Exceptional British Airways and other oneworld business class deals to the US for under £1,000

British Airways launched a new sale on Tuesday – you can see the details here.  We are currently running through the best deals and we will do an article tomorrow.

However, nothing will beat the excellent £1,000-ish business class fares to the USA from Germany just launched by BA.

If you’re a long time reader here you’ll know that some of the best business class deals to the United States can be had when connecting from European airports.  Airlines have to try a little harder to attract connecting passengers as it is competing with carriers that can offer direct routings.

This is good news for us, since (if you don’t mind a positioning flight!) you can get some exceptional deals.

These are typical of the current flight deals from Berlin, with connections at Heathrow (BA), Madrid (Iberia) or Helsinki (Finnair):

New York (€1014, £925)
Boston (€1024, £934)
Philadelphia (€1073, £979)
Chicago (€1170, £1067)

You should find similar fares from any other German airport served by BA, Iberia or Finnair.  Other US destinations are available.

The travel dates are quite specific however, targetting Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter:

23rd – 28th November, return 29th November – 1st December
26th March – 12th April 2020, return 28th March – 15th April
26th June – 22 August 2020, return 3rd July – 26th August

The fares can be booked via the British Airways website. Don’t forget that you can often save on hotel or car rental costs by booking with BA Holidays, too.

If you want to travel at other times, I recommend you have a look at the BA sale prices for UK departures.

What will you get?

Don’t feel obliged to book British Airways flights with this offer – you’ll earn Avios and tier points regardless of carrier.

With a range of possible routings you’ll also have a choice of business class products. You can see our review of the Iberia A350 here, which it flies to some US destinations including New York. Finnair typically flies the A330 across the Atlantic but you can read our review of the A350 business class seat here (photo below).

If you are on a British Airways long haul flight you are likely to get the existing Club World seat although you may get lucky and have a Club Suite refitted Boeing 777 or A350. You can see the list of destinations Club Suite will be on here.

In general, unless you can guarantee Club Suite then I would be tempted to try Iberia or Finnair instead, especially if travelling solo – you get a lot more privacy on those carriers as there are solo seats.

You will earn identical tier points and Avios on all three airlines since these are codeshare flights and you will be travelling on a British Airways flight number if you book on ba.com. Don’t forget you’ll also earn Avios and tier points for the connecting flight from Berlin.

Assuming you don’t have a credit card with 0% foreign exchange fees, your best bet when paying 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 triple points – 3 per £1 – when you book flight tickets in a foreign currency, because it triggers both the ‘double points for airline spend’ and the ‘double points for foreign spend’ bonuses.

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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:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

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.

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.

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.

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.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.