Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

The British Airways repainted BOAC Boeing 747 aircraft takes off

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BA’s repainted BOAC Boeing 747 has taken off.

British Airways 747 in BOAC livery

British Airways launched its first repainted aircraft yesterday, one of a handful of classic liveries that will be applied to selected planes this year as part of BA’s 100th birthday celebrations.

British Airways 747 in BOAC livery

It uses the livery of the British Overseas Airways Corporation.

This is one of two airlines that merged in 1974 to create the current British Airways.  This livery was used between 1964 and 1974.

British Airways 747 in BOAC livery

I have slotted photos from the launch yesterday throughout this article.

The plane will retain the paintwork until it is retired in 2023.  Its first flight will be BA117 to New York today.

British Airways 747 in BOAC livery

And, it has to be said, it looks good.  Given the improvements in painting technology in the last 50 years, I am sure that the livery never looked as impressive when it was originally used.  Click on any image to enlarge.


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

50,000 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 (159)

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

  • Nick M says:

    OT – I know there are occasionally offers for Bicester village… are there any special deals on at the moment or just the usual mile/£1?

  • Louie says:

    OT: Just taken out a Virgin credit card. Do they have standardised statement dates (in which case what are they) or will it depend on when I applied/was accepted/first used it? Got a low credit limit and trying to work out how to juggle payments….

    • paulm says:

      if you call them, they will let you change statement date and will give you some options.

  • Anna says:

    Very OT but I’ve been looking for a new wine merchant I can earn avios with following the demise of Tesco wine. I placed an order with Majestic yesterday afternoon and have just had a call from my nearest branch (a good 10 miles away so worth getting it delivered) and they will deliver it this morning! Great service, now just need to check out the actual wine…

    • Darren says:

      OT? That’s very on topic for me 🙂

      I’ve been trying a few different places recently focussing on Italian wine, Majestic Gavi and Fiano were ok but the Verdicchio was poor. Aldi, yes I know, had a lovely Gavi in last month but it’s o/o/s now.

      • Darren says:

        Actually it was Lidl, same difference.

        • Alex says:

          Wine Society never failed me. Tried Majestic Wine once – OKish. Avios should be the last thing on your mind when choosing good wine, me thinks.

        • Anna says:

          Obviously the wine is the most important factor but it’s not difficult to combine that with points earning! Hopefully I’ve now got 2 cases of decent red, 300 avios, 300 SPG/Marriott points and £100 towards my SPG sign up bonus. This is the HFP ethos, lol.

        • Shoestring says:

          @Alex – but 3000 Virgin miles is not to be sniffed at (first case, thereafter 250)

        • Alan says:

          LOL I’m sure that took a lot of convincing 😉

    • Shoestring says:

      Just did a test buy & you *can* input your Virgin membership number for 3000/250 miles

    • Anna says:

      Laithwaites always seem to know that I’ve been a previous customer at some point and refuse me the best deals! I haven’t ventured into Virgin territory yet…

      • Shoestring says:

        Just used a new email address for a couple of cases, same old name & address so they’re not that bothered

    • Crafty says:

      You will all learn the same lesson I did, that buying wine on the basis of earning points is a huge false economy.

      Wine Society.

  • LewisB says:

    OT – I cancelled my Amex gold on New Years Day but had an email today reminding me about an offer I hadn’t used on the card. This has never happened before, does anybody else get these?

  • Rhys says:

    The best thing about the new livery is that it is clean…so many of BA’s 747s with normal livery look like they haven’t had a wash in decades!

  • Tom H says:

    Has anyone actually received a refund from Curve yet?

    I emailed to cancel. Received a reply after a few days asking if I was sure. Replied in the affirmative, and followed-up again but have heard nothing for ten days.

    • GoldmanSachs says:

      Just wait it out, I got a refund of remaining balance over the course of 2 weeks

    • Chris says:

      Yes I did. Originally got an email saying they were ‘looking into it’. I replied and reminded them of the statutory cooling off period and it was refunded the same day

  • Shoestring says:

    O/T Europcar £1 – just booked a £1 rental Cornwall—>LHR, seems to be good availability.

    Just remember to cancel it 48hrs before booking if you don’t need it – they say 24hrs but their day begins at midnight +1 second the day before so you need to allow 2 days.

    • Alan says:

      Are these on their standard site or do you need to go to a particular landing page?

    • Mark2 says:

      I have looked into this. It seems like a bargain but there never seem to be any cars to bring back.

      • the_real_a says:

        You are likely returning other peoples “one ways” or fresh off the boat from delivery in Plymouth 🙂

      • Shoestring says:

        Always plenty from Cornwall! 🙂

        Where are you, Mark2? – as there seem to be plenty all around the UK

  • Andrew says:

    OT: Does anyone know if flights booked with the Iberia 9000 bonus Avios can be changed now? I seem to recall changes post 1 December 2018 weren’t permitted but can’t find anything. Has anyone changed one recently? Thanks!

    • Andrew says:

      This was an Iberia metal booking by the way, not a partner booking.

      • AndyW says:

        Would love to know this too. Need to push dates out. Been putting off the call knowing what Iberia call centres are like.

    • Shoestring says:

      You can change the date for the same route no problem (on the phone), people have done it on FT

      Cancelling and hoping to get Avios back to re-use on a different Avios redemption – I think that’s when you stand to lose your Avios

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

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