Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

ENDING SOON: The British Airways Luxury Flights and Holidays sale

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We wanted to give another shout-out today to the current British Airways sale.  It was extended until 26th March but that still only gives you three days to book.  BA is offering savings on both premium flights and holiday packages which include a First or Business Class flight.

There are some decent prices here and you have now until Tuesday to commit.  If you are thinking of booking something for later in the year then this weekend is a good time to think about it.

Remember that any bookings you make will earn you double Avios in the new British Airways promotion launched this week.  You MUST register for this offer before booking – registration can be done here.

You can see all deals available here. This article focuses on the flight-only offers.

First and Business Class flight-only deals

You can find a number of good sale fares flying First or Business Class to Vancouver, Lima and Dubai amongst other places.

Here are some ‘lead in’ prices for Club World or Club Europe return flights:

North America

Fort Lauderdale – from £1,497 return in Club World

Nashville – from £1,395 return in Club World

New York – from £1,283 return in Club World

Orlando – from £1,496 return in Club World

Tampa – from £1,497 return in Club World

Vancouver – from £1,378 return in Club World

Latin America and Caribbean

Buenos Aires – from £1,849 return in Club World

Cancun – from £1,594 return in Club World

Grand Cayman – from £1,799 return in Club World

Lima – £1,695 return in Club World

Nassau – from £1,799 return in Club World

Rio de Janeiro – from £1,799 return in Club World

Santiago – from £1,999 return in Club World and from £3,499 return in First

Sao Paulo – from £1,799 return in Club World and from £2,799 return in First

Europe

Athens – from £199 each way in Club Europe

Barcelona – from £119 each way in Club Europe

Basel – from £118 each way in Club Europe

Belfast – from £87 each way in Club Europe

Billund – from £98 each way in Club Europe

Budapest- from £160 each way in Club Europe

Copenhagen – from £139 each way in Club Europe

Gothenburg – from £109 each way in Club Europe

Hamburg – from £109 each way in Club Europe

Krakow – from £140 each way in Club Europe

Lisbon – from £139 each way in Club Europe

Marseille – from £119 each way in Club Europe

Paris – from £99 each way in Club Europe

South and Central Asia

Bengaluru – from £2,130 return in Club World

Mumbai – from £2,366 return in First

Middle East and Africa

Abu Dhabi – from £1,448 return in Club World

Amman – from £1,309 return in Club World

Dubai – from £1,698 return in Club World

Johannesburg – from £1,985 return in Club World

Nairobi – from £1,791 in Club World and from £2,416 in First

Far East and Australia

Hong Kong – from £1,999 return in Club World

Sydney – from £3,794 return in Club World

Tokyo – from £4,298 return in First

You will typically need to stay for a week or over a Saturday night to get the prices above.

Lima at £1695 is a good fare given the distance and the fact that this isn’t a route which is often heavily discounted.

Barcelona at £119 each way is a good way to pick up 80 BA tier points and get a well-priced short break. We reviewed the impressive 5-star Hotel Arts (managed by The Ritz-Carlton and part of Marriott Bonvoy) recently – see here.

Belfast, Luxembourg or Inverness at around £170 return seem the cheapest way to pick up 80 tier points if you want a quick mileage run. Malta, Catania and Funchal are 160 tier points return routes and are £240-£250 return.

If you are looking at Dubai, note that Abu Dhabi is £250 cheaper and only a £40 taxi ride away.

‘Part cash, part Avios’ is available with these sale fares but do the maths and work out the ‘pence per point’ before you book. If it is substantially under 1p then you may get a better deal by paying 100% cash in this sale and saving your Avios for a 100% Avios redemption in the future.

The BA luxury flights and holidays promo page is here.

Remember that you need to book by midnight on Tuesday 26th March.  You also need to remember to register here for the new ‘double Avios’ offer BEFORE bookings.

To maximise your miles when paying, your best bet is the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card which earns double Avios (3 per £1) when you book at ba.com or via BA Holidays.  You do not get double Avios if you book with the free British Airways American Express card

Another option is American Express Preferred Rewards Gold which offers double points – 2 per £1 – when you book flight tickets directly with an airline.


How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 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

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 £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 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

Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 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.

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 sign-up 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.

Comments (8)

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

  • Tom C says:

    I’m unsure if it’s due to the sale, but we got 2 x F tickets to JNB in December for £5.5k, which I consider very reasonable. Last year we were there and it was almost double the price.

  • Zain says:

    Has anyone from the UK successfully registered for the double Avios promo? I keep getting a ‘you are already registered for this promotion’ message which leads me to believe this is for US-based BAEC members

    • TGLoyalty says:

      Yes. Suspect you are registered like it says.

      • Alan says:

        Yep – first time around it didn’t seem to give me any confirmation. Tried again and received confirmation already registered.

  • Zapper says:

    One business class transatlantic flight that I was tracking increased by 25% when the sale started. Is it likely to return to its original price any time soon?

    • Peter 64K says:

      Depends on how close to departure it is. The closer it gets (especially within a month) the higher the price tends to go. 3-6 months out, or a sale, is often the sweet spot.

    • Amit says:

      Not sure whether to bite the bullet or wait till the next sale. Currently getting price of around £1700 in J to the west coast in October which seems like a good price

      • Peter 64K says:

        If it is a price you are happy with then it’s worth going for it. It may go a little cheaper but it may not. At least you get peace of mind and a price you don’t mind paying.

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

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