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An update on the British Airways pilot strike

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I don’t want to spend too much time on the British Airways pilot strike, because it is being covered enough by the mainstream media.

Interestingly, British Airways did not make an effort yesterday to run even a skeleton service with non-BALPA pilots.  The only flights from Terminal 5 yesterday were:

Tokyo (due to Rugby World Cup commitments – this was the sole BA departure)

Cairo (which Air Belgium is currently flying on behalf of BA due to a shortage of operational Boeing 787 aircraft)

Madrid (the Iberia flights, not the BA ones)

British Airways 2019 strike update

I’m not sure what, if anything, departed from Gatwick or Terminal 3.  I doubt that Tuesday will be any different.

If your flight was cancelled and you accepted a refund or were moved to a non-oneworld carrier, remember to request the Avios and tier points you would have earned from British Airways.

Nothing stops you also earning miles from the carrier to whom you were moved – as long as you didn’t credit the flight to British Airways Executive Club – so you could double dip with a handful of Star Alliance, SkyTeam, Emirates, Etihad etc miles on top.

British Airways must announce cancellations for the 2nd wave of strikes on 27th September by Friday 13th September.  If not, British Airways will have to pay EC261 compensation on top of the costs of moving you to another carrier.  Once those cancellation emails have been sent, it is highly likely that the strike on the 27th September will happen regardless of whether discussions restart, as passengers will already have been moved.

You can find the latest official strike updates on this page of ba.com.

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

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Barclaycard Avios card

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

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

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British Airways American Express

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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

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The Platinum Card from American Express

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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.

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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

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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

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American Express Business Gold

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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 (129)

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

  • Mike G says:
    10 Sep10 September 06:12

    Another nail in the “Virgin is a cool brand” coffin!

    • Erico1875 says:
      10 Sep10 September 06:20

      They were never cool. Hotel staff minimum wage, zero hour contracts as my daughter once had is not cool.

  • Robert Jervis says:
    10 Sep10 September 06:17

    So Virgin want to make it harder for people to redeem awards? Very uncool

  • SwissJim says:
    10 Sep10 September 06:21

    I may be a little slow off the mark here, however… If I book a fully flexible ticket for a potential strike day and BA cancel, I can claim tier points & miles. But if strike cancelled I can simply cancel my own flight if I decide not to travel. Right – or not…?

  • BJ says:
    10 Sep10 September 06:31

    Rewardflightfinder is great, hope loads of people will add comments to the effect they want Virgin on it which can then be used by Tim and Rob to aid their efforts.

    • Spurs Debs says:
      10 Sep10 September 07:21

      Reward finder is the best £3 I spend monthly. Yesterday afternoon after quite a trying morning I got the availability email. Straight on phone to BA first number. I thought I would struggle to get through because it was strike day, got straight through first class from NRT to LHR booked. Which quite cheered me up. Said to woman I spoke to about strikes and she said yesterday the phone lines weren’t too bad, but week before was so busy I would of struggled to get through. I couldn’t do this online as upgrading from business to first on 241.

      • Polly says:
        10 Sep10 September 15:36

        Agree, the best £3 we spent too. Got our F to KUL. I do hope Virgin allow reinstatement, but fear they won’t. It’s too lucrative for them to be able to seek those unused and unfounded tats at a higher price closer to the time.

  • BJ says:
    10 Sep10 September 06:38

    Anybody know what is happening with Hyatt Edinburgh Waterfront at the Marina development? Last I heard was that the planning application was refused as it was out if character with the area. How anything can be out of character with highrise flats and industrial sites is beyobd me when you see some of the monstrous developments that have been allowed around the heart of the city.

    • Lady London says:
      10 Sep10 September 13:03

      Some people would wonder if perhaps someone didn’t pay someone enough?

      • Lady London says:
        10 Sep10 September 17:34

        Or the more usual reason (apparently), perhaps the proposal did not include enough “planning gain” ?

  • Alan says:
    10 Sep10 September 06:46

    Really disappointing re RFF. Also not great re the hotels – given most of us don’t have point points or status with Hyatt it’s more just a loss them leaving IHG!

  • Nick G says:
    10 Sep10 September 06:50

    None BA related….any suggestions for a nice London hotel for a surprise night away for my wife’s 40th? Looking around £250-£300 and prefer to be reasonably close to the centre though not around the usual tourist spots of Leicester Square etc etc.

    Only Hilton silver so status isn’t an issue these days.

    • NigelthePensioner says:
      10 Sep10 September 07:06

      Hotel L’Oscar by Holborn station – very nice indeed and great restaurant. Better than Kimpton Fitzroy up the road IMHO. Should be in budget too.

    • Hunter says:
      10 Sep10 September 07:18

      https://www.firmdalehotels.com/hotels/london/charlotte-street-hotel

      Or

      https://www.firmdalehotels.com/hotels/london/covent-garden-hotel/

    • BJ says:
      10 Sep10 September 07:32

      People have made good comments on Lincoln Plaza recently but maybe not as central as you would like. My favourite Londo Hilton hotel is DT Westminster but they have closed the lounge, it is not quite the right ambiance for a celebrantion and too close to the ongoing drama down the road. Even at Silver, I would look through Hilton options, especially under other rates and packages as there are often good deals to be had if celebrating something special. Suggest you drop hotel of chouce tellingbthem it is your anniversary and requesting a room with a nice view. You might get morevthan you expect. On our most recent we got a personalised cake, fruit platter, full bottle of champagne and a teddy bear.

    • Jake Mc says:
      10 Sep10 September 07:39

      The Sofitel St Jame’s is a great hotel and a lovely location that is (for central London) unusually quiet. Prices are high but not compared to the Shangri-La, Savoy, Ritz, Dorchester et al….

      My parents spent a few days there a while ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Good breakfast and pleasant (but typically small London rooms). Close to all the attractions also.

      There might be an Accor honeymoon/birthday/celebration deal you could buy into

    • Kevin C says:
      10 Sep10 September 07:59

      The Cavendish on Jermyn Street is worth a look. Beautiful location.

      • Nick G says:
        10 Sep10 September 11:45

        Thanks stayed there before several times. And the Athenaeum up the road before it’s transformation in rooms and prices! Though it does have its own lounge now instead of a penthouse suite !

    • Sarah says:
      10 Sep10 September 09:21

      No. 11 Cadogan Gardens is a lovely little boutique hotel just off Sloane Square, otherwise I’d second L’Oscar as well for something different.

      • Rob says:
        10 Sep10 September 10:47

        It’s a bit bizarre (I live round the corner) – the new restaurant is ultra-modern and, because it has street frontage, 80% of diners don’t actually know it is part of a hotel. The main part with the rooms is just, well, bizarre – although worth a visit. I would strongly recommend the refurbed Belmond Cadogan on Sloane St ahead of this though.

  • NigelthePensioner says:
    10 Sep10 September 07:14

    Re 27th strike. If BA announce “global shutdown” again and cancel all flights on or by 13th Sept, then BALPA have achieved their aim of causing chaos to those that ultimately pay them – passengers. Passengers are switched to other flights. So BA having rerouted passengers at huge cost and expense, and passengers having made alternative arrangements at their destinations and for onward travel, the damage to BA is done – which will be a short term pyrrhic victory as we all have short memories. What then is the incentive for BALPA to strike on that day and lose a further days pay?

    • Rob says:
      10 Sep10 September 08:19

      Who is losing pay?

      Pilots fly 80 hours per month. Given a long haul trip can be 20 hours return, some will be flying out of Heathrow no more then 5 times per month.

      Only a modest percentage will have been due to fly out over these two days. Until there have been 6/7 strike days some will
      not have lost anything.

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