More non-London routes for spending Avios

I have been running a few articles to show people how they can travel from the regions via Avios, using BA partner airlines.

I have already looked at routes on Vueling here and here.

Sun-Air of Scandinavia is a low profile BA franchise airline running flights in Scandinavia.

Sun-Air runs two routes from the UK regions into Scandinavia.

From Manchester, it flies to Billund in Denmark up to three time per day. 

It also flies from Manchester to Aarhus and Gothenburg. This is one flight with a stop in Gothenburg on the way.

All 3 routes are available as Reward Flight Savers for 9,000 Avios plus £30. You can also fly from London, with a plane change in Manchester, for the same amount (although BA has its own LHR-GOT service anyway).

I have also been taking a look at Finnair‘s route network. Outside London, Manchester is the only UK airport they serve. The service is good, though, with 2 flights a day in each direction to Helsinki for much of the week.

Unfortunately it is difficult to book MAN-HEL on ba.com using Avios because the website automatically defaults to MAN-LHR-HEL unless there are no BA options available – and BA does have seats almost every day! However, a quick telephone call to BAEC should allow you to get this booked.

It is 15,000 Avios for a return Economy ticket and – whilst this is a BA codeshare flight (BA6003/4, BA6007/8) – I don’t think you can use Reward Flight Saver here to reduce the taxes, which are £73 according to ba.com.

Helsinki is a lovely city to visit in its own right, but it is also a short ferry trip to Tallinn in Estonia which is also recommended.

This is not the end of this series on non-London redemption options …. more to come.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

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

Get 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

30,000 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large 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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

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

50,000 points when you sign-up 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.