Excellent First Class reward availability to San Diego for Summer 2016
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British Airways announced yesterday that it is switching the San Diego route to a Boeing 777-300 from the start of the Summer timetable on March 27th.
The route is currently operated by a smaller Boeing 777-200. Why is this important? Because the 777-300 will feature First Class to San Diego for the first time.
Why is this especially important today? Because First Class Avios redemptions to San Diego are currently wide open for Summer 2016.
If you were thinking about a California holiday for next year, you should take a serious look at this. You are VERY unlikely to see such good availability to other parts of the region. It is easy to pick up connecting flights in San Diego to LA, San Francisco, Los Angeles etc.
On a handful of days there are FOUR First Class seats available for redemption. There are, admittedly, some days with none at all …. but you won’t have any trouble finding two seats. At the time of writing, for example, there are four First Class seats going out on Saturday 11th June and returning Sunday 26th June.
The tax is £537 per person, return. It needs 170,000 Avios per person off-peak and 200,000 Avios per person peak.
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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (July 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 Card
30,000 Avios and the famous annual Companion Voucher voucher Read our full review
British Airways American Express Credit Card
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 Credit Card
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
50,000 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 points worth 0.8 Avios per £1 on the FREE standard card and 1 Avios per £1 on the Pro card. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.
Capital on Tap Visa
NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 0.8 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 Card
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.
The American Express Business Platinum Card
50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
The American Express Business Gold Card
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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