Is ‘The Big British Airways Take Off’ sale worth a look?
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I have done quite a bit of coverage of the Qatar business class fares out of Europe, the Finnair business class fares out of the UK and the British Airways business class fares out of Ireland in the last two weeks.
All of these offered business class flights to the USA, Middle East and Asia, complete with Avios and tier points as these are all oneworld alliance airlines, for little more than £1,000.
These deals have overshadowed the new UK British Airways sale somewhat. I thought it was time to take a look at the deals on offer there.
The home page for the new sale is here.
It is called ‘The Big British Airways Take Off’ and runs until 22nd September.
Here are the summary terms:
Book before 22nd September 2015
Travel dates usually vary considerably and – impressively – I can’t find them on ba.com at all!
The easiest way to check out the best prices to a specific destination is with the British Airways Low Fare Finder tool on ba.com. This will show you the cheapest price on any route, in any class, on month by month basis.
If you can be flexible with dates, there are some decent fares available. Here are some major destinations, priced as World Traveller / World Traveller Plus / Club World / First:
New York £352 / £799 / £1,695 / £3,200
Miami £432 / £869 / £2,068 / £2,874
Abu Dhabi £415 / £957 / £1,546 / £2,546
Mumbai £443 / £744 / £1,831 / £2,831
Bangkok £529 / £1,112 / £2,659 / na
Tokyo £549 / £1,119 / £2,481 / £4,598
There are also some deals on European short-haul flights with some destinations under £200 return for 80 tier points. I spotted Amsterdam, Angers, Dublin, Geneva and Quimper. There are plenty more under £225 return as long as you stay away over a Saturday night.
In general, the Club World sale fares are about £200 more expensive than the last major sale back in May. This does not apply to all destinations but it is a decent generalisation, presumably down to improving flight loads in premium cabins.
One route that caught my eye is Cape Town at £1,554 in Club World. That fare is available in November, January and February.
Chengdu in China continues to be the cheapest Asian option at £1,794 in Club World. That fare is beaten considerably by some of the Qatar and Finnair deals currently available, however.
There continue to be interesting anomalies. Abu Dhabi, for example, is substantial cheaper than Dubai – even though the two airports are only a short taxi ride apart. This is presumably due to Etihad picking up a lot of premium traffic. It is worth noting that the Abu Dhabi flight is usually better timed for a day flight than the Dubai options.
The best thing to do if you are interested is to pop over to ba.com and have a look around.
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)
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
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
25,000 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.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable 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 10,500 Avios.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.
Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa
Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 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 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.
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