Up to 7,000 bonus Avios with BA’s weak new flying promotion

British Airways has launched a new bonus Avios promotion to drive traffic on a few specific routes.  This can earn you up to 7,000 points between now and early December.

Unfortunately it is not incredibly generous.  As you will see from the fare code letters in the list below, which refer to the ticket types you must hold, you will only receive a bonus if you book a flexible or semi-flexible ticket.

Call me old and cyncical, but 500 Avios is not an exciting bonus in return for booking an expensive semi-flexible short-haul ticket.

It is not enough to persuade me to upgrade my ticket type, it would not be enough (for Dusseldorf, for eg) to persuade me to travel to London City instead of Heathrow and – if I was wedded to another airline for a particular route – it would not be enough to swing me to BA.

The bonus points you will earn are, per return flight:

7,000 Avios in First Class (F, A)

5,000 Avios in Club World (J, C, D)

2,500 Avios in World Traveller Plus (W, T)

1,000 Avios in World Traveller (Y, B)

1,000 Avios in Club Europe (J, C, D)

500 Avios in Domestic or Eurotraveller (Y, B)

Participating routes are:

Heathrow to Aberdeen, Baku, Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Edinburgh, Geneva, Hong Kong, Houston, Istanbul, Luanda, Moscow, Nice, Rome, Sao Paulo, Stockholm, Tel Aviv

Gatwick to Bari, Bordeaux, Edinburgh, Glasgow

London City to Dublin, Dusseldorf, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Rotterdam

The key dates are:

Booking dates 13 October – 28 November 2014
Outbound travel 13 October – 28 November 2014
Inbound travel 13 October – 12 December 2014

You can earn the bonus on a maximum of four return trips.  Depending on your travel patterns, it might make sense to move some trips AWAY from British Airways to preserve your ability to hit the higher bonuses later.

If I had a Club World trip coming up, for example, after four short-haul European flights, it would be more lucrative to do one of the short-haul flights on another airline in order to ensure I got the Club World bonus.

You must register for the bonus via this page at ba.com where you will also find full details.

The promotion is only open to UK members of the Executive Club.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (May 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 Card

30,000 Avios and the famous annual Companion Voucher voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express Credit Card

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 Credit Card

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 Card

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.

The American Express Business Platinum Card

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

The American Express Business Gold Card

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.