Genuine last minute British Airways bargains as it launches #helloweekend

British Airways has launched a new promotion called “Hello Weekend”, although they are trying to be funky and are referring to it as #helloweekend!

What they are doing, basically, is offering special deals every Wednesday for travel on the current or next Friday, for a 2-night stay. These include hotel accommodation.

You can see the current offerings here.

To be honest, my gut feeling was that these ‘special deals’ would turn out to be not so special after all.

I decided to look at a couple of examples, priced on Wednesday afternoon and using the link above to search pricing.

Option 1 – Stockholm in a 3-star hotel, 19-21 April

Seats WERE available at the headline price of £179 per person, based on 2 sharing.

11.30am out of Heathrow on Friday, leaving Stockholm at 12.30pm on Sunday. 3-star hotel with breakfast (better hotels are available at a supplement). Total cost £358 for two.

For comparison, booking the flights alone via ba.com currently shows a price of £409 for two people with NO accommodation. This is a genuine bargain via #helloweekend.

Option 2 – Paris in a 2-star hotel, 19-21 April

The headline price was shown as £159 for 19th April. However, on clicking through, I had to depart on Saturday and do a Saturday to Monday break to get this price.

12.40pm out of Heathrow on Saturday, leaving Paris Orly at 3.45pm on Monday. 2-star hotel with breakfast (again, better hotels are available at a supplement). Total cost £318.

For comparison, booking the flights alone via ba.com currently shows a price of £337 for 2 people with NO accommodation. Again, this is a good deal via #helloweekend.

It is certainly worth keeping an eye on this to see how it develops, especially as seat availability for last-minute deals will presumably get tighter as Summer arrives.

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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.