New BA bonus: 4,000 Avios on any long-haul and 500 on any short-haul flight

British Airways and Avios launched a number of promotions yesterday – not entirely unexpectedly, since I expected an uptick in offers immediately after the Avios devaluation.

This is the most interesting one, although I will obviously cover the others too.

Until 14th July, you will receive:

4,000 bonus Avios for each long-haul return flight you take, in any class, maximum 4 flights

500 bonus Avios on each short-haul return flight you take, in any class, maximum 4 flights

You MUST register at this web page to receive the bonus.

Iberia and Iberia Express services from the UK also count.

The rules are slightly more complex than is necessary:

Your BA account must be registered in the UK or Ireland

You must be over 18 (which means no bonus for children)

Strictly speaking, you must book your flights on or after May 26th.  Generally this rule is not imposed by BA when they run promotions, but be warned – you might not get it on flights already booked.

The deadline for completing your return flight is July 14th.

Your flight must be ticketed in the UK.  This will be a problem for some business travellers who use a ‘contracted out’ travel booking service which processes bookings in, say, India.

A domestic connection to a long-haul flight will NOT count as a separate trip – you will only receive the 4,000 Avios bonus for taking a long-haul flight.

The ‘maximum four bonuses’ rule is unclear.  The text says: “Eligible Participants will qualify for Bonus Avios Points on a maximum of 4 separate Qualifying Flights booked for travel within, and completed during, the Promotional Period.”.  Does this mean four x short-haul bonuses and four x long-haul bonuses, or simply four bonuses in total?  If the latter, you may want to move your short-haul bookings away from British Airways to another airline in order to guarantee you receive the long-haul bonus, assuming you have long-haul flights planned. 

Even if you have no British Airways flights currently planned, you should register for this offer in case something comes up later when you have forgotten all about it.

The registration link is here.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

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 Mastercard

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

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 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

30,000 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large 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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

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

50,000 points when you sign-up 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.