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Air Belgium to operate Toronto flights for British Airways

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As British Airways continues to struggle with the reliability of Boeing 787 fleet, Air Belgium has been called up to take on additional routes.

At present Air Belgium is operating certain Dubai services for BA.

In April and May it will operate one of the Newark services.  From 9th June to 17th August, Air Belgium will operate one of BA’s two daily flights to Toronto.

Flights BA92 and BA93 will be operated by Air Belgium’s ex-Finnair A340.  There are differences of opinion about this aircraft in Business Class – some people complain that it is worn out, but others like the ex-Finnair seating which is seen as preferable to Club World, as the photo below shows.

First Class passengers will be downgraded, although they will retain Concorde Room access and receive First Class Avios and tier points.  No compensation is due except for any fare difference.  Alternatively you can switch to the 2nd daily service.

The same goes for Premium Economy / World Traveller Plus passengers who will be downgraded to Economy / World Traveller or can switch aircraft.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

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.

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits 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

50,000 points when you sign-up 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.

Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (160)

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

  • TGLoyalty says:
    15 Mar15 March 09:30

    Out of interest I would have thought you would both be ambs if not just for the value you can get out of the 2-4-1 paid stays and the 10% rebates.

    • Rob says:
      15 Mar15 March 10:19

      My wife just gets AMB when we need it, which isn’t that often. Last time was 2017 when we were in HK. We don’t do weekend breaks outside the UK because, with the kids in school Fri and Mon, the logistics don’t work any longer unless it is to visit friends. This means we’d only use the AMB voucher if it was part of a longer holiday which is rarely the case.

  • marcw says:
    15 Mar15 March 09:43

    You can only used the card on flights departing Spain and need to be IB Group operated. Reading their T&Cs answers (usually) your questions.

  • Memesweeper says:
    15 Mar15 March 09:47

    Hilton Amsterdam is another great hotel just outside the centre. Redeemed there to the delight of the family – top floor lounge is really strange (in a good way).

  • SimonW says:
    15 Mar15 March 10:10

    O/T – Any ideas of which lounge at T3 is best to head to before 2pm Miami flight in CW. Cathay better than Qantas?? With my wife and kids.

    • Michael says:
      15 Mar15 March 10:18

      They say Cathay First lounge is the best in the whole of Heathrow (I’ve not been in). I have been in the Qantas one however and the gin and cocktail bars are worth popping in for a quick drink.

    • john says:
      15 Mar15 March 11:42

      Could try both Qantas and Cathay. Assuming you are only getting in through CW ticket then you would only be able to access the Cathay Business lounge rather than their First lounge which has a decent restaurant type service. Qantas only have one lounge which covers first + business so is perhaps a little better than your average Business class lounge.

      Both would be better than the BA Club lounge.

    • SimonW says:
      15 Mar15 March 11:47

      Thanks chaps

  • alan d craig says:
    15 Mar15 March 10:14

    20 minutes to RAI, your a quick walker sir.

  • Tim H says:
    15 Mar15 March 10:16

    Thanks guys. I have Gold Card already. Just looking to find ways to maximise points as I am about to move and will be spending quite a lot over next few weeks. I was originally attracted to BA Premium Plus Amex card for the 2 4 1 voucher but not such a big fan now I know can only be used on BA operated flights.

    • Michael says:
      15 Mar15 March 10:19

      Depends what you want to redeem for in the end really. Stick with your Gold MR’s if you want a fluid currency.

      • Alex says:
        15 Mar15 March 10:33

        BAPP, on another hand, gives you 1.5 avios/£.

        • Tim H says:
          15 Mar15 March 13:02

          I am trying to organise a Qatar Business Class redemption so I think I might still go for the BAPP as I will be able to use the additional points I earn towards from spending and the sign up bonus on other partner airlines flights won’t I?

          I am just about to move house so there are a lot of things i need to purchase. I think ikt makes sense to get 1.5 rather than 1 avios per £ when I buy the big stuff. I’ll get the 2 4 1 voucher that I probably won’t use after a couple of months and then I’ll cancel.

          Thanks again people.

          Thanks

    • bsuije says:
      15 Mar15 March 14:17

      Yes, you will be able to use the Avios on partner airlines, but that may not always be the best option because partner redemptions are always at “peak” Avios pricing. There is an Avios Redemption University series running at the moment – have a look at that for a quick briefing on all things Avios.

      The value of the BA 2-4-1 voucher varies. I think people use it either for one of the longer Europe routes (where taxes are capped) or for a First redemption (high taxes, but get a First experience and the Avios saving is huge). But if you are going to be spending a lot, then you might as well get it. Plus, the Avios will be useful – I don’t think I’ve paid for a single BA flight within Europe in the last 5 years thanks to Avios!

      Lastly, as you specifically mention Qatar Airways, just be aware that Qatar runs some pretty decent business class offers from time to time (though admittedly these have dried up recently). The only snag is that these fares are, to a very large extent, for departures from outside the UK, e.g. Scandinavia. If you don’t mind the additional travel and transfer time, then buying a cash ticket, which will earn you Avios and tier points, can be a better deal than using Avios to book a redemption.

  • Gary Morris says:
    15 Mar15 March 10:33

    I stayed at the Intercontinental in Mendoza, Argentina this week – no ambassador status, but Spire Elite. Stayed there on points and got room upgrade and free breakfast for two, which was pretty good.

  • Graeme says:
    15 Mar15 March 10:46

    OT: I’ve got an Amex plat. Do I need to wait for an offer to appear or email to get the bonus points for taking a supplementary card out? Last time I had one, got an email a few days after.

    TIA

    • fivebobbill says:
      15 Mar15 March 11:33

      No, I’ve never had to wait. Once my card has been registered and I’ve set up/linked to an online account, just go to “Account Management – Add Someone To Your Account”, and add a supplementary. Assuming it’s your first supplementary it’ll come free and you’ll get the card & bonus points within the week

    • Tom W says:
      15 Mar15 March 12:00

      Added my partner to my account, have been charged £45 but have received the 3,000 miles. I haven’t had any supplementary holders before, should this have been free?

      • Grant says:
        15 Mar15 March 12:11

        A £45 charge sounds like its a second supp card on a Gold account. See the ‘important information’ section of the link posted above.

      • Tom W says:
        15 Mar15 March 12:12

        Great thanks. I’ll query that then as it was definitely the first supp card. Didn’t receive any additional card or miles otherwise!

      • MarkH says:
        15 Mar15 March 18:07

        Must be your second supp as first is free.

        I’d simply cancel it for a pro-rated refund. You’ll keep the bonus points.

        Prob not worth the hassle querying it for a couple of quid.

    • john says:
      15 Mar15 March 12:33

      It says you can get 99 complimentary supplementary cards for the SPG card but does anyone know how much it is per card for more? 😉

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