Three BA-related bits of news in brief:
60 free Avios for everyone via Clubcard
Tesco has launched a new online game in association with Kit-Kat. You can find it here.
Whilst I wouldn’t normally waste time with such things, you will receive 25 Clubcard points the first time you play it. This is worth 60 Avios or 62 Virgin Flying Club miles and potentially worth a few seconds of your time! If you take it seriously there are various techy prize to be won as well.
Love Clubcard, don’t collect Avios? You should be reading our sister site, Shopper Points (www.shopperpoints.co.uk), which covers the latest Clubcard and Nectar offers without any distracting frequent flyer talk! Why not check it out now?
British Airways increased extra bag charges
With immediate effect, British Airways has announced a substantial increase in baggage fees.
On short-haul and domestic flights from Heathrow or City, any baggage in excess of your allowance will cost you £60 per suitcase when booked in advance. This is up 50% from the current £40.
(On ‘hand baggage only’ fares, your first checked bag will cost from £20-£40 depending on route if paid in advance. All excess baggage fees paid at the airport on all short-haul routes will be £65 per case.)
Prices from Gatwick have not changed and are substantially lower than the Heathrow or City costs listed above.
On long-haul, the cost of a second case in World Traveller will rise £5, from £55 to £60, when booked in advance. 3+ cases will cost £120 each. If paid at the airport, the cost is a stunning £65 / £140 respectively.
These charges are one-way so you need to double them for a return journey.
If you live outside the UK, other excess baggage fares have also been increased when priced in € or $ to take account of recent currency fluctuations.
Full details of BA’s new excess baggage pricing can be found here.
New British Airways route to Valencia
Finally, British Airways announced a new route to Valencia from London Gatwick on Tuesday.
This will be a year-round service, starting at four flights per week from November 6th and increasing to six flights per week from next Summer. If you’ve exhausted ‘the usual suspects’ of Spanish weekend break destinations then Valencia is well worth a look.
About Head for Points
There are also some new free Avios to be gained using Avios Suitcase on Facebook.
The kitkat game says it is valid until 27th July?
exactly
!headpoint, warned after the deadline!
We’re going to be in Valencia for one afternoon / evening at the end of August as we’re doing La Tomatina in Bunol the following morning – anyone have any recommendations for a must-see whilst we’re there (we’re travelling with a teenager so nothing too ‘boring’ like art galleries etc)?
Don’t plan anything special. It is a super city, just relax and walk around and enjoy the blend of traditional and ultramodern architecture, browse the shops, cafes and fi d a good aella restaurant frequented by the locals.
“If paid at the airport, the cost is a stunning £65 / £140 respectively.”
‘Stunning’ without any comparison beyond the previous rate, perhaps. But let’s be honest, BA are still FAR below the market rate. I really am not a BA fan but their baggage allowance (for Business and First) is unrivalled.
I think that quote (for an EXTRA BAG of up to 23kg) clearly shows exactly how spoilt we are with BA with regards to baggage. Cathay charge US$60 (i.e. £40) PER KILO, Qantas charge AU$122-280 (i.e. £60-140) PER 5 KILO. So an extra 23kg bag on BA will now cost £140 against £920 on Cathay or £300-700 on Qantas.
Even at £140 per bag, I think BA’s charges are an exceptional bargain and certainly far from the negative ‘stunning’ claim made here.
When you put it like that ….!
FALLAS
The flights for this are HALF what the cost of Ryan Air and Easyjet are.
In fact you can book biz on BA for the same price as RyanAir and EasyJet
It’s a fantastic city and I can see this being a very popular route.
I’ve already booked several flights for friends and staff this morning.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falles
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=fallas&es_sm=122&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CCwQsARqFQoTCLCyhobugscCFWLVcgoddrQAQQ&biw=1525&bih=923
http://www.visitvalencia.com/en/whats-on-offer-valencia/festivities/the-fallas
What dates are you looking at? I can see HBO fares slightly less than the others but certainly not business.
The Clubcard/Avios/Flybe offer is now live. You need to transfer at least £2.50 of vouchers to avios (or have transferred in the last 12 months, from how I read the T&Cs) for 3000 avios off a Flybe flight (return, direct). Phone booking only, for travel until end of the year. No RFS though, as previously mentioned. May work OK, especially if taking a bag, if I recall the previous article correctly – will we see full analysis tomorrow? Also saves the hassle of getting to London for those in the regions, with the loss of the inclusive connecting flights.