British Airways launches Riga with airBaltic and Hamburg with SUN-AIR

British Airways has announced a new codeshare agreement, this time with airBaltic.

It only covers one route, from London Gatwick to Riga in Latvia.  I had a good trip to Riga a few years ago, and it is worth a visit if you have exhausted the usual Eastern European bucket list.

Tickets are now on sale at ba.com for travel from September 23rd.

Whilst you will be able to earn Avios and tier points flying on this route – if booked under the BA flight code – it seems unlikely that redemptions will be available.

(Even if Avios redemptions were available, you would not be able to use Reward Flight Saver so you would be liable for the full tax of £70 – £90 per person.)

As always with codeshare flights, you should double-check the price on the airBaltic website before booking.  You would lose your Avios but the price may be lower over there, depending on how successful each airline has been in selling their respective ticket allocation.

SUN-AIR to launch Hamburg flights

In a separate bit of route news, BA franchisee SUN-AIR of Scandinavia is launching a Hamburg service from London City Airport.

Unlike the official British Airways services from City, this will use a small Dornier 328 turboprop aircraft.  Running only from Monday to Friday, there will a morning and evening flight in both directions.

The first flights will depart on 27th October.  This service is available for Avios redemptions and it is available as a Reward Flight Saver.  It looks as if two seats per flight have been allocated for redemptions

SUN-AIR also runs London City to Billund (for Legoland), Manchester to Billund and Manchester to Gothenburg, all as franchised BA services.  These are bookable at ba.com just like standard BA flights.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (September 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 26th September 2024, sign up for FREE Barclaycard Avios Mastercard and you will receive a sign-up bonus of 10,000 Avios. This is double the usual bonus! You only need to spend £1,000 within 90 days. Our full review is here. Click here to apply.

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. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

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.

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

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Avios. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to up to 40,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 40,000 Avios. You will receive 4 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. The card is FREE for your first year. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

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