Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Fly for just £1,009 in British Airways Club World business class to Beijing or Shanghai

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British Airways has launched its own Chinese New Year event, and it is a very attractive one.

As long as two people travel together, you can fly from Heathrow to Beijing or Shanghai in Club World for just £1009 each (£2018 for two).

There is even a way of getting the price below £1000 each as I show below.

Here are the travel dates where you will find the fare.  As you see, April, May and June are your best bets:

  • 1st April to 30th April
  • 14th May to 31st May
  • 1st June to 7th July
  • 24th September to 4th October
  • 15th October to 31st October
  • 12th November to 6th December

In typical BA style, this deal is not being shown on the ba.com home page or the special offers page.  Neither have they emailed the public or trade partners like us about it.  The fare is definitely there though.

Remember to search for TWO Club World passengers.

A Saturday night stay is required.

Last year you may remember I wrote about our own visit to Beijing at Easter.  We did not require a Visa to get in because we were technically in transit – we flew in from Tokyo and flew out again, three days later, to London.  You DO still require a Visa if you fly into China and it is your final destination.

My review of the impressive Waldorf Astoria Beijing is here.  It is a very smart hotel and, importantly, only a few minutes walk from the Forbidden City.  That said, if it is a toss-up between Beijing and Shanghai then I think the latter is more interesting.

These British Airways Club World deals need to be booked by Wednesday 21st.

Don’t forget the BA Holidays booking option

You can also book these deals via BA Holidays via this page.

Search for ‘flight and hotel’ and various options for two people for a similar price as the flights (£2018) or even less will appear.

For example, for a 3-night stay from 16th to 19th June, I can book 2 x Club World flights to Shanghai PLUS three nights in the Rayfont Hotel South Bund (3-star, admittedly) for just £983 per person!

BA Holidays bookings earn Avios and tier points as usual on the flights, although they do not earn credit in the BA On Business small business loyalty scheme.

Don’t forget the other benefits of booking via BA Holidays:

You only need to pay a deposit of £300 per couple now, with the balance due 5 weeks before travel

You earn an extra 1 bonus Avios per £1 spent

It is worth playing around on the BA Holidays site to see what comes up.

To maximise your miles when paying, your best bet is the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card which earns double Avios (3 per £1) when you book at ba.com or via BA Holidays.  You do not get double Avios if you book with the free British Airways American Express card. 

Another option is American Express Preferred Rewards Gold which offers double points – 2 per £1 – when you book flight tickets directly with an airline.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

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 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 card

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.

Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (81)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • David says:
    17 Feb17 February 15:28

    I have attempted to book one of these trips including a hotel, however, the deposit option just isn’t there and requires full payment at time of booking.

  • JamesB says:
    17 Feb17 February 15:32

    Great deal, I was getting ready to cancel our BKK/HKG redemptions for PVG until I realised most of September was out.

  • Leo says:
    17 Feb17 February 16:08

    Just to be clear – it’s ok to fly Shangai – HKG – Shanghai and back to LHR w/o a vis isn’t it? Hong Kong counts as international destination for leaving and re-entering China?

    • Rob says:
      17 Feb17 February 16:42

      I think you should take your own advice on that rather than risking anything based on our advice!

    • JamesR says:
      17 Feb17 February 16:52

      Id be careful… I think it is regarded as international in terms of how the airport sees it but immigration might not agree. If you cant get a solid answer and your not flying for a while I would just send off for the Visa anyway. it lasts 2 years. Cant put a price on peace of mind!

    • Leo says:
      17 Feb17 February 16:56

      Hmmm Gov.uk site says:

      “If you visit Hong Kong from the mainland of China and wish to return to the mainland, you’ll need a visa that allows you to make a second entry into China.”

      Not so obvious an option for me then.

    • The_real_a says:
      18 Feb18 February 01:21

      Yes i have done this several times in the last 12 months. Hong Kong, macau and taiwan are all counted as “differnt countries” for the various visa free stamps.

      • The_real_a says:
        18 Feb18 February 01:22

        Air travel only btw

        • Briandt says:
          18 Feb18 February 08:18

          Hi, you made a comment yesterday about nesting, I guess you didn’t see a reply but could you please expand on this …thanks.

        • The_real_a says:
          18 Feb18 February 09:17

          No i didnt see it. Ok i will reply to it later when i get home.

        • Alex Sm says:
          19 Feb19 February 23:06

          It’s all because this forum doesn’t have notifications of replies…

        • the_real_a says:
          20 Feb20 February 06:14

          Ive responded to the original “nesting” comment

      • Leo says:
        18 Feb18 February 08:21

        Have you gone from China to HKG and then back to China before flying to another country?

        • The_real_a says:
          18 Feb18 February 09:22

          No you are not allowed to return to your point of origin. Its for transit in the strictest terms.

          HKG – CHINA – BKK (or anywhere not HKG) is permitted.
          HKG – CHINA – HKG is against the rules. The only exception is if you are in transit via hong kong, i did HKG -PEK-TPE(transit in HKG).

        • The_real_a says:
          18 Feb18 February 09:28

          I misread the question. I have not done this route – except via transit airside in hkg with cathay.

        • Lumma says:
          18 Feb18 February 09:44

          You’re allowed to transit without visa in both directions from Hong Kong.

          If someone wants to visit China from Hong Kong and return back to HK (by air to one of the cities participating in the TWOV), they wouldn’t be allowed. They could book the return to Macao and that would be fine.

    • Will says:
      18 Feb18 February 11:08

      I have flown lhr-pvg-hkg-lhr and can confirm hkg counts as international for qualifying for the free transit visa. Just be aware the visa is only valid for staying in Shanghai, you’ll struggle to check into a hotel outside of shanghai city limits.

      • Leo says:
        18 Feb18 February 11:17

        Sure but the point is you have to have a return to Shanghai for this deal.

      • Concerto says:
        18 Feb18 February 11:47

        Having done this a couple of times there’s no problem with this sort of TWOV. HOWEVER, the onward flight must be one segment only, no further transfers allowed within China. Important for someone like me trying to do segment runs on Chinese SkyTeam airlines.

    • Sean says:
      18 Feb18 February 16:53

      We travelled to Shanghai this month, with onward flight to Tokyo booked, but returning back to Shanghai for our flight home. Went to transit visa desk, had no issues. On our way back 24 hours later, went back to transit visa desk and they seemed more interested in the various stamps in my passport than anything else. Bit of a delay, but no issues getting back in the country

    • Bariummeal says:
      19 Feb19 February 13:29

      Nope – don’t risk this. HKG is not considered international when you land in the mainland and speak to the immigration officers. My colleague did this, booked through a travel agent who said it was ok. It wasn’t and she enjoyed a deportation.

      • the_real_a says:
        20 Feb20 February 06:18

        This is totally incorrect. The rules are very clear that HKG, Taiwan and Macau are separate administrative zones. As you can see above myself and several others have actually flown these itineraries without issue.

  • Helen says:
    17 Feb17 February 16:21

    Greta offer, can see the flights but can’t book the hotels as the page doesn’t go through & says not available!

    • Rob says:
      17 Feb17 February 16:49

      I just tried it on the Regal International in Shanghai and it was fine – went through to payment, £300 deposit option offered.

    • Wayne says:
      18 Feb18 February 05:49

      I had the same issue when booking the BA hotels on any Apple device using a Safari browser, when I used the Google Chrome browser it was fine, It may be your issue?

  • KevMc says:
    17 Feb17 February 17:00

    Does anybody have any experience of getting hotel status benefits when booking via BA holidays? I’m assuming they’re all ‘No benefits recognised st all’, but thought I’d ask…

    • Allan says:
      17 Feb17 February 22:30

      I had full Ambassador benefits at IC Boston recently.

      • KevMc says:
        19 Feb19 February 10:27

        I have gone for a 6 day trip to Shanghai in May half term, staying at the Waldorf, in the hope they recognise my Diamond benefits. Although for the price we’ve paid in the school hols (£3k all in for the two of us), I wouldn’t be overly bothered if they didn’t.

        Thanks for highlighting this great sale, guys.

  • luckyneil says:
    17 Feb17 February 17:17

    72 hour transit to HKG should be ok according to the visa site:
    2-hour visa-free transit
    If you meet the criteria, you can transit for up to 72 hours in selected cities without a Chinese visa. You can visit the city at your leisure and book a hotel, etc. Unlike the 24-hour exemption, this one has more stringent criteria.

    This longer TWOV exemption is available when transiting in the following cities in China: Beijing (PEK), Chengdu (CTU), Chongqing (CKG), Dalian (DLC), Guangzhou (CAN). Guilin (KWL), Qingdao (TAO); Shenyang (SHE); Tianjin (TSN); Xiamen (XMN) and Xi’An (XIY). Wuhan (WUH), Harbin (HRB) and Kunming (KWL).

    The conditions are the following:

    – You must be in transit to a third country (you may not return to the same country as the one that you came from);

    – Your transit time is no more than 72 hours (see below how this is calculated)

    – You have confirmed plane tickets to a third country (for immigration purposes, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are not considered part of China). Flights between mainland China and any of these places are considered International and they are deemed to be different countries;

    • Lumma says:
      18 Feb18 February 08:29

      Hong Kong is fine. Technically Chinese immigration would allow you to do, for example, London–Beijing-Paris. The issue would be convincing the check in staff on departure that you’re transmitting China on a trip from London to France

  • Andy says:
    17 Feb17 February 22:13

    Excellent deal and I was about to book a week in October holidays to PVG for my wife and our 2 children when I thought I’d double check Visa fees. Pleased I did as it is £700 for the four of us – resulted in me not clicking the ‘book now’ button as I think that this diminishes the value somewhat!

    Sure this will work out a good deal for some nonetheless!

    • Lady London says:
      17 Feb17 February 23:11

      I think Shanghai visa-free transit is due to be increased very soon from 72 hours to one week. I was one of the first people to arrive in Shanghai expecting to use it just after it was increased from 24 hours. The immigration officer took a while and a bit of checking with someone else before he admitted me as he hadn’t been aware it had been increased to 72 hours apparently.

      Provided your routing makes your visit a transit and not a “to and from” you might be OK. I’m sorry I can;t recall the source but I’m very sure I remember about the increase. It;s not just Shanghai other cities were listed for the increase as well.

      So far I think I;ve crossed India, Russia and China off my list of places to visit for quite a while, due to visa fees….!!!!

      • phatbear says:
        18 Feb18 February 07:35

        you state “this policy also applies to beijing etc” but I can only find evidence that you can get 72hours in Beijing not 144hrs.

      • JK says:
        19 Feb19 February 06:24

        Agreed, it’s 144 hours now. Signs/stickers all over PVG saying it, and done it myself in Jan.

  • Wayne says:
    18 Feb18 February 07:08

    Have a look at the same BA Club World flights via Expedia, with 3 nights in the Waldorf Astoria April £1245 pp, lots of other 4/5* hotels even cheaper

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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