New British Airways route changes – Bilbao in, Rotterdam out

British Airways has announced a new service to Bilbao in Spain from 29th March.

Operating from Heathrow Terminal 5, there will be two flights per day.  The flight times are excellent for a short break with outbound services at 09.20 and 16.05 and return flights leaving Bilbao at 13.05 and 19.40.

It will interesting to see how this route performs.  Whilst there will be some business traffic, I would expect it to be a mainly leisure route. It is worth noting that this flight will go from Terminal 1 which is a bit of a no-mans land now that most of the airlines have moved to Terminal 2.

Flights are now booking at ba.com.

If you were wondering where the slots are coming from, part of the answer is that the Heathrow to Rotterdam service is being scrapped from 28th March.

Rotterdam will continue to be served from London City.  BA is moving booked passengers onto the City flights or transferring them to an Amsterdam flight from Heathrow.

If you are heading to Rotterdam, our review of the Rotterdam Airport lounge is here.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2023)

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. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 9th January 2024, you will receive 30,000 Membership Rewards points (convertible to 30,000 Avios) with American Express Preferred Rewards Gold. You receive 25,000 points if you spend £3,000 in three months and a further 5,000 points if you hold the card for 15 months. You can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 9th January 2024, you will receive a huge 100,000 Membership Rewards points (convertible to 100,000 Avios) with The Platinum Card. You receive 75,000 points if you spend £10,000 in six months and a further 25,000 points if you hold the card for 15 months. You can apply here.

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.

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.