Bits: BA launches Flight Pass, BA drops fuel surcharges from Brazil
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News in brief:
British Airways launches Flight Pass
Old British Midland flyers may remember that BMI let you buy a ‘carnet’ ticket which gave you 10 flights on a particular route for a discount – and occasionally came with free BMI status thrown in.
British Airways is now quietly trialling something similar. Via this OptionTown link, you can buy route passes for economy travel on flights from Heathrow and Gatwick.
There are a huge number of pricing permutations based on how many people would share your pass, how many tickets you want, what expiry date you are willing to accept and how close to the date of travel you want to book. You can buy a pass for one route or for an entire country.
The most expensive option, ‘Freedom’, lets you book onto any service with an available seat up to four hours prior to departure.
Given the huge number of pricing options, it is impossible to say if this offers decent savings or not. I am not sure who the target market is for such a product in 2015, when anyone can book a last minute flight with a few clicks via their smartphone. Note that you can only book return flights with Flight Pass which means that it is less flexible than you may think – you may be able to book your outbound with just four hours notice but you need to lock in the return at the same time (changeable for a fee).
There is one interesting tweak. The basic Flight Pass books into L class which means you will earn 10 tier points per leg, which is 5 more tier points than you would receive from a standard discount economy flight. A ‘Freedom’ flight books into B class which earns 20 tier points each way.
If you are interested, the link is here.
British Airways drops fuel surcharges out of Brazil
It has been illegal for some time to add fuel surcharges to flights from Brazil. This did not bother BA, which was happy to put two fingers in its corporate ears and shout ‘nah nah nah, we’re not listening’ whilst taking your money with its remaining eight fingers.
Words appear to have been had. It is not clear if any fine or back payment has been made. It is also not clear if you can ask for compensation if you have recently booked or flown a redemption from Brazil.
In any event, you will now find that the taxes on British Airways Avios redemptions from Brazil are just £24 in any class.
It is now substantially cheaper to book Brazil redemptions as 2 x one-way tickets:
A Club World redemption to Sao Paulo from the UK, return, has £517 of tax
A Club World redemption to Sao Paulo booked as two one-ways has (£338 + £24 =) £362
The downside here is that, if you are using a British Airways American Express 2-4-1 voucher, you need to book the former rather than the latter. This means you are paying an enforced extra surcharge of £310 for a couple.
At present, ba.com seems to be causing a pricing error if you try to book as it adds back the fuel surcharge on the payment page. avios.com is working OK so I recommend booking via an avios.com account.
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (March 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 £12,000 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
Get a 10,000 points bonus plus an extra 500 points for our readers 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.
SPECIAL OFFER: You receive a huge 120,000 Membership Rewards points if you apply for American Express Business Platinum by 9th April 2024. You receive 80,000 points for spending £12,000 within 90 days and a further 40,000 points if you retain the card for 14 months. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: You receive 60,000 Membership Rewards points if you apply for American Express Business Gold by 9th April 2024. Remember that the card is FREE for the first year. You receive 40,000 points for spending £6,000 within 90 days and a further 20,000 points if you retain the card for 14 months. Click here to apply.
American Express Business Platinum
Crazy 120,000 points bonus (to 9th April) and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
Huge 60,000 points sign-up bonus (until 9th April) 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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