Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Up to 40% off British Airways short-haul flights for VitalityHealth customers

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VitalityHealth, previously PruHealth, is a life insurance, health insurance and investment business.

The reason it is of interest to Head for Points readers is that it offers discounts on British Airways short haul fares to members.  Full details are available on the VitalityHealth website.

The devil is in the detail when it comes to the flight discounts.  It is only included for free if you have a Personal Healthcare plan – other plans require a supplementary monthly payment which will negate much of the benefit.

You will receive a discount of 5%-40% based on your level in the plan (the more healthy activity you log, the higher your level)

You can claim the discount 1-2 times per year based on your level

For flights leaving between Sunday and Thursday, there must be at least two nights between the outbound and return flights. For flights leaving on a Friday or Saturday, there must be at least one night between the outbound and return flights

Only the plan holder receives the discount, not your fellow passengers

Short-haul only

Economy only

Your initial impression might be a bit ‘meh’.

However, for once, the small print actually makes the deal more attractive.

The discount applies to the FULL cost of the flight, including the taxes and charges. A Platinum level member receives 40% off the headline price which is not bad.

The discount applies to ALL ticket types, including fully flexible tickets. This can represent a substantial saving – at the most extreme, a fully flexible Euro Traveller ticket to Moscow is £1300.

This offer probably works best for someone who is self-employed and has to book the occasional fully flexible ticket. This could mean an annual saving of £250+.

The ‘average’ leisure traveller who gets up to the Platinum level could save over £100 per year – assuming 40% off two economy / Euro Traveller BA flights with an average cost of at least £125.

For a base level VitalityHeatlth member, it is pretty useless – a 5% saving once a year on a short-haul flight will save you £10 at most.

Vitality also gives discounts on Mr & Mrs Smith hotel bookings, although they no longer have a Eurostar partnership.  There are also plenty of other lifestyle partners which offer discounts or deals, including free Starbucks drinks – a full list is here.


How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (October 2024)

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.

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

40,000 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, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

10,000 points bonus – plus an extra 500 points for our readers 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

Up to 80,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

Get up to 40,000 points as a sign-up offer 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.

Comments (31)

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

  • Alex W says:

    If we buy a joint life insurance policy, would both me and Mrs W get the discount on BA flights?

  • Will says:

    Vitality isn’t bad if….

    They didn’t hike their premiums up a ridiculous amount each year
    They didn’t have free coffee from a rancid coffee chain
    Virgin & Nuffield were consistent with their gym offerings.

    The savings on flights at peak times is a good perk if you manage to get to Platinum which takes a while even if you’re very active.

    • K says:

      Their whole business model encourages you to keep active and fit. If you get anything less Han gold or platinum, yes, premiums shoot up. But if you achieve platinum which is pretty easy to get within 6 months of your first year, then retain it forever (bit like BA tiers) then the benefits (if used) are greater than the premiums. I keep a spreadsheet and my premiums are less than the benefits I get. Yes, it’s rancid coffee, but does the job to boost your energy levels before a workout, you get 50%off trainers at the till, so no fiddly voucher coses. Mr and Mrs Smith 25%off is a great saving. 25% Ocado discount off healthy foods (nuts, veg, fruits etc) plus free delivery, 40% off ba flights. Free Apple Watch. Free cinema tickets every week, plus 50% bikes. Of course, worh shopping around for competitive premiums, but I found them very competitive.

      But like Avios. Not for everyone. But for quite a few savvy ones. Once you reach platinum it’s likely you will stay platinum.

      • Will says:

        I can assure you we did keep fit, reached platinum & the premium went up quite a bit. Given we’re early 30s I was thought it was too much and way beyond inflation so quit. Yeah the perks are nice but can live without and will review

        • EOC says:

          Still s good deal if you have gym membership. My 50pct off at Virgin is worth £450. If you’re going to have some insurance that meets their categories and use /gym/BA/ cinema/ Smith hotels etc it’s the best deal in town surely?

      • Alex Sm says:

        You don’t need a spreadsheet – they sent you emails every 6 month with half-yearly and yearly savings. Here is my the most recent one:

        Your Vitality Statement
        30th September 2017 – 4th August 2018

        YOUR VITALITY SAVINGS FOR THIS PERIOD £1,547.98

        Virgin Active gym membership
        £482.22

        Sweatshop
        £95.00

        Healthy food at Ocado
        £14.90

        Cineworld cinema tickets
        £45.36

        Vue cinema tickets
        £567.00

        Starbucks
        £174.30

        British Airways
        £169.20

        • K says:

          if only I’d get those emails. They cannot figure it out why I don’t get them. My O/H gets them, but not me. 🙁

  • Louise says:

    I don’t have life insurance but have our mortgage insurance through vitality.
    We have just reached platinum, haven’t considered the BA flights yet, so thanks for the article Rob.

    Our premium is £37 a month but with the £250 cash back, reduced gym cost and free coffee and cinema I’ve been pleased so far

  • Alex Sm says:

    My partner and I use it quite extensively (we are on a joint insurance plan partially paid by my employer if it is important) – to get a 40% discount of FULL price of the ticket at least twice a year is NOT peanuts. We are saving about £150-200pp annually – peanuts or not peanuts? Very useful for buying expensive tickets to go home for Christmas or if there is a last-minute personal trip and you don’t want to pay premium prices. Often makes otherwise highly unattractive BA suddenly competitive – a wise move by BA to get in partnership with Vitality I guess…

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

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