British Airways expands Porto services – a good weekend break idea

British Airways announced yesterday that it is launching a year-round service to Porto from Gatwick, starting in February 2016.

This is a massive boost for the city.  At present, Porto has a twice-weekly Summer service from Heathrow.  Next Summer, the flights will operate SIX days a week.  In Winter, it will be four times per week.

The Heathrow Summer service is being dropped as part of the move – if you have booked a Heathrow to Porto flight for March 2016 or later, you should contact BA.

Whilst a shift to Gatwick is an inconvenience to some people, the tripling of services for Summer 2016 should make up for it.

Porto has seen a big boost in tourism in recent years following substantial investment.  InterContinental opened a well regarded hotel in a renovated 18th century palace a couple of years ago – see here for details.  There is also a luxury hotel called The Yeatman, owned by one of the old port families, in the hills overlooking the city.

If you’ve ‘done’ Lisbon, Porto is worth adding to your list for 2016.  If you haven’t been to Lisbon – which is also fantastic, and very cheap – it may even be worth looking into a two-city break.

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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:

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

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 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.

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