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Redeem and earn Avios from Doncaster Sheffield Airport from March 2016

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Doncaster Sheffield airport (or Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield as it is officially known, or Finningley as I – and presumably anyone over 40 in Yorkshire – still calls it) is joining the Avios map.

Flybe has announced that it is opening a new base at the airport, creating 60 jobs.

Flights will start in late March and are already available for sale.  It will serve the following routes:

  • Amsterdam
  • Paris
  • Berlin
  • Faro
  • Malaga
  • Alicante
  • Newquay
  • Jersey

Flybe uses Avios as its reward currency and you will earn a handful of points when you fly with them on a cash fare.

You can also redeem Avios points for Flybe flights.  There are three important things to remember if you do:

Flybe shows different availability between ba.com and avios.com.  This is because it has a different commercial arrangement with each site.  I keep expecting it to align but there are no reports of it so far.  You should check both sites if looking for a redemption.

Flybe is not part of Reward Flight Saver.  You will pay the full ‘taxes and surcharges’ for your flight.  These can be high so do the maths to make sure that you are getting an acceptable return for your Avios.

Don’t forget that – when booking on avios.com but NOT when booking on ba.com – Avios redemption seats include a 20kg checked baggage and 10kg hand baggage allowance.  If you will be checking in a suitcase, don’t forget to add in Flybe’s standard luggage charges when comparing the cost of a cash ticket to the cost of an Avios redemption.  When I have run tests in the past, redemptions begin to look much better value for people who need to take luggage.

More information can be found on the Flybe website.  For HfP readers living in Sheffield and other places south of Doncaster, the new motorway link road – due to open in early 2016 before the Flybe services begin – will mean significant improvements in travel time to the airport.

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.

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.

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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.

Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (19)

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

  • Henry C says:
    12 Nov12 November 07:35

    Flybe are really storming ahead expansion wise. I wish they’d join oneworld or be bought by IAG as they have some pretty good routes now, particularly for people who don’t live in the south east.

    • Andrew says:
      12 Nov12 November 08:23

      More a transfer than an expansion really. I’m guessing this is where the aircraft currently based in Bournemouth are going when the base here closes in March. As the base only opened in March this year, don’t count on the base in Doncaster lasting long if loads are poor past any “sweetener” period Flybe have with the airport.

      • pauldb says:
        12 Nov12 November 10:56

        Hello from Bournemouth. Shame as BOH-BIQ was long awaited for us, with family there (nice of BA to add BIQ though). I do agree Flybe are struggling to find a niche and the shareprice reflects his too at a time when FR and U2 are unstoppable. Doncaster seems to be more of the same to me: they might fill their seats for £150e/w in August but for the rest of the season surely Ryanair’s more efficient LBA offering will squeeze any profitability out of them.

        • Andrew says:
          12 Nov12 November 13:29

          Quite – I have been using BOH-MAN a lot myself this year for business – 3 days of the week I could have an early start, whole business day in Manchester and the rest of the North; before coming home in time for a sensible bed time! 🙂

  • Nick says:
    12 Nov12 November 07:59

    Living 15 mins from DSA and having personal knowledge of ‘finningley’, combined with my brother and his wife moving to Jersey, and our favourite destination of Portugal for a summer holiday it’s all sounding great until you price it’s up. I expect to a smal premium for a small airport that’s local its just far easier.

    £1080 for 2 adults and a 2 year old with a bag for next August. Jersey similar high prices. Considering I got CE from LHR for all of us incl a focus estate for a week last year for £700 in summer in a sale price, you seriously have to weigh it up is it worth the 2 hr plus drive to LHR. Usually even with a night in the Sofitel it puts us ahead financially.

    Combined with the routes with Thomson to Portugal and Spain, my guess is it won’t last. This is from seeing easy jet, Ryanair and just about everybody else having a go but ultimately it’s down to price. It’s a shame but timings and cost just put me off. Which is v annoying as I can be door to door in 15mins. Is it worth paying more for the convenience? Hmmmm…..

    • Rob says:
      12 Nov12 November 09:14

      Prices will come down, these are probably just ‘holding’ fares whilst they assess demand. Flybe had a £29 sale on last week.

      • Nick says:
        12 Nov12 November 14:13

        I hope they do reduce. Ryanair and easyjet failed to make it work on cheap prices so I can’t see flybe dropping a huge amount. Having been negative wizzair are making it work so if they reduce prices a bit might just work. On another plus some good route selections.

  • James says:
    12 Nov12 November 08:59

    Without looking I guess these are the Embraer jets which were cut from SOU etc? Some long routes for the Q if not!

  • JP says:
    12 Nov12 November 09:47

    “Don’t forget that Avios redemption seats include a 20kg checked baggage and 10kg hand baggage allowance”

    Is this just for bookings made through avios.com ?

    My BAEC booking shows 0kg for Flybe !

  • Concerto says:
    12 Nov12 November 09:56

    But Flymaybe has always been too damn expensive, for a service that totally sucks (what service, there is none) and reliability akin to that of a domestic Chinese airline. I for one avoid them completely.

    • Red says:
      12 Nov12 November 11:08

      I’ve never really had a problem with them. Flown with them 6 times this year EDI>LCY and always arrived on time. OK their on-board service isn’t amazing, but their a lot cheaper most the time than BA on the same route so can’t really complain that I don’t get a free drink on a flight that is just over an hour.

    • JP says:
      12 Nov12 November 11:31

      I do not find them expensive, £50 each way MAN-DUS & MAN-CDG etc (and I do not have to go via LHR)

      Who needs servicing on such a short flight, I never eat the crap food on any short haul carrier anyway. On my last BA flight (MAN-LHR) I was sat in 1E and the person in 1D decided that they were going to consume 3 small bottles of Red Wine whilst eating the food and reading a full size newspaper. So no service suits me just fine.

      And the best bit for me is the 2+2 seating, the wife and I do not have to sit next to anyone.

      • Red says:
        12 Nov12 November 12:23

        The 2+2 seating is one of the main reasons I pick them. I normally fly on my own but I don’t mind the window or aisle seat. Just means I don’t have to worry that I will be put in a middle seat if I didn’t pay for allocated seating.

        Also the fact that there are far less passengers the whole boarding process just feels far more relaxed and smoother.

  • Dave B says:
    12 Nov12 November 11:06

    Has anyone actually seen any Doncaster flights uploaded onto Avios.com or BA.com yet for points redemptions? All of the searches I’ve done so far for April next year bring up nothing.

  • Rodger McSalty says:
    12 Nov12 November 13:43

    But Flybe have been operating a JER-DSA route for a while now….so you can already redeem avios from DSA…

    Only two ERJ-195s will be based at Doncaster…I think these come from the pool of aircraft parked up at NQY getting dusty.

    Some of the other ERJ-195s are being allocated to routes from other places: BHX, MAN and NQY-LGW.

    Aside from this…Flybe are the only airline I’ve been on which come complete with chewing gum stuck down the side of the seat…along with some other things…better views than a usual London bus though.

  • Fenny says:
    12 Nov12 November 18:29

    Could be handy. Donny is about the same distance as LHR.

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