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British Airways launches ‘The World Is On Sale’ – book now for 2015

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British Airways rolled out its Winter Sale over Friday evening and Saturday morning.  This was very unfortunate timing, as the airline was still trying to recover from the failure of the Air Traffic Control system earlier in the afternoon.

Whilst the fares are now showing on ba.com, BA is not advertising the sale until next week.  This means that you can get in ahead of the general public.

Depending on where you want to go, you can book for travel up to January 2016 (albeit those dates will not open up for sale until the end of the promotion due to the 355 day booking window).

The special home page for the sale is here.

British Airways January sale

Here are the summary terms:

Book before 27 January 2015

Travel dates:

Economy from Heathrow:  25 December to 30 September 2015

Economy from Gatwick:  31 December to 8 December 2015

World Traveller Plus / Club World / Club Europe / First from Heathrow:  25 December to 17 January 2016

World Traveller Plus / Club World / Club Europe/ First from Gatwick:  6 January to 8 December 2015

Short-haul flights from London City in both classes:  25 December to 30 September 2015

Black-out dates apply.

The sale includes Iberia long-haul flights via Madrid which opens up Chile, Bogota, Lima etc.  The new BA route to Kuala Lumpur which launches at the end of March is also included.

In general, the fares are not as good as they were last year.  It varies route by route though.

The easiest way to check out the best prices to a specific destination is with the British Airways Low Fare Finder tool on ba.com.  This will show you the cheapest price on any route, in any class, on month by month basis.

The best thing to do if you are interested is to pop over to ba.com and have a look around.

Virgin Atlantic has also launched its sale – I will take a look at this in the next couple of days.


How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 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.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus 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 card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

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

25,000 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.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a 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, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review

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.

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

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

40,000 points sign-up bonus 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.

Comments (27)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Andrew says:

    And remember, if you book before Wednesday on American Express travel, you’ll save £50 if you pay with your linked Trip Advisor Amex card.

    • Rochelle says:

      Do you know if this Trip advisor offer can be used on supplementary cards? I.e: use one card to book hotel, and another to book flight and get two credits?

      • Polly says:

        Yes you can, we did but advised plat concierge so they said they would apply both

    • James67 says:

      But if you have a BMI card better to go 10% discount route with them if booking a prrmium fare. Pity we cannot combine both.

  • Euflyer Tom says:

    I spent much of yesterday afternoon in front of Jeff Stelling, trying to find some value in this one… and struggled. Disappointing to say the least.

  • yorica says:

    I’ve been tracking airfares to Jpn, there are no savings from their so-called “sale”

  • Daz says:

    I must say, it is pretty pump – That’s my Sunday morning word for disappointed.

    Looking on Sky Scanner I can find much better deals to the Far East on other carriers.

    • Euflyer Tom says:

      I like the word “pump” in this context. I intend to use it more regularly in conversation.

  • tony says:

    I haven’t looked exhaustively but am seeing some good flight & car combo prices for Europe, especially during school holidays in Y. Not so much in Club Europe.

  • Dale says:

    Slightly OT but what’s the chance of BA running an avios redemption sale like Virgin do? Would be good for the Amex 2-4-2 voucher!

    • Rob says:

      You get economy sales once or twice a year but rarely anything in premium classes.

  • Hiltonhotelfans says:

    Still waiting for some good business class deals from Rotterdam or Amsterdam to the USA in may 2015

    • James says:

      Aren’t BA binning the Rotterdam route in 2015?

      • Dave says:

        LHR yes, LCY will remain.

        Could do RTM-LCY-JFK-onwards if a good price is available. Remember CWLCY earns the same avios and tier points as F.

  • Martin says:

    Hi Raffles,

    Off topic but a couple of questions –
    Are Amex via 3Vs still an option for paying tax?
    I’ve seen a few comments about Cathay extending expiring Marco Polo Gold memberships by six months? Cheers

    • Rob says:

      No

      All- well, most – Cathay Gold cards got 6 months, advised 6 months before expiry. I guess Sep 15 is now the last date if you applied just before it ended in March 2014, got a March 15 expiry and then Sep 15 extension.

      • Mark says:

        Still no extension on mine. Can’t really complain since it cost me nothing, I ended up cancelling the Amex Plat and I’ve never credited any miles to the account.

      • Martin says:

        Thanks Raffles

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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