Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

The best of the economy flight sale deals from my inbox

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

‘Sale’ emails have started to arrive in my inbox from various airlines.  I haven’t had the time to look into all of these deals in great detail but here are a few summaries:

Singapore Airlines is running a very short-run sale of just seven days, of which just 3 days remain.  Economy fares start at £510 for Jakarta and £580 for Singapore itself.  Perth for £625 looks pretty competitive.  Travel dates are restricted and you must book by January 1st – full details here.

Etihad landed its very first A380 flight at Heathrow on December 27th.  I am due to fly this in 4 weeks time and look forward to writing about my experience.

The Etihad sale runs until January 16th and is valid for bookings until 30th October.  Remember that Etihad is adding Edinburgh departures from 8th June and also flies from Manchester.  Typical prices include Mumbai from £410, Bangkok from £449 and Brisbane from £750.  Some business class deals look interesting, eg Kolkata for £1519 and Johannesburg for £1920.  Full details here.

Cathay Pacific kicked off its sale which runs until 31st January.  Cathay recently launched a service from Manchester to Hong Kong and beyond.  Manchester to Hong Kong starts at £549.  If you are travelling further afield, Perth starts at £689 from London or Manchester.

Air New Zealand, who sponsored our recent competition, is offering flights to anywhere in New Zealand from £890 depending on travel dates.  A free stopover in Los Angeles is available on the way.  If you just want to visit LA, Premium Economy seats from Heathrow start at £879.  You must book by 27th January.

Don’t forget to compare prices with the British Airways and Virgin Atlantic sales, both of which launched well before Christmas but are still running and will continue until January 27th.


best credit card to use when buying flights

How to maximise your miles when paying for flights (April 2025)

Some UK credit cards offer special bonuses when used for buying flights. If you spend a lot on airline tickets, using one of these cards could sharply increase the credit card points you earn.

Booking flights on any airline?

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold earns double points (2 Membership Rewards points per £1) when used to buy flights directly from an airline website.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points. These would convert to 20,000 Avios or various other airline or hotel programmes. The standard earning rate is 1 point per £1.

You can apply here.

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

Buying flights on British Airways?

The British Airways Premium Plus American Express card earns double Avios (3 Avios per £1) when used at ba.com.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 30,000 Avios. The standard earning rate is 1.5 Avios per £1.

You do not earn bonus Avios if you pay for BA flights on the free British Airways American Express card or either of the Barclaycard Avios Mastercards.

You can apply here.

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

Buying flights on Virgin Atlantic?

Both the free Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard and the annual fee Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard earn double Virgin Points when used at fly.virgin.com.

This means 1.5 Virgin Points per £1 on the free card and 3 Virgin Points per £1 on the paid card.

There is a sign-up bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points on the free card and 18,000 Virgin Points on the paid card.

You can apply for either of the cards here.

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

3,000 bonus points, no fee and 1 point for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Comments (3)

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

  • Peter Hart says:

    Haha if that was my pic Rob then it’s Peter, not Paul. But never mind, thanks for posting!

    • stealthmoose says:

      Robbing Peter to pay Paul..?

      • Rob says:

        Sorry Peter! I typed the name from memory which is dangerous once you pass 40 ….!

        Your pic was a big hit on the Instagram feed by the way, and Etihad themselves favourited it when I tweeted it. Thanks for sending it over.

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

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.