Save up to £400 on British Airways flights with ‘Part Pay With Avios’

Back in October 2013, British Airways introduced ‘Part Pay With Avios’. This was a new scheme which allowed you to reduce the cost of a cash ticket by redeeming Avios points. This had been rumoured for some time.

When it finally launched, it was a major disappointment. It was initially restricted to short haul flights only. The maximum discount was also capped at £30 (4,500 Avios) which was later increased to £50.

Given that you are receiving a pretty poor exchange rate for your points, it was a bit pathetic. Why can’t I redeem my Avios to cover the entire cost of a ticket? I would understand why not if BA was giving me a fantastic deal but 0.67p per point was never going to excite anyone.

Slowly but surely, BA is extending the scheme.  Until April 29th, you can now redeem your points for a cash discount on a long-haul ticket. Here are the rules:

You must book a long-haul flight before April 29th

You must travel by April 1st 2016

Your flight must depart from Heathrow or City, not Gatwick

If you book into World Traveller or World Traveller Plus, you can choose between:

£10 off for 1,500 Avios

£30 off for 4,500 Avios

£50 off for 7,500 Avios

£100 off for 15,000 Avios

For bookings in Club World or First, you can choose between:

£30 off for 4,500 Avios

£50 off for 7,500 Avios

£100 off for 15,000 Avios

£200 off for 30,000 Avios

£300 off for 45,000 Avios

£400 off for 60,000 Avios

The redemption rate is still the relatively weak 0.67p per point but you can at least now redeem for a more interesting sum.  Whilst this offer has run before, it has never offered a discount as high as £400 per person.  BA is also experimenting with a lower ‘entry level’ discount in Club World of £30.

The ‘Part Pay With Avios’ website is here.  Full details of this promotion can be found there.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 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

30,000 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.

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

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

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

50,000 points when you sign-up 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.