New British Airways First and Club World 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 (September 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 26th September 2024, sign up for FREE Barclaycard Avios Mastercard and you will receive a sign-up bonus of 10,000 Avios. This is double the usual bonus! You only need to spend £1,000 within 90 days. Our full review is here. Click here to apply.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

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.

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.

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Avios. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to up to 40,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 40,000 Avios. You will receive 4 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. The card is FREE for your first year. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.