New British Airways First and Club World flight sale launched, for travel into 2017

British Airways has launced a new ‘Premium Leisure’ sale.  This is offering deals over Easter, the Summer and right into early 2017.

The home page for the sale is here.

You can book until 22nd March.

On most routes you can travel up to 28th February 2017.  It varies by route so take a look at the small print at the bottom of the sale website.

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 £387 / £820 / £1,724 / £2,728

Miami £427 / £939 / £2,102 / £2,782

Abu Dhabi £350 / £764 / £1,342 / £1,907

Mumbai £426 / £717 / £1,608 / £2,377

Bangkok £502 / £1,076 / £1,734 / na

Tokyo £687 / £1,241 / £2,036 / £4,602

In general, fares to Japan and North America are a smidgen higher than they were in the Autumn sale.  The other routes are a touch cheaper in all classes.

There are also some deals on European short-haul flights with some destinations under £200 return for 80 tier points. I spotted Barcelona, Dublin, Nice, Pisa, Venice and Verona (all Gatwick) for under £200. There are plenty more under £225 return as long as you stay away over a Saturday night.

One route that caught my eye for the wrong reasons is Cape Town – this was £1,554 in Club World in the last sale but is now no cheaper than £3,059!

Seoul and Beijing are good value by BA standards at around £1,700. That fare is beaten considerably by the Finnair deals currently available, however.

There continue to be interesting anomalies. Abu Dhabi, for example, is substantial cheaper in First Class than Dubai – even though the two airports are only a short taxi ride apart.

It is worth noting that the Abu Dhabi flight is usually better timed for a day flight than the Dubai options.  £1,907 for First Class to Abu Dhabi is a clear response to Etihad’s First Class Apartment taking all of the full fare customers.  Similarly, £1,342 for Club World to Abu Dhabi is a reflection of the fact that the Etihad A380 Business Class Studio is light years ahead.

Remember that ‘Part Pay With Avios’ can be used with these fares.  The maximum discount during the sale is £200 for 30,000 Avios points per return flight in Club World or First.  All other flights are capped at £100 for 15,000 Avios – including Euro Traveller and Club Europe short haul flights.

The best thing to do if you are interested is to pop over to ba.com and have a look around.  The full sale details are here.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 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

30,000 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 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 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 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

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

50,000 points when you sign-up 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.