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.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (January 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:

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 21st February 2023, the sign-up bonus on the British Airways Premium Plus American Express card is increased to 35,000 Avios from 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points.

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Capital On Tap has increased its sign-up bonus to points worth 30,000 Avios if you apply by 4th February. This is exclusive to Head for Points readers. Click here to apply.

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.