How does the British Airways 'On Business' loyalty programme work?

In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at the programme, see how it compares to personal Avios flights, and what Avios value you can expect.

What is On Business?

On Business is a corporate loyalty programme for companies of all sizes. Unlike the usual frequent flyer schemes that reward the individual, this one keeps the benefits in the company's pocket. But that doesn't mean that travellers don't stand to benefit. Employees still earn their own Avios flights and Tier Points through the BA Club, while the business collects an extra layer of rewards at the same time.

Membership is free, and once you're in, every eligible booking on British Airways, Iberia, or American Airlines can be branded with your company's On Business number. That means the same flight could earn an employee their personal Avios and your firm its own stash of On Business Points. It's a double-dip system that gives small and medium businesses access to perks normally reserved for heavyweight corporate accounts.

In practice, a single trip might answer two questions at once: how many Avios for a flight does the employee earn, and how much does the company build up in On Business Points on the same ticket?

How to Earn On Business Points

British Airways has moved to a revenue-based system, so the higher the fare, the more Avios you'll collect, regardless of distance. Every qualifying booking on British Airways, Iberia, or American Airlines earns your company On Business Points on the base fare and surcharges (but not taxes and airport fees).

The earn rate scales with how much your company spends in a year:

• On1: up to £29,999 = 1 point per £1
• On2: £30,000–£299,999 = 1.25 points per £1
• On3: £300,000+ = 1.5 points per £1

The cherry on top is that you're upgraded immediately if you hit a higher spend tier mid-year. You keep the improved rate for the rest of that year and the whole of the next. Note that employees still collect their individual Avios and British Airways Tier Points alongside this. So, a £1,000 fare could deliver personal Avios for the traveller and up to 1,500 On Business Points for the company, depending on your tier.

You can also boost your balance by paying with the British Airways American Express Corporate Card, Corporate Card Plus, or the Accelerating Business Card, handy if you want to stack company spend with extra On Business points.

Your On Business points usually land in your account within about two weeks of completing a trip. Missed a flight credit? No problem; you've got up to four months to claim it, as long as you were already registered when you flew. Just log into your account, head to the “Points and Transactions,” and use the "Claim missing points" form to sort it out. It's worth being diligent here because once those points vanish, they're gone for good.

Signing Up and Extras

Joining On Business doesn't cost a penny, but you'll need to provide your company name and VAT registration number. You don't always need to be VAT registered to join On Business, but you must prove you're a legitimate trading company. For UK businesses, that usually means showing company details or trading credentials if you don't have a VAT registration.

Another route is applying through the British Airways American Express Accelerating Business Card, which can technically waive the VAT requirement. That card also has the bonus of earning extra Avios value on spend, stacking nicely with your On Business balance.

On Business members also sometimes get access to exclusive discounted fares, which is usually in the 5–10% range. But these aren't guaranteed across every route or booking. It's a perk worth checking when you search, as the savings can add up.

How to Spend On Business Points

Your company's On Business Points can be redeemed for either reward flights or cabin upgrades across British Airways, Iberia, and American Airlines. For American Airlines, redemptions are mainly limited to selected routes (especially US domestic flights), and availability is much more restricted than for BA or Iberia flights. While it's a useful option for connections, it's not as widely accessible as BA-operated routes, so flexibility is key.

Once you've got enough points, you can redeem immediately without jumping through any hoops or waiting for extra eligibility criteria. Redemptions aren't limited to employees; you can use them for staff, family members, or even contractors working directly with your business.

A couple of things to keep in mind:

• Taxes, fees, and surcharges (including fuel charges) always apply, even on reward bookings.
• You can redeem until the day before travel, but any changes to dates or times must be made at least 24 hours before your first departure.

The real value of On Business points is in Economy travel, where redemptions are more attainable and the math works out in your favour. Take New York as an example: a return in Economy starts at around 9,000 points, while the same route in Club World jumps to 48,000. That's a five-fold leap, compared with the two-to-three-times multiple you'll usually see when redeeming Avios flights.

The same pattern shows up on shorter routes, too. A return to Hamburg costs about 2,200 points in Economy, but jumps to around 10,400 in Business. This is why many SMEs treat their On Business pot as the "practical fund" for short-haul or mid-haul redemptions, leaving the aspirational cabins to Avios and British Airways Club.

Availability is another plus. On Business often shows seats when Avios shows nothing, especially in Economy. That reliability is where the scheme really proves its worth, even if the Avios value per redemption sometimes looks higher elsewhere.

Note that there's no published reward chart, so you'll need to check the On Business booking tool for exact costs.

What to Watch Out For

On Business comes with one of the stricter clocks in the loyalty world. Anything you earn in a calendar year expires two years after the following December. In practice, that gives you between two and three years to spend them, with no extensions possible. If your account sits dormant, the cut-off comes even faster: three years after the last earning activity.

There are also exclusions to watch: no points for BA Holidays packages, industry-discounted tickets, reward flights, or bulk group bookings. And before your first redemption, at least two different travellers must have contributed to the account. It's clearly aimed at genuine businesses rather than one-person mileage farms.

For comparison, Avios and British Airways Club are far more forgiving. Your balance refreshes with any qualifying activity, whether that's flying, shopping through an Avios credit card, or topping up via partners. By contrast, On Business requires stricter planning, but the upside is often better reward-seat availability.

In other words, if you're running both schemes side by side, think of On Business as a pot to use proactively rather than something to stockpile. The Avios value may look stronger in the long run, but On Business wins in terms of access and simplicity.

Quick Comparison

The easiest way to see how On Business stacks up against the familiar BA Club is to put the two side by side. Here’s a quick snapshot:

It's important to remember that while both programmes sit under the British Airways umbrella, they play different roles. On Business is about stretching company budgets, while the BA Club is about keeping travellers loyal. Used together, they can cover both sides of the equation.

Final Verdict

On Business is a win-win for all: it trims costs for companies that fly regularly and gives finance teams a reason to smile at the airfare bill. The tiers are straightforward, redemptions are reachable in Economy, and the management dashboard is genuinely useful when trying to make sense of travel spend across a whole team.

The drawbacks? Premium cabins are expensive in points compared to booking with Avios, and the hard two-year expiry means you can't just sit on balances forever. Still, if your business racks up flights on British Airways, Iberia, or American, those On Business points add up fast.

Think of it as an extra layer alongside your Avios flights strategy. Employees keep earning their Avios for personal gain, while the company earns its own pot to spend on upgrades or redemptions. Factor in the option to shortcut VAT registration with an Avios credit card, and the programme becomes accessible to smaller offices as well.

Ultimately, it's another way of getting value out of British Airways, tailored to travel's corporate side. For businesses with steady flying patterns, it's hard to argue against.