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EXCLUSIVE: ‘50% off’ Avios redemption sale starts Monday

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An extra 4th article today to let you know that I have it on good authority from a source in Sussex that British Airways will be launching a ‘50% off’ Avios redemption sale on Monday.

This will only apply to World Traveller flights (long-haul economy).

Most – but not all – routes will be included.  New York, Dubai etc are all in there.

Avios wing 14

It will only apply to tickets which start in the UK.

Full taxes and charges will still be payable.

The booking period will run from Monday until 13th July.

You must travel between 1st October and 28th February, excluding the Christmas period of 18th December to 10th January.

Full details on Monday when I have them.  However, do not make any World Traveller bookings over the weekend!


How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 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:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

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

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

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.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

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.

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review

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.

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

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

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

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

Comments (47)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Lyssie says:

    Fudge fudge fudge – how much now am I wishing that I had bought all of the Tesco game pre-orders available?!

    Thanks for the head’s up.

    • TimS says:

      Wouldn’t have made much difference anyway as the Tesco points wouldn’t have converted to vouchers until the end of the current quarter, which is after this sale will have ended.

  • Elena says:

    As always i love your timely posts, I was just about to book a NYC one! Thank you for this

  • Rob says:

    Not that I’d use a companion voucher for a World Traveller flight, but was wondering if the Avios sale rates can be used in conjunction with a companion voucher?

    • Rob says:

      Yes, in the past this has been possible on Avios sale tickets

      • oyster says:

        Indeed back in the heady days of 2008 when there was a half price sale I used a 2for1 to travel F to Sydney for just 150,000 BA Miles for 2 people….. oh the days.

  • Jo says:

    Hi raffles! Must only the outbound travel be on 28th February or must both legs be done before 28th feb?

  • Jo says:

    Oh also, is it also just British airways flights or all one world flights?

  • Amo says:

    This would be my first time redeeming miles, so I’ve got a general question. As this sale is only on economy tickets, Is it then possible to later upgrade to business class with more miles but still get the overall ticket cheaper?

    In around 3 months, I can’t believe I’ve already collected around 100,000 miles! And to think, I used to actually have to pay full price for business class or scrimp and get rubbish economy tickets to minimize my expenditure 😀

  • Baggageinhall says:

    Even at half price, it still highlights the delta between the value of Avios when redeeming in WT vs CW or F. Granted the flexibility of an Avios redemption is a huge advantage over a cheap cash fare but whether that’s of value to you does of course depend.

    Where this could represent great value is for routes where WT fares are high at particular points in the year, though a speculative look shows the pre-Christmas but post school holidays starting, to the usual hotspots is already a redemption free zone.

    I’m well aware that school holiday avios redemptions need to be planned meticulously and with precision timing, but this morning I’m sitting in a corner having my cake and very much wanting to eat it.

  • Elena says:

    On a second look for me doesn’t make economic sense, the taxes for one way (which I need are £400+) one way return is cheaper and I will get points on it.

    So i think i will pass unfortunately, if it was business then I would make sense. 🙂

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