How to book Avios Reward Flight Saver flights on British Airways ‘Fifth Freedom’ routes
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I have written many articles in the past about Reward Flight Saver redemptions, where British Airways caps your ‘taxes and charges’ fee at £35 return for economy, £50 return for business or £55 for First (now Moscow only, I think).
This article in our ‘Avios Redemption University’ series looks at how Avios Reward Flight Saver works on short-haul British Airways flights.
As well as shuttling around Europe with Reward Flight Saver, there is another way you can benefit from the low taxes – by taking a British Airways ‘Fifth Freedom’ flight.
A ‘Fifth Freedom’ flight is one where the plane stops en-route to its final destination to drop off passengers, and also takes on new passengers at the intermediate stop.
British Airways uses these so called ‘Fifth Freedom’ rights to sell tickets on flights which neither begin nor end in the UK.
Until around five years ago, ‘Fifth Freedom’ flights on British Airways contained a clever little bonus. However short and cheap the journey, like the sub-1 hour flight from Bahrain to Doha which existed then, you still received full long-haul tier points. This was a very cheap way to maintain your BA status. However, BA finally woke up to this and now you only receive standard short-haul tier points for these routes.
Here are the remaining British Airways ‘Fifth Freedom’ short routes. The list has got shorter in recent years as BA has launched more direct services, culling tags such as Bahrain to Doha and Abu Dhabi to Muscat.
- UVF (St Lucia) – GND (Grenada) (50 minutes, Wed)
- UVF (St Lucia) – POS (Port of Spain) (65 minutes, Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri, Sun)
- ANU (Antigua) – SKB (St Kitts) (45 minutes, Wed and Sat)
- ANU (Antigua) – PLS (Turks & Caicos) (2hr 5 min, Thu and Sun)
- ANU (Antigua) – TOB (Tobago) (85 minutes, Tue, Fri)
- GCM (Grand Cayman) – NAS (Nassau) (95 minutes, Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat)
These routes are available as Reward Flight Saver although the pricing has got messier due to the new Avios pricing selection which can reduce the taxes and fees to as low as £1 in return for more Avios.
Club World on the routes above costs 15,500 to 18,000 Avios + £51 return, depending on whether you travel off-peak or peak. Turks & Caicos is a longer flight and costs 27,750 – 40,000 Avios + £50.50 in Club World, return, depending on date. Alternatively, you can use the new Avios pricing selection which can reduce the taxes and fees to as low as £1.
If you have never tried BA’s Club World then this is a cheap way to do so if you are in the region – and possibly turn your holiday into a ‘two centre’ one at the same time.
PS. It is worth noting that Heathrow to Moscow is also treated as a Reward Flight Saver route and is operated with long-haul aircraft – currently a Boeing 787 – on selected services. It is usually the early morning flight during the summer season.
Whilst getting a Russian Visa is a bit of a pain, Moscow is a fascinating weekend break, especially if you can get there on a flat bed for virtually nothing in taxes and charges.
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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 Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
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.
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