Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Exceptional British Airways Club World and First Class flight deals if you can fly very soon

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I don’t want to suggest that the threat of the British Airways pilots strike has left forward bookings in premium cabins looking a little thin, but British Airways has launched an exceptionally good sale in Club World and First Class.

When BA runs a great sale, it is usually for travel many, many months in advance.

Not this one.

British Airways £2019 business class sale

If you have a long-haul Avios redemption booked before the end of September, you should do the maths and decide whether to cancel and replace it with a cash flight.

You must book by 19th August and travel between 19th August and 30th September.  This means, if you are able to squeeze in a last-minute getaway – and you are confident that the pilots strike will be settled – you can get a great deal.

You need to travel with a companion to get these deals.  There is nothing here for the solo traveller I’m afraid.

The following routes are £2019 for two people in Club World:

  • New York
  • Miami
  • Las Vegas
  • New Orleans
  • Philadelphia
  • Washington
  • Dubai
  • Abu Dhabi

If you can dig a little deeper, we have:

  • £2399 for two – Dallas, Atlanta, Austin, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto
  • £2998 for two – Beijing, Hong Kong, Bangkok
  • £2999 for two – Mumbai, Chennai, Lagos, Abuja
  • £2305 for two – Antigua
  • £2332 for two – Barbados
  • £2399 for two – Toronto
  • £2998 for two – Bangkok, Beijing
  • £3019 for two – Accra
  • £3998 for two – Tokyo

There are also some Club Europe deals if you look at the sale page of ba.com, although nothing to get too excited about.

British Airways BA A350 in flight

For an even better deal, take a look at the BA Holidays website here.

Deals include:

  • Dubai: Club World flights plus three nights at a 4* hotel from £1069 per person
  • New York: Club World flights plus three nights at a 4* hotel from £1199 per person
  • Las Vegas: Club World flights plus three nights at a 4* hotel from £1149 per person
  • Dominican Republic: Club World flights plus seven nights all-inclusive at a 4* hotel from just £1359 per person

And in First Class …..

BA has highlighted the following – I’m not sure what other routes may be available but it is worth checking all the routes with Club World deals listed above:

  • £3019 for two – New York
  • £3019 for two – Miami

How should you pay?

When it comes to paying, remember that you earn double Avios (3 per £1) on ba.com transactions charged to the British Airways Premium Plus American Express card.

Alternatively, you get double points (2 per £1) on all airline transactions charged to the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card.

How to book

There is a special page on ba.com dedicated to this sale which you should check out here.   Don’t forget to compare prices with the BA Holidays offers here.

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

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.

Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (143)

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

  • janie says:
    13 Aug13 August 08:49

    I hope there’s still going to be a ‘proper’ sale on soon? So far recently we’ve had that awful centenary sale and then this one which is very limited.

    • Spurs Debs says:
      13 Aug13 August 09:00

      Very limited if only one of you.

      • Lady London says:
        13 Aug13 August 10:16

        Is it even legal to only offer to sell 2 tickets at a time in the offer? Surely they should be obliged to sell one ticket at half the combined price? This discriminates against non married people.

        • Aslan says:
          13 Aug13 August 10:39

          Are all non-married people single travellers?

          • Julian says:
            13 Aug13 August 10:50

            No obviously a huge number of non married people are still part of a couple but the offer doesn’t discriminate them.

            It only discriminates against single people who are not part of a couple and like to travel on their own. Of course BA stupidly thinks that all single travellers in Club or First Class are “business people” and so that is why they must be charged far more per single flight booked and flown……………………….

          • TGLoyalty says:
            13 Aug13 August 14:31

            not ll couple travellers are actually couples (in that sense either)

            Siblings, Family, Friends, colleagues etc

        • Richmond says:
          13 Aug13 August 10:54

          You mean: discriminate against solo travellers? Which I agree and find all these promotions for 2 quite annoying. But if airlines don’t want my custom, I will just save money and spend it somewhere where it’s wanted.

  • Peter says:
    13 Aug13 August 09:06

    So I have 4 Business/First combo tickets booked for Dubai in Sep Costing 236K Avios & circa 2000GBP (Using BA 2-4-1 voucher)

    I did the maths and I will be getting 700GBP worth of Avios if I cancel and book with this offer, although I will lose the use of the 2-4-1 vouchers which will expire as well as the flexibility redemption bookings offer (i don’t mind).

    I wonder though, if I book this offer and BALPA announced a strike, will BA issue full refund?

    • Lady London says:
      13 Aug13 August 10:18

      Yes and previous practice has been reported as you would get the avios and tier points as well.

  • Nick says:
    13 Aug13 August 09:37

    If anyone finds a TP-heavy possibility (e.g. an indirect flight to the US) with a week away and wants to team up, please do post. I’m a solo traveller needing points and would very happily join up to partake!

  • Mike P says:
    13 Aug13 August 09:40

    I had a work trip booked to JFK in September in CW. BA metal all the way through but ticketed via AA. I phoned them this morning to see how much it would cost to upgrade both legs (LHR – JFK – LHR) to F; answer £332. Yes please!

    • LewisB says:
      13 Aug13 August 10:14

      Were you booked in J class originally?

      • Lady London says:
        13 Aug13 August 10:20

        Would have to be as BA will only allow one class upgrade with Avios.

        • Mike P says:
          13 Aug13 August 10:46

          @ Lewis, the original booking appears to have been in I class but, fortunately, ticketed by AA and not BA. The ticket is semi-flexible but AA waived the change fee. Had it been a BA ticket I may or may not have been as fortunate as the ticket would have likely to have been less flexible but I’m a BA GGL member so they may have helped me.

          @ Lady London, the reference to Avios is not relevant here as it was a cash booking in CW upgraded using cash to F. I wanted to highlight that if anyone had travel already booked during the sale dates that it potentially would be worth a call to see if a cheap cash upgrade was possible.

          • Lady London says:
            13 Aug13 August 12:31

            Thé fact that it may be possible to pay a reasonable amount of cash from J to F ahead of trying to do it at the airport is very good to know @Mike P. Although are right we May find out tour GGL status could turn out to be why :-). But a very useful data point. Thank you.

  • Julian says:
    13 Aug13 August 10:45

    So I take it this offer is no use for single people wanting to travel on their own?

    Can anyone explain what it is exactly that BA and some other airlines have against single people travelling on their own?

    • sloth says:
      13 Aug13 August 11:17

      Why do they have to? if you don’t like it why not fly with someone else? They are a company, designed to maximise profit, not a charity. Numerous companies do things that irritate me, rather than complain about it i take my money elsewhere. Only when they are hit in the profits will they be bothered

    • Mr. AC says:
      13 Aug13 August 11:33

      Same reason why one ways are often so spectacularly expensive compared to round-trips that include weekends – because they need to not cannibalize the revenue from significantly less price-sensitive business travelers.

    • Stu_N says:
      13 Aug13 August 12:19

      It’s swings and roundabouts, innit.

      Next time you’re able to book a reward flight with a single F or J seat available, count your blessings.

    • Lady London says:
      13 Aug13 August 12:38

      I still think it May be illegal as married couples are far more likely to be able to take davantage if it due the fact that they are of married status as most couples more readily have a travel companion than most single people. Si thé offert disadvantages one marital status.

      If my supermarket is offering 4 identical bottles of orange squash for £1 then i believe there is legislation that allows me to insist on buying one of those bottles on its own for 25p.

      • Shoestring says:
        13 Aug13 August 12:42

        in the Co-Op you can get a 4-pack of beer from the fridge, disentangle 1 can and pay for it for 25% of the cost of the 4-pack

        useful to know if you are hiking etc as they don’t put single cans in the cooler

        not that you will be popular with the Manager

      • AJA says:
        13 Aug13 August 14:37

        How is this BA 2 4 1 sale any different to a BA Amex 2 4 1 voucher? No one seems to complain about that deal being useless to solo travellers.

        • Richmond says:
          13 Aug13 August 15:14

          That’s why I don’t have BA credit card, because voucher is useless to me.

      • @mkcol says:
        13 Aug13 August 15:56

        It’s not illegal, please let it go & move on.

        Or – go find that law which backs up your stance & promote it widely here.

      • Brian W says:
        14 Aug14 August 01:38

        Rubbish LL, look up ‘invitation to treat’, a retailer can refuse your ‘offer’ to purchase anything and tell you to jog on. Basic contractual law.

  • nick says:
    13 Aug13 August 11:37

    anybody know why the links in the articles don’t appear in Chrome?

  • Jonathan says:
    13 Aug13 August 13:30

    Do you still have acess to the amex offers (I. E. Spend x save £10 etc) with the Amex basic card anyone? Looking to still have acess whilst resetting the clock for sign up bonuses.

  • Paul Stevens says:
    13 Aug13 August 13:35

    Seems I was a bit slow and all the Vegas dates have now gone. Any idea if they will refresh over the next few days or am I out of luck?

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