British Airways knows the way to San Jose ….. (new California route)
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British Airways announced yesterday that it will start services to San Jose in California from 4th May 2016.
This will utilise one of the brand new Boeing 787-9 aircraft – so new that British Airways hasn’t even received its first one yet! – which means that it will be a four class service.
(I actually had an article about the new 787-9 fleet ready to go today before this news was released. I will run it tomorrow instead and it will tell you all you need to know about these new aircraft.)
The flights will operate seven days a week.
The outbound will leave Terminal 5 at 15.15 (arrives 18.05) with the return leaving San Jose at 20.00 to arrive at 14.05.
This is, fundamentally, the ‘silicon valley’ flight. Expect it to be full of Google and Apple employees shuttling back and forth. Amazingly, it is the first direct flight from anywhere in Europe to San Jose.
This announcement should open up some excellent Avios availability for next Summer.
Remember that BA guarantees to open up four World Traveller and two Club World seats on every flight. In theory, this new service should see these seats open up immediately from May 4th to mid August 2016. If you have struggled to find Avios seats to California for next Summer, this could be your chance. A quick connecting flight will get you to anywhere else in the region.
Flights were not due to be loaded on ba.com until this morning, so I can’t tell you at the time of writing if Avios redemption seats have already been loaded or not. Someone has probably posted in the Comments section by the time you read this!
PS. Remember that BA has also just announced flights to San Jose in Costa Rica. Don’t book the wrong one ….

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (June 2022)
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.
Until 18th July 2022 there is an astonishing special offer on these cards. You get 50,000 Avios on the Avios Plus Mastercard and 10,000 Avios on the free Avios Mastercard. You can apply here. We strongly recommend getting the Avios Plus card whilst this offer is running.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
50,000 Avios for signing up (A CRAZY SPECIAL OFFER!) and an upgrade voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
10,000 Avios for signing up (SPECIAL OFFER) and an upgrade voucher for spending £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 UK’s most valuable card perk – the 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 £12,000 Read our full review
You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points.
SPECIAL OFFER: The sign-up bonus on Amex Gold is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 Membership Rewards points until 19th July 2022. This card is free for the first year.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express
30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel 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 10,000 Avios.

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
10,500 points bonus – the most generous Avios Visa for a limited company 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 a long list of travel benefits 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.
(Want to earn more Avios? Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)
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