Can I earn Avios and British Airways tier points if I fly with Malaysia Airlines?

In this article we’ll look at how you can earn Avios and British Airways tier points by flying with Malaysia Airlines and whether it’s worth it compared to flying British Airways.

It is possible to earn Avios and British Airways tier points on Malaysia Airlines instead of Enrich Miles, their own mileage reward currency. This is because both airlines belong to the oneworld alliance.

When you book or manage your flights with Malaysia Airlines, you will be able to add your British Airways Executive Club number. Upon completion of your flights you will automatically be credited the correct Avios and tier points.

However, you will earn a different amount of Avios on Malaysia Airlines compared to flying British Airways. This is because they have different earning rates. On Malyasia Airlines, you will earn Avios at a maximum of 150% of miles flown if you fly first class. On British Airways flights, however, first class fares can come with 300% of miles flown – double what you’d expect to earn on Malaysia Airlines.

How many Avios do you earn flying with Malaysia Airlines?

Here is the full chart of earning rates, sourced from the partner page of the British Airways website.

We are comparing the earnings when you take a flight on Malaysia Airlines compared to taking a flight on British Airways.

Economy lowest – 25% on both airlines

Economy low – 50% on both airlines

Economy flexible – 100% on both airlines

Premium Economy – Malaysia does not operate a premium economy cabin. 100%-150% on British Airways

Business – 125% vs 150%-250% on British Airways

First – 150% vs 250%-300% on British Airways

As you can see, economy earning rates are almost exactly the same for both airlines.  For flights in business and First you will suffer some severe losses, earning up to 50% fewer Avios on Malaysia Airlines than you would on a British Airways flight. Obviously something is better than nothing but if you’re flying on a flexible First fare you’d be disappointed to miss out on an additional 150%.

That said, of course, British Airways is not currently flying to Kuala Lumpur so it isn’t necessarily fair to make like-for-like comparisons.

Unlike with some oneworld partners, you will still get your usual Avios tier bonus of 25%, 50% or 100% depending on if you hold a Bronze, Silver or Gold BA Executive Club status card.

When it comes to tier points, you are better off flying with Malaysia Airlines than British Airways if your trip involves a connection.  This is because tier points are earned per flight, so a connecting in Kuala Lumpur to your final destination will earn more tier points than taking a direct flight on British Airways from London. 

You can work out how many tier points you will earn on the BA tier point calculator here.  Remember to search leg by leg if you are connecting.  You see will, for example, that London – Kuala Lumpur – Singapore on Malaysia Airlines is more lucrative than a direct London – Singapore flight on British Airways.

(This article is part of our ‘BA Q&A’ series which explains how British Airways Executive Club works.  You can see all of our ‘BA Q&A’ articles here. )

(Head for Points is the UK’s biggest frequent flyer website with 2.4 million monthly page views.  Want to learn more about earning and spending Avios?  Click here to read our latest news stories and click here to join the mailing list for our weekly or daily email newsletters.)

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (January 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

There are also good bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These are available to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.