature can also be useful in the context of credit cards. For example, there are three credit cards in the United States that are issued by Chase and earn Avios:

• Aer Lingus Visa Signature^® Card (review)
• British Airways Visa Signature® Card (review)
• Iberia Visa Signature^® Card (review)

In other words, any of those cards could be useful if you’re looking to earn a specific flavor of Avios.

Furthermore, some major transferable points currencies partner with only some programs that earn Avios. For context:

• Amex Membership Rewards partners with Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, and Qatar Airways
• Capital One partners with British Airways and Finnair
• Chase Ultimate Rewards partners with Aer Lingus, British Airways, and Iberia
• Citi ThankYou partners with Qatar Airways

Since you can move Avios between most of these currencies, that allows you to transfer points in ways that might not otherwise be possible. It can also be worthwhile if there’s a transfer bonus, since you could indirectly use that for another currency.

How to combine Avios between accounts

Avios can be combined between accounts at no cost. There are no limits to how many Avios you can transfer, and you can transfer them back and forth between accounts. So don’t think of an Avios transfer as some final decision that can’t be undone.

Let me just clarify a few further restrictions to be aware of when it comes to transferring Avios:

• You can only transfer Avios between accounts in your own name; in other words, you can’t transfer your British Airways Executive Club Avios to someone else’s Qatar Airways Privilege Club account
• You’ll want to make sure that all your frequent flyer accounts have matching personal details; make sure your full name and other personal details match between accounts, or else you may run into issues
• Moving points to and from Iberia Plus comes with additional restrictions, including that you can’t move points to or from Iberia within 90 days of joining the Iberia Plus program, and your Iberia Plus account must have also had some activity within the past 36 months to be eligible for transfers
• Officially, you can’t move points directly between British Airways and Iberia if your British Airways Executive Club account is part of a household account; however, some people report still being able to do this

Now, the actual process of transferring Avios between accounts isn’t necessarily as easy as it could be:

• There’s not a single website that allows all transfers, but rather the best website for making a transfer depends on what you’re trying to do
• All these websites tend to be glitchy, so you may find that you sometimes have issues even if you’re doing everything right
• In some cases you can only directly transfer Avios to one or two Avios partners, meaning you may need to make a double transfer to get Avios from some currencies to others

Let’s take a look at the best option for transferring each type of Avios (I’m ranking them roughly based on how valuable I think the transfer option is). I’ll be linking to the pages for initiating a transfer. I won’t be writing a step-by-step tutorial, though, since I think it’s actually pretty straightforward once you’re at the correct link (though if people are still confused, let me know and I’ll update this post to add screenshots, etc.).

Transfer Avios to & from British Airways Executive Club

British Airways’ website allows you to transfer Avios to and from Iberia and Aer Lingus. I find this to be the easiest website to use for transfers, and you can find British Airways’ “combine Avios” link here. This is my go-to option when I’m looking to transfer Avios.

Note that when you get to the transfer page, you’ll see the option for “Iberia Plus” or “Avios Partners.” The latter is what you want to select if you’re trying to transfer to or from Aer Lingus.

Transfer Avios to & from Qatar Airways Privilege Club

It’s only possible to move Avios between Qatar Airways and British Airways. So if you wanted to move Avios from Qatar Airways to Iberia (for example), you’d have to do so in two steps. To transfer Avios from Qatar Airways to British Airways, you can find Qatar Airways’ “combine Avios” link here, as it can no longer be done through British Airways’ website.

Transfer Avios to & from Iberia Plus

Iberia’s website allows you to transfer Avios to and from British Airways and Aer Lingus. I find Iberia’s website a pain to use, though you can find Iberia’s “combine my Avios” link here. Personally I’d only use this as a last resort, as I prefer to use British Airways’ website.

Transfer Avios to & from Finnair Plus

Finnair is the newest airline to use Avios as its currency, and the program transitioned to the Avios platform in March 2024. It’s only possible to move Avios between Finnair and British Airways, and this needs to be done through Finnair’s website. You can find Finnair’s “combine Avios” link here. You’ll just have to link your British Airways account, and can then immediately make transfers.

Transfer Avios to & from Aer Lingus AerClub

If you want to transfer Avios to and from Aer Lingus, you’ll need to use the British Airways website. You can find British Airways’ “combine Avios” link here. On that page, select “Avios Partners,” and then enter your Aer Lingus AerClub credentials, and you’ll be able to make a transfer.

Note that some people report having issues with this due to glitches. In those situations, Avios customer support can apparently help with the transfer, and can be reached at +44 344 493 3349.

Bottom line

It’s nice how it’s possible to transfer Avios between the various currencies, depending on whether you’re earning with British Airways, Qatar Airways, Iberia, Finnair, or Aer Lingus. Since each “flavor” of Avios has its own sweet spots, this is a nice feature.

Unfortunately the process of actually transferring Avios between accounts can be a bit cumbersome at times, so hopefully the above is useful for anyone who could benefit from this feature. I find British Airways’ website easiest to use for these purposes, followed by Qatar Airways’ website.

If you’ve combined Avios between accounts, what was your experience like?