Coming soon: redeem Avios points for flights on Fiji Airways
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The oneworld airline alliance, of which British Airways is a core and founder member, has announced the launch of oneworld connect. This means new airlines on which you can earn and redeem Avios.
oneworld connect has the potential to be very interesting indeed. It allows smaller airlines around the world to partner with oneworld but without having to go through the complex process of becoming a full member. I imagine it is possible that Aer Lingus may go down this route.
Fiji Airways will be the first oneworld connect member.
Unfortunately, oneworld has made oneworld connect more complex than it really had to be.
Let me explain how it works. Each airline joining oneworld connect has to be sponsored by at least three existing oneworld members. As it happens, Fiji Airways has four sponsors:
- British Airways
- American Airlines
- Cathay Pacific
- Qantas
The reason I stress the names of the sponsors is that different benefits apply depending on whether you are a member of a sponsors frequent flyer programme or not.
This is how it works:
For holders of frequent flyer accounts with sponsoring airlines:
- Through check-in of bags and passengers
- Earn miles
- Redeem miles
- Earn tier / status points
- Lounge access when flying the oneworld connect member
For holders of frequent flyer accounts with other oneworld airlines:
- Access to priority check-in desks when flying the oneworld connect member for Emerald, Sapphire and Ruby members
- Priority boarding for oneworld Emerald and Sapphire members
Here it is as a graphic:
What this means is that, as a British Airways Executive Club member, you will be able to earn and redeem Avios of Fiji Airways, as well as accessing their lounges if you have British Airways Gold or Silver status and are flying Fiji Airways.
However, if you are – say – a Qatar Airways or Royal Jordanian frequent flyer member – you will not get these benefits. Qatar Airways and Royal Jordanian are not sponsoring Fiji Airways into oneworld connect and so their members do not get any mileage benefits. All they get is priority boarding and priority check-in.
In future, you may find other airlines joining oneworld connect with are not sponsored by British Airways, which means you won’t get much in the way of the benefits.
Where does Fiji Airways fly?
Quite a few places, surprisingly. Here is their route network.
It appears that they fly to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Singapore, Honolulu and a number of destinations in Australia and New Zealand. Tokyo is being added next month. This may make them an option if you are trying to find a round-the-house routing to Australasia.
The airline has a fleet of 18 aircraft including five long-haul Airbus A330.
When does this partnership launch?
We don’t know. “A date will be announced in due course” said the release yesterday. We’ll let you know.
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (September 2023)
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
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
25,000 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 £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.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
30,000 points and a huge range of valuable 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 10,500 Avios.
Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
Get a 10,000 points bonus plus an extra 500 points for our readers 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.
EDIT: Applications for this card are temporarily suspended due to IT issues with the British Airways On Business SME loyalty scheme.
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 bonus 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.
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