Bits: BA eBay’ing New Orleans flight tickets, LAN deal to Buenos Aires
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News in brief:
Bid for BA tickets to New Orleans on a preview flight
British Airways is launching a new service to New Orleans on 27th March as I covered here.
On 24th February, however, there is going to be a one-off trial flight during Mardi Gras. This may be a test trip to help with pilot and crew familiarisation or a local marketing exercise.
British Airways is selling tickets for this flight via eBay. Each package offers:
- 2 x return, economy tickets to New Orleans
- Three nights accommodation based on one of three hotel options
- Gig in the sky with a celebrity on board performance
- Exclusive on board New Orleans cocktails and menu
- Access to a Mardi Gras parade stand, so you can get into the thick of all the festivities
- 10% of all auction bookings will be donated to the British Airways charity, Flying Start
The flight departs from Heathrow at 10.00 on Friday 24th February 2017 with return departing at 23.25 on Monday 27th February, arriving 14:10 on Tuesday 28th February.
No tier points or Avios will be given.
There are currently four auctions running. You can find links to all of them at the BA eBay shop here.
PS. You can also earn 10 x Nectar points on all eBay purchases until Monday. Details in this Shopper Points article here.
Good LATAM deal from Spain to Buenos Aires – TODAY ONLY
If you have Buenos Aires on your bucket list, LATAM (the old LAN) has some excellent Business Class fares from Spain at the moment.
Remember that, as LAN is a oneworld member, you will earn Avios and British Airways tier points on these flights.
From Barcelona, the fare is £1,197 return with a plane change in Sao Paulo. This is on a Boeing 767 where the seating is reportedly not great. You are probably better paying an extra £4 and flying out of Madrid where you will get a new Airbus A350.
You must book TODAY and start your trip between 1st December and 31st March (28th February to 7th March excluded). The LATAM site is here.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (August 2022)
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
25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher for spending £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher for spending £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 UK’s most valuable card perk – the 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 £12,000 Read our full review
You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points.
EDIT: Until 25th October 2022, there is an exceptionally generous sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card. You will receive 60,000 Membership Rewards points – double the usual amount – and £200 to spend at Amex Travel. You need to spend £6,000 within six months to earn the bonus.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express
60,000 points, £200 travel credit and an unbeatable set of travel 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 10,000 Avios.

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
10,500 points bonus – the most generous Avios Visa for a limited company 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 a long list of travel benefits 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.
(Want to earn more Avios? Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)
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