Cobalt Air to launch flights from London Gatwick to Athens

Cobalt Air has a new twice-weekly service from London Gatwick to Athens starting on 31st March.

Andrew Madar, CEO, Cobalt Air commented:

“We are delighted to have this opportunity to widen our footprint in European aviation and commence direct London to Athens services at the end of this month. The travelling public has taken the relatively young Cobalt brand and its ethos to its heart. Our presence in Athens is already strong due to our existing services to Larnaca and Pafos from the Greek capital. We are very excited to bring additional competition and attractive fares to the London to Athens route.”

The flights will be on Tuesdays and Saturdays with fares starting at £49.  Business Class is pictured above.

You can learn more about Cobalt Air on their website here.  Their full route map is here.

Your best option to maximise your miles when paying is American Express Preferred Rewards Gold.  This offers double points – 2 per £1 – when you when you book flight tickets directly with an airline.  Our review of Amex Gold is here.

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How to maximise your miles when paying for flights (April 2025)

Some UK credit cards offer special bonuses when used for buying flights. If you spend a lot on airline tickets, using one of these cards could sharply increase the credit card points you earn.

Booking flights on any airline?

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold earns double points (2 Membership Rewards points per £1) when used to buy flights directly from an airline website.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points. These would convert to 20,000 Avios or various other airline or hotel programmes. The standard earning rate is 1 point per £1.

You can apply here.

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.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

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Buying flights on British Airways?

The British Airways Premium Plus American Express card earns double Avios (3 Avios per £1) when used at ba.com.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 30,000 Avios. The standard earning rate is 1.5 Avios per £1.

You do not earn bonus Avios if you pay for BA flights on the free British Airways American Express card or either of the Barclaycard Avios Mastercards.

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There is a sign-up bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points on the free card and 18,000 Virgin Points on the paid card.

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Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

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Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review