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NEW: earn Avios and British Airways tier points on one particular KLM route

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One of the quirks of British Airways Executive Club is that you can earn Avios and BA tier points when flying on Emirates.  Very few people know this.  All you need to do is book on a Qantas codeshare and ensure that your boarding pass has a QF flight number and not an EK flight number.

Not every Emirates route is a Qantas codeshare, but most destinations eastwards are included.  In this article (click) I show how my wife earned BA tier points flying Emirates to Singapore using Qantas flight codes.

There is now a new way of exploiting this trick.

Qantas KLM

From 31st October, Qantas has been codesharing with KLM on its flights from Amsterdam to Singapore.  In return, KLM has added its flight codes to Qantas services from Singapore to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

If you book Amsterdam to Singapore on KLM, but using the Qantas flight code, you can credit it to British Airways Executive Club and earn tier points and Avios.

Qantas is the ONLY oneworld airline which works this way.  You do NOT receive Avios or tier points if you book a codeshare flight with any other oneworld airline if the actual flight is operated by a non-oneworld carrier.

The carve-out for Qantas is outlined on this page of ba.com.  In small print under Qantas it says:

Executive Club Members can collect Avios on:

  • Flights marketed and operated by Qantas or Qantas Airlines affiliates under the QF designated code.
  • Flights marketed by Qantas but operated by Jetstar booked as oneworld fare in L class only.
  • Flights marketed by Qantas or Qantas Airlines affiliates and operated by Qantas, a Qantas affiliate, BA, another oneworld carrier, or another third party under a codeshare agreement.

There is no similar wording for any other partner.

You can find out more about the codeshare on klm.com here.

How to earn Flying Blue miles from UK credit cards

How to earn Flying Blue miles from UK credit cards (April 2024)

Air France and KLM do not have a UK Flying Blue credit card.  However, you can earn Flying Blue miles by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards.

These cards earn Membership Rewards points:

Membership Rewards points convert at 1:1 into Flying Blue miles which is an attractive rate.  The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, which converts to 1 Flying Blue mile. The Gold card earns double points (2 per £1) on all flights you charge to it.

Category

Air France KLM and Flying Blue

Comments (108)

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

  • Genghis says:
    6 Nov6 November 04:48

    OT Baby on the Babybus
    Has anyone taken a baby on the A318 LCY-JFK service? I can’t find whether there’s a bassinet seat? If there isn’t, how did you find the experience?

    • rj24 says:
      6 Nov6 November 08:54

      I was reading up on bassinets earlier. Pretty sure I read that this is the only BA flight without a bassinet. Will try and find the article.

      • Genghis says:
        6 Nov6 November 09:32

        That would be really appreciated. I can’t find much info. Karfa’s review on FT has pics of all rows on the port side of the aircraft but not all.

        • roberto says:
          6 Nov6 November 10:04

          If its going to be anywhere its row one I guess however those seats are not blocked at anytime leading me to believe that there is probably no bassinet.

        • Cormac says:
          6 Nov6 November 13:05

          I was on it a couple of years ago on my way to Hawaii and can’t remember a bassinet.
          It was a nice flight, full as they had cancelled the earlier departure. I was concerned with possible turbulence in such a small plane – but didn’t experience any. Dropping down in Shannon with such few people was a breeze for border patrol – the airport was practially empty. Landing domestic in USA is a massive plus. Service was good, and it felt very roomy.

        • Genghis says:
          6 Nov6 November 13:29

          Thanks guys

    • Louise says:
      6 Nov6 November 12:49

      How old will baby be genghis? I’ve flown business and first with 12 week old and at 7 months and both times have slept on me/ taken up one seat in first whilst napping. But understand it would mean separate meal times if you did that on babybus

      • Genghis says:
        6 Nov6 November 13:29

        Potentially 7 months. May just go 744 in 64AB but I’ve never been on the baby bus so wanted to experience it. Or use up my VS miles. Not in a rush to decide as there’s always availability. Need to get CPT booked in, however, come Feb.

        • CDB says:
          6 Nov6 November 14:01

          I would avoid VS with a baby given the seat and lack of privacy, much better to get a pair in CW. Have had some very helpful crew on BA whilst traveling with our now 18 month old. Upstairs also good with baby given reduced noise, did A380 to Hong Kong and that also has more space by the stairs good for getting baby to sleep!

        • Louise says:
          6 Nov6 November 16:23

          We did VS upper when he was 12 months old too and it was OK but night return was very cramped but he slept well (I didn’t!)

          Incidentally we are flying to SAN for Xmas and have booked 64ab and he will be 18 months so won’t fit in bassinet but husband wants the upper deck experience (especially good we haven’t had to pay for seat selection!)

        • Chris says:
          6 Nov6 November 17:11

          Did 744 upper (I guess 64, we took the row) on way to IAD in December and it was ok(delay on ground notwithstanding) but the bassinet is pretty small. Ok for a 7mth old I’m sure but no jse for a 1 year old I just reclined my seat and say elsewhere

        • Alex W says:
          6 Nov6 November 17:51

          I just did 10 hours in VS Upper with a 7 month old baby, it was great. Much better than BA. He was able to sit up in the ottoman pedestal thingy and strapped in he was secure and could play around without falling out. There was also enough room for him to sleep next to me. I thought the bed was way more comfy than BA cramped world.

      • Genghis says:
        6 Nov6 November 18:45

        @Alex W I take my hat off to you with all that travelling. We don’t plan on being as ambitious but certainly going to go places. It’s interesting that you found Virgin UC great compared to others. Decisions decisions.

    • Nick_C says:
      6 Nov6 November 14:40

      Bear in mind that when you leave the plane at Shannon, you have to take all your belongings with you, so you will be traipsing to security and the Immigration Hall with your hand luggage as well as the baby. BA1 is a great flight though, and there were only 20 of us on board when I did it in May.

      • laineyling says:
        6 Nov6 November 15:26

        The bassinet will probably be too small for a 7 month. They offer a chair but depending whether your baby dislike being constrained you may end up giving up your seat as a previous poster commented (we did this Lon-Sin, and Hkg-Lon with an 8 month baby who didn’t like the chair)… wasn’t much fun.
        Also if you find your baby has a schedule by then (as in likes to sleep solidly for 11-12hrs at night) they will struggle with jet lag. In general babies adjust ~1 hr per day, as a result we have decided to forego taking our baby to NY with us for a long weekend in May as we think he will just be unhappy with the time difference. You can’t stop the babies adjusting either (!), we didn’t want the baby to adjust the full 7 hr difference, we were planning on stopping at about 3 hr difference, but he adjusted himself, and we had 6.30am starts on holiday…

        • Bizarre says:
          6 Nov6 November 15:33

          A long weekend to NY with a baby? Is this a modern parenting phenomenon?

          To even contemplate…..

          Talk about fun for no-one.

        • Lady London says:
          6 Nov6 November 17:53

          + 1. You were very brave.

        • Alex W says:
          6 Nov6 November 17:55

          Bah humbug! We are in Hawaii with our 7 month old in the middle of our RTW trip for 3 weeks. Next stop Tokyo, then Thailand. There has been lots of waking up in the night, but hey we are used to that and the 6.30am starts are par for the course. It has been great.

        • Shoestring says:
          6 Nov6 November 18:16

          We travelled a lot with our 3 when they were tots – NZ 3x & Thailand 2x being the LH destinations – kids were anything from 1 month to 4 yrs out, 5 yrs back (NZ). (They’re spaced out in the pattern 0, 2, 4 and not all 3 were born when we started the cycle.)

          Just not a massive problem, overall. Sure, some crying at times but it’s public transport after all and we just quietened them down.

          The only unbearable one for all concerned was in Europe when my daughter was about 4 – she’d been asleep, I had to wake her up to land, her ears were hurting I guess & she just screamed & screamed incessantly. I did my best to quieten her, to no avail – I guess the screaming lasted a full 10 minutes, much to my embarrassment (I was on my own with the 3 kids). To my great relief, once we touched down and were getting off, one of my seat neighbours came up to me and said ‘that must have been tough, well done for doing your best’ etc! Priceless bit of support.

  • Paul says:
    6 Nov6 November 05:30

    I have, unfortunately, never seen a case where the QF marketed fare was cheaper than, or even within the ballpark of, the EK marketed one for an EK operated flight.

    • Sam Goss says:
      6 Nov6 November 07:19

      Not sure if it is still the case but Expedia used to be able to book these on the QF code for the same price as EK. QF website always priced higher.

    • Thomas Howard says:
      6 Nov6 November 11:37

      I did a random check on Kayak and to Singapore via DXB the QF flight was about £4 more in economy, probably well worth the 80 tier points.

    • Alastair says:
      6 Nov6 November 12:13

      Has anyone had experience with, say as a BA Silver, they’ve been able to book a QF ticketed EK flight and had access to the QF lounge at T3?

  • Christophe says:
    6 Nov6 November 06:46

    The KL/QF codeshare agreement only allows you to earn QF points on a KLM route when flying from AMS to Australia with a stop in SIN. It is not possible to book a QF marketed flight using a KL operated flight to fly AMS-SIN-AMS.
    QF has a similar code share agrement with AF which allows passengers to fly between CDG and both SIN and HKG using a QF marketed/AF operated flight between CDG and Asia when flyng down under

    • Max says:
      6 Nov6 November 09:36

      Not tested, but according to another website it is between AMS and Singapore on KLM

    • Nick says:
      6 Nov6 November 10:07

      Correct. The Emirates flights are different because they operate under ‘joint venture’ rules which mean you can book using either code as revenue is shared regardless. The QF/KL arrangement is a traditional codeshare agreement which requires a through itinerary. It’s the same as BA codes on AS (for example).

    • Lady London says:
      6 Nov6 November 17:58

      @Christophe I hardly dare to ask. But does that mean you could also earn Avios points on an AF flight?

      • Bob says:
        6 Nov6 November 20:42

        Probably yes if you have A QF flight number.
        I guess it should work the same.

  • Shoestring says:
    6 Nov6 November 06:57

    How do you actually elect a codeshare? Can you do it yourself online through the standard booking process? Or is it a phone booking job and you say to the agent: pls book me on the QF flight code not the KLM one?

    • Max says:
      6 Nov6 November 08:18

      Book on Qantas website

      • Lady London says:
        6 Nov6 November 18:00

        But agent can do it too if you phone. Just ask agent to book “the QF half of the flight”.

        When you get the booking confirmation always check the flight number you expected to be QF, if a QF flight number. Sometimes an agent can accidentally still book the other half of the flight.

  • WilcoRoger says:
    6 Nov6 November 07:10

    Re Icelandair (FI) – you can earn redeemable points on the Finnair Plus programme on FI flights. Earning buckets depend on route, so you must book carefully. E.g booking ANC-KEF-HEL, the same bucket was earning for ANC-KEF but not for KEF-HEL.

  • Roger says:
    6 Nov6 November 07:30

    OT_ Amex Travel offer
    Has anyone used Amex Travel to book cruise and got the £200 back on £600+ spend?

    • Nik says:
      6 Nov6 November 08:02

      Yes I have and got the money paid back promptly too. Great offer don’t miss it if you’ve got it!

      • Roger says:
        6 Nov6 November 08:12

        Any pointers for newbie cruise?
        Looking at short 2/3 night cruise over may be easter next year.

        • Max says:
          6 Nov6 November 08:21

          Whereabouts? I’ve cruised is most parts of the world.

          I would perhaps recommend out of Barcelona as you do not have the Bay of Biscay to worry about.

          If you have kids then perhaps Royal Caribbean – if not, then look at something like Celebrity.

        • Obi says:
          6 Nov6 November 08:39

          Avoid P&O! They are the BA of the seas.

      • Barry says:
        6 Nov6 November 08:31

        Interesting! Thought the offer wasn’t valid on cruises according to the T&Cs. This opens up a load more possibilities now. Thanks.

  • Henn says:
    6 Nov6 November 07:47

    Wow’s aircraft are all leased, but there is no way these would be worth $2 billion.

    • Rob says:
      6 Nov6 November 08:29

      Depends how old they are. List price of an A330 new is $240m.

      • David says:
        6 Nov6 November 10:16

        Has anyone ever bought a commercial aircraft at “list price” though? I thought they were the same as the DFS “was” price, so that the salesmen can make you think you’re getting a massive discount…

      • Henk says:
        6 Nov6 November 12:24

        They are obviously not new – average age is 3.4 years . And list price is a figment of the imagination. Plus they lease all their aircraft – they do not own a single one. But if they had owned them the indicative market value of the WOW fleet is less than half of the figure you quote.

        • Chris says:
          6 Nov6 November 17:14

          But still more than £18million you’ll agree

        • Henk says:
          6 Nov6 November 21:13

          Yes, more than $18 million. But since Wow does not own any of the aircraft it’s a moot point. Whoever buys the airline does not buy the aircraft, but just inherits the leases.

        • Shoestring says:
          6 Nov6 November 21:18

          Presumably the leases can be sold on/ have a value

          • Rob says:
            6 Nov6 November 21:26

            I am guessing it is like a shop lease – it can be ‘in the money’and sellable (if the lease costs are less than you’d pay in the market today) or ‘out of the money’ (if current market deals are cheaper).

  • Andy S says:
    6 Nov6 November 08:10

    OT: Can someone explain how virgin tier points work please ? After my last flight in september, I had 300 TP and my account said I need another 100 to get to silver by the end of February 2019. I have a flight in feb that will get 100 TP. But since then and today, TP have reset to zero, and I now need 400 by end of feb! Why would they reset half way though the membership year ?

    • David says:
      6 Nov6 November 09:00

      Have you dropped down to ‘red’ from a previously higher level?
      Red is rolling last 12/13 months I believe. So, I’d assume your 300 are now over a year old.
      From what you report, i.e. having a named year end date, I’m wondering if you have just dropped from silver.

      Other option would be to query if you are definitely talking about a year end date, and not a card expiry date.

    • Oh Matron! says:
      6 Nov6 November 09:19

      There’s an issue. Mine have reset to zero also.

    • Oh Matron! says:
      6 Nov6 November 10:04

      From Virgin:

      I can confirm that we have an error on our website at the moment where member’s accounts are showing as no tier points where this is totally not the case, please do not worry as we are currently in the process of trying to rectify this.

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