Bits: 50% bonus miles with Kaligo, see Sunny Afternoon and earn Avios, BA cancellation fees

News in brief:

Get 50% bonus Virgin miles when you book hotels via Kaligo

Online hotel booking site Kaligo.com, which gives airline miles on every booking, is offering 50% bonus Virgin miles on every booking made by 30th June – see here.  Your stay must be completed by 31st December.

There is no small print – both new and existing customers can take part and there is no minimum spend.

Remember that you will NOT earn hotel points or receive status benefits when you book via Kaligo.com, so this option is best used for non-chain hotels.  Compare prices before you book as Kaligo.com can vary sharply from hotel to hotel versus booking direct.

The special link for the Virgin Atlantic offer is here.

See ‘Sunny Afternoon’ for half price AND earn Avios

A few weeks ago my wife and I went to see ‘Sunny Afternoon’, the musical based on the story of The Kinks, as the guests of new Avios partner LOVEtheatre.com – and a good night out it was too.  It won the 2015 Olivier Award for Best New Musical so you don’t need to take my word for it.

‘Sunny Afternoon’ is LOVEtheatre’s ‘Musical of the Month’ and they have an exclusive offer of £34.50 for top price tickets, valid any day of the week.  Cheaper seats can be bought from £10.

You will also earn 3 Avios per £1 when you book this or any other show via LOVEtheatre.

British Airways changes cancellation fees (in your favour)

As part of the move to its new check-in system, British Airways announced a change in cancellation fees on semi-flexible tickets last month.  It moved from being a charge per ticket to a charge per segment.

This led to some ludicrous situations where expensive semi-flexible tickets were effectively non-refundable because of the fee.  A semi-flexible ticket from Dusseldorf to New York became €300 per segment, so the cancellation fee was €1,200.

Effective immediately, all published cancellation fees have been halved for semi-flexible tickets.  This means that, in the example above, cancellation would now only be €600.  For a standard return flight of two segments, the fee is now reduced to the original level before the changes took place.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (May 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.

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 Credit Card

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 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.