Get 5,000 bonus Avios and discounted Club Europe prices via BA Holidays

For a few years now, British Airways has been playing ‘catch up’ with the Expedia‘s of this world by trying to sell discounted ‘flight and hotel’ packages.  These are very lucrative because of the healthy commission on the hotel room and the ability to sneak out flight tickets at a discount without damaging the ‘headline’ ticket price paid by corporates.

This occasionally means that you can book a Club Europe flight plus a hotel via BA Holidays for less than a weekend-away Club Europe flight on its own.

There is a decent combination of deals available at the moment which makes this option even more interesting.

If you click here, you will see the bonus Avios you earn as a British Airways Executive Club member when you book via BA Holidays.  1,000 Avios for a short-haul Economy flight holiday is not exciting.  5,000 Avios for a short-haul Club Europe holiday is better!

Amusingly, BA has also launched ‘book now and pay later’.  As long as your travel dates are more than 10 weeks away, you can pay a £150 deposit and settle the rest later.

Let’s look at Dubrovnik, the lovely walled Croatian city, as an example.  From the 15-17 March, using the ‘flight and hotels’ booking option at ba.com, I can get 2 nights at the Hilton Dubrovnik (a very smart restored historic property) for 2 people for £555.  This is with Club Europe flights.

The price is competitive – the flights on their own, via ba.com, come out at £424 so you are getting the Hilton – which is a five-star property – for £65 per night.

BA Holidays is definitely worth a look if planning a weekend away in Europe.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (September 2022)

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:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points.

EDIT: Until 25th October 2022, there is an exceptionally generous sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card. You will receive 60,000 Membership Rewards points – double the usual amount – and £200 to spend at Amex Travel. You need to spend £6,000 within six months to earn the bonus.

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 10,000 Avios.

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.

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.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.