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BA domestic Club Europe – book with Avios today, check existing flights

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As we revealed exclusively on Head for Points two weeks ago, British Airways will launch Club Europe business class on domestic flights from 1st April.

Some behind-the-scenes work was going on yesterday to get things ready.  No domestic flights could be booked for travel from 1st April.  Normal service was meant to resume at 8am this morning.

British Airways club europe domestic flights

Firstly ….

If you have an existing domestic sector booked, take another look at it.

You may find that it now shows Club Europe.  This is especially likely if you are connecting to or from a premium class flight in London.

Anyone with a standalone Business UK ticket should also be upgraded.

Secondly ….

Take a look at your seat allocations over at ba.com.

As of last night BA had not rearranged seating on existing bookings.  However, I would expect it to be done by the time you read this.

If you have an existing domestic booking and were sat towards the front of the aircraft, you are likely to have been moved towards the middle or back.  You may want to check and move yourself if you aren’t happy with where you ended up.

If you were moved into Club Europe, you should check to see if the window or aisle seat you have been given is suitable.  If you are travelling with other people, check that they are still near you – remember that Club Europe seating is 2×2 rather than 3×3 in Euro Traveller.

Thirdly ….

Avios redemption seats for Club Europe on domestic flights should be available from 8am today when the booking system reopens.

I would expect two Avios seats in Club Europe to be showing on every flight.  If I’m right, this is a great opportunity to bag yourself some seats for peak dates – Edinburgh during the Festival, anything you may need for Christmas, New Year, Easter or Bank Holidays etc.  Yes, you’ll be paying 9,000 Avios each-way but that is still probably a better deal than paying cash.

Cash tickets for business class – which we assume will earn 80 tier points return – are pricing at around £199 at ba.com.  If you after a quick tier point run, they may be worth a look.  If you’ve got more time, however, you can get weekend breaks to certain European destinations for similar money and which are likely to be more fun.  A key difference is that these domestic tickets do NOT appear to require a Saturday night stay.


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.

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.

Comments (185)

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

  • chris1922 says:

    OK, so my GLA-LHR-BOS F redemption is in ET for the short hop to Heathrow. What are the chances of this being upgraded to CE if I put a call in to YouFirst ?
    Don’t fancy paying 18,000 Avios (2×2 legs)
    Do I definitely get lounge access in Glasgow ?

    • Justin says:

      From what I’ve read, you should get local lounge access for your connection regardless of cabin but I’ve been refused before and couldn’t be bothered arguing.

    • Alan says:

      For same day long haul premium cabin you’re fine for lounge access. It’s only the domestic connections for CE tickets that have issues.

  • Kenny says:

    Seems like the system is still being updated as our flight shows latest flight information/ rebook on the app and cancelled on ba.com but when we click through on both we have allocated seats and looks like the booking is still valid with changes still showing as requiring a fee.

  • Steve Shaw says:

    I can’t see a return domestic allocating 40TP each way, more like the Business UK 20TP.

  • Steve Shaw says:

    From internal comms:

    “The airline will automatically upgrade customers to Club Europe who have already booked in the top five economy fare classes (C, D, R, I and U), as well as those booked on a Business UK ticket (J and Y classes).”

  • Michael Jennings says:

    Right, I have a return London to Edinburgh flight booked for November (Out from LHR and back to LCY). It’s the cheapest available fare, doesn’t connect to anything, and I have no status, so I am really not likely to be first in the queue for an upgrade.

    If I go to the BA app on my phone, it shows my existing Euro traveller itinerary, and also shows a Club Europe itinerary on the same flights, which is shown as having been cancelled.

    If I go to the BA website, it shows my existing Euro traveller itinerary, and also shows an additional Euro traveller itinerary on the same flights, which is shown as having been cancelled.

    So, I guess there isn’t any problem – I am still booked on exactly what I was booked on yesterday – but also a bit of a mess.

  • Peter Taysum says:

    Lovely that BA have chosen to contact us, and advise us what they are doing. Oh, yeah they haven’t bothered… Lovely of them to ask me to see if I’d like to upgrade any of my flights. Oh year…

    My flights alerted me, and like the above red everywhere.

    Online won’t allow me to upgrade (don’t know if system reset) may try calling later, but off to Iceland tomorrow, and busy getting organised for that.

    Interestingly, I’m “Club Europe” tomorrow from NCL to LHR (according to the app) in 1A and 1B (!)

    My connecting Club Europe flights seem to be going into Club Europe for NCL to LHR, but I’ve also suffered by booking flights with overnight stays in LON so will be Eurotraveller for those. It didn’t matter as (was) Gold so was in 1A; now need to reconsider…

    I guess wait for the dust to settle…

  • gumshoe says:

    My LHR-EDI-LHR booking in August appears to have been reticketed overnight. The BA website says both legs have been cancelled and I’ve been rebooked on to new flights (which are actually exactly the same).

    The website also says I can cancel for a full refund (O class booking). Can I really, given that nothing has actually changed?

  • Peter says:

    I think the app is knackered…..it’s showing my EDI-LHR on 31st March as Club Europe (connecting to F).

    My LHR-EDI on return (connecting from CW) is showing as CE on the app, but ET on the web site. I believe the website.

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

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