It’s back: £1,200 Club World to Hawaii, £995 to JFK and other British Airways sale bargains
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British Airways is launching a new sale today – the home page is here.
I will take a look at some of the prices from London over the next few days.
However, in the short term, the most important thing to note is that the crazy prices for Club World flights to North America are back – as long as you start your trip outside the UK.
Hawaii is incredibly cheap even though British Airways does not fly there itself! You will need to change to American Airlines in Los Angeles – or, to maximise tier points, in New York and Los Angeles.
The best deals appear to be from Dublin and, of course, that is also a very convenient starting spot for UK residents. It is worth checking Copenhagen, Brussels and Oslo – there are some amazing £1,700 Australia fares out of Oslo, for example, which I will look at in a day or so.
Example fares include:
- Dublin to Hawaii – €1,690 (£1,198) return in Club World in February
- New York for €1,402 (£994):
- Los Angeles for €1,684 (£1,194):
The fare rules are straightforward:
Book by September 22nd 2015
Book 28 days before travel
A Saturday night stay is required
Complete travel by June 19th 2016
Tickets are non-refundable
NO STOPOVERS are allowed – this includes in London. A gap between flights of more than 24 hours is treated as a stopover.
Tickets can be changed for €300 but you also have to pay any fare difference – which could be substantial after September 22nd when the prices go back up
Booking these flights is can be simple and it can be complex. For an easy life, you can simply book whatever comes up on ba.com. If you are planning to try to upgrade British Airways legs to First with Avios, you MUST book at ba.com.
However, it is also worth looking at aa.com as that may bring up different routings for the same price. Note that, if your route includes a two-class US domestic flight (Economy and First), you want to ensure that you book that particular flight under an AA flight number, which may involve booking the entire trip on aa.com.
This is because, when a 2-class US domestic flight has an AA flight number, the premium cabin gets you First Class tier points with BAEC. If you book the flight under a BA flight number – which ba.com usually does – it posts as a Business Class flight with business class tier points.
The exact ticket rules can be found via the ITA Matrix tool I outlined here if you pull up a fare. This allows more advanced users to construct very complex itineraries. Some tickets, if they have a generous mileage allowance, may allow you to start in, say, Brussels and go to Helsinki (on Finnair) then to London and then to the US, just to squeeze out a few more tier points. You would need to book such an itinerary by telephone with British Airways.
Remember that you do NOT receive 210 tier points for the London City to New York JFK flights any longer – they earn the standard 140 points each way, the same as Heathrow to New York.
For clarity, if you book a ticket starting in Dublin then you MUST start in Dublin. You cannot turn up at Heathrow and just board the long-haul leg. Given recent stories about British Airways causing difficulties with people who drop the last leg, you should plan to take the final flight to Dublin.
The British Airways promotional page for the Summer Sale is here although it only focusses on flights starting in the UK.
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 Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
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.
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.
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.
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