Bits: BA drops Kos, good BA luxury European deals, upstairs on a BA 747
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News in brief:
British Airways drop Kos
British Airways has decided to cancel the Kos route next year. This is unfortunate, because tickets have been on sale for 5 months ….
The service was due to run between 5th May and 29th September 2018.
Cash passengers will be offered a re-route via Vienna, changing onto the Austrian Airlines service to Kos. There is also an option to fly to Athens and then change to an Aegean service. In both cases, business class passengers will be downgraded to economy for the second leg as they are ‘one class’ flights.
Note that Vienna is an 80 tier points route and Athens – like Kos – is a 160 tier points route. If you have booked in Club Europe then it is easier to go via Athens if you want to be sure of your tier points. BA should ‘make you square’ if you go via Vienna but it is likely to require a few emails back and forth.
Avios passengers will not be re-routed. Your Avios will be refunded and you will have to make other arrangements at your own cost.
Passengers who are on a codeshare and not travelling on BA-issued tickets (ie a ticket number which does not start 125-) will also not be re-routed and will have to claim a refund from the airline with which they booked.
British Airways launches short haul Club Europe holidays sale
If you are planning a short break over the Winter, BA Holidays has launched a ‘Club Europe holidays’ short break promotion.
The special deals are listed here on ba.com.
These offer excellent value for money compared to the cost of booking flights on their own. You will also get at least 80 tier points each – more for longer routes – which makes this a cheap way to help your plans to earn or retain your British Airways Executive Club status.
This article lists the BA Club Europe routes which earn 160 tier points return.
You need to:
book by midnight on Monday 23rd October
travel between 1st November 2017 and 18th March 2018
These are the headline prices being promoted by British Airways Holidays, although there is no guarantee this price will be available on the dates you want. All hotels are four or five star.
- Bilbao business class flights + 3 nights hotel £272 pp
- Paris business class flights + 3 nights hotel £284 pp
- Amsterdam business class flights + 3 nights hotel £286 pp
- Istanbul business class flights + 3 nights hotel £299 pp
- Athens business class flights + 3 nights hotel £420 pp
- Palermo business class flights + 7 nights hotel from £308 pp
- Larnaca business class flights + 7 nights hotel from £585 pp
- All inclusive Malaga business class flights + 7 nights hotel from £421 pp
- Palermo business class flights + 7 nights hotel £308 pp
- Malaga business class flights + 7 nights hotel £370 pp
- Mallorca (Palma) business class flights + 7 nights hotel £374 pp
- Larnaca business class flights + 7 nights hotel £585 pp
- Krakow business class flights + 3 nights hotel £311 pp
- Berlin business class flights + 3 nights hotel £340 pp
- Prague business class flights + 3 nights hotel £345 pp
- Vienna business class flights + 3 nights hotel £353 pp
- Budapest business class flights + 3 nights hotel £383 pp
Take a look at BA Holidays here for more details.
Upstairs on a British Airways Boeing 747
Finally, a random personal picture. We flew down to Dubai on a Boeing 747 last week and sat on the upper deck.
If you have been flying BA for as long as me then this may not be a novelty, but younger readers may never have experienced it. Whilst BA remains the biggest global operator of the Boeing 747, they are being shuffled towards the retirement home one by one.
If you get a chance to try a 747 in Club World, on the upper deck, you should.
There is no doubt that some of the planes are well past their prime, and the cabin environment is not as classy as the new Boeing 787 Club World cabin. However, as you can see from the photo below and the picture above of the stairs, it is a unique experience with such a small cabin. The only BA experience that compares is the BA1 service on an A318 from London City to New York.
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (May 2021)
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.
There are two official British Airways American Express cards:
British Airways American Express
5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and a companion voucher for spending £20,000 Read our full review
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review
You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:
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
30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee 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.
Do you have a small business? Until 20th May 2021, you can receive a special sign-up bonus worth 29,900 Avios with the Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa credit card. This offer is exclusive to Head for Points readers. Click here to learn more.
Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review
(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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