Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Get yourself a bargain in the new British Airways luxury flight and holiday sale

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British Airways has launched a new flight sale and is offering savings on both premium flights and holiday packages which include a First or Business Class flight.

You must book by 29th October and travel dates vary by destination. You can see all the available deals on the BA website here.

British Airways luxury flight and holiday sale

Business class flight deals

There are some good value Club World deals to the US and Canada, although these are not the cheapest deals we have ever seen.  In North America the most competitive fares are:

  • Montreal £1398
  • Nashville £1499
  • New York £1367
  • Orlando £1579
  • Philadelphia £1383
  • Toronto £1374
  • Washington DC £1399

Remember that selected New York (selected Boeing 777 flights) and Toronto (the A350 flights) services have the new Club Suite seat.

You can save a couple of hundred pounds on fares to the Caribbean and Latin America.  These are not rock-bottom prices but then again it is peak tourist season.  In general, these fares are available during Spring 2020:

  • Antigua £1745
  • Barbados £1766
  • Cancun £1645
  • Kingston £1694
  • Lima £1984
  • Providenciales £1891
  • Punta Cana £1521
  • St Kitts £1766
  • St Lucia £1765
  • Tobago £1716

The real winners, though, are in the Middle East and Africa – again, whilst not bargain basement sums, you will rarely see better direct fares than this during peak season:

  • Cape Town £2581 (in previous sales it was £3,200-£3,500)
  • Dammam £1859
  • Durban £2727 (again saving £500+)
  • Johannesburg £1709 (almost half price from previous sales!)
  • Nairobi £1246

British Airways luxury hotel and flight sale

And in First class ….

A lot of North American destinations are available for less than £2000 in First:

  • Atlanta £1899
  • Austin £1999
  • Boston £1998
  • Chicago £1999
  • Houston £1999
  • Miami £2099
  • Nashville £1899
  • New York £1798
  • New Orleans £2003
  • Philadelphia £1803
  • San Diego £2099
  • San Jose £1999
  • Seattle £1999
  • Toronto £1798
  • Vancouver £1998
  • Washington DC £1899

The sale isn’t great outside North America, but these are worth highlighting:

  • Beijing £2399
  • Shanghai £2399
  • Tel Aviv £1544

Travelling with a companion?

There are also fares for pairs, for two people flying the exact same sectors in Club World. These are extremely competitively priced:

  • Seychelles £2499 (£1249 per person)
  • Durban £2999 (£1500pp)
  • Nassau £3399 (£1699pp)
  • Santiago £3999 (£1998pp)
  • Singapore £4498 (£2249pp)

And in First:

  • Barbados £4930 (£2465pp)
  • Sao Paolo £5999 (£2999pp)
  • Santiago £5999 (£2999pp)

The full list of destinations offering ‘241’ deals in Business Class is: Seychelles, Kingston, Durban, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Islamabad, Chennai, Kuala Lumpur, Nassau, Santiago, Sao Paolo, Singapore and Sydney.

Get an even better deal with BA Holidays

There are also some good deals over at BA Holidays, assuming you are happy to package in a hotel with your flight (and you can often make substantial savings if you do).

Whilst it is hard to get your head around, the weird ways that flights are priced means that booking a flight with a car or a flight with a hotel can be cheaper than just booking a flight.  Note that if you add a car or hotel it must be for the full duration of your holiday if you want to trigger a package discount.

Some headline Club World deals are:

  • Abu Dhabi from £1409 per person – for travel between 15th November and 15th December 2019 including including three nights at a 4* hotel and return flights in business class from Heathrow
  • Barbados from £1999 per person – for travel between 16th June and 19th July 2020 including seven nights at a 4* hotel  and return flights in Club World from Gatwick
  • New York from £1579 per person – for travel in April 2020 including four nights at a 4.5* hotel and return flights in Club World from Heathrow

Remember that you don’t need to pay now when you book a BA Holidays package.  You just pay a deposit and can settle the balance up to five weeks before departure.

You also earn an extra 1 Avios per £1 when you book BA Holidays packages.  This is on top of the standard Avios you receive from the flight and the double Avios you would receive if you pay with a British Airways Premium Plus credit card.  The only downside is that flights booked as part of a BA Holidays package do not earn anything in the BA On Business SME loyalty scheme.

Conclusion

The BA luxury flights and holidays page is here. It is also worth using the low fare finder tool on ba.com to track down destinations and fares and which months they’re available. Make sure to book by the 29th October, which is when this sale ends.

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.

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 (144)

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

  • Voltron says:
    11 Oct11 October 12:15

    OT – Anyone tried using points credit card on royal mint without a cash transaction fee?

    • Shoestring says:
      11 Oct11 October 12:25

      You could Google it via hfp

      We used to be able to get Royal Mint coins at par _ I think it was some 50ps _ and it went thru as purchase

      Then it stopped

  • Shoestring says:
    11 Oct11 October 12:27

    https://headforpoints.com/2013/05/04/buying-royal-mint-coins-at-face-value-on-your-credit-card/

  • Anon says:
    11 Oct11 October 12:42

    OT – I’ve got a domestic flight in South Africa coming up that is done on South African Airways airlink (but was booked on the same ticket, same PNR as a JNB-LHR flight). All legs are showing up in the BA app.

    I’m guessing that’s just because of the PNR and I’m not going to get any avios from the domestic leg (it’s not Comair or anything)?

  • Benilyn says:
    11 Oct11 October 12:58

    OT: VA 2-4-1, do you need redemption availability in the upgraded class, or availability in the cheaper class?

  • Philip says:
    11 Oct11 October 14:19

    I’ve just spotted some tasty ex-INV transatlantic fares via LHR, travelling Club Europe INV-LHR and First across the pond.

    If I was thinking of getting the LHR-INV-LHR sector done the day before the transatlantic sector – so that I could start that day with a more gentle wakeup time – does anyone if it is easy/possible to arrive and depart INV on the same plane?

    My plan would be to travel with minimal hand baggage for that part of the trip, so there would be no need to wait for baggage reclaim.

    Eg, is there a “Flight Connections” or does one have to exit and then re-enter through security? And even if one has to do the latter, does it really take very long with minimal hand baggage.

    Any thoughts / experiences gratefully received.

    • roberto says:
      11 Oct11 October 14:37

      Best to do a Back to back of course :- Check in for both flights , fly from LHR , land leave the baggage reclaim area and turn left. Clear security then wait in an awfully packed room until your next flight. Pretty much idiot proof. It’s an awfully small airport and it could be done in less than 3-4 minutes but 7-8 minutes would be the max.

      You can go with no bags if you prefer, up and back on the same plane – sleep in your own bed back in London and then back to LHR the next morning and check your bags in then before your TA flight. You need to ensure the connection is under 24 hours to save on the ADP

      • Philip says:
        11 Oct11 October 16:45

        Hi Roberto, many thanks for the tips. Greatly appreciated.

        • Doug M says:
          11 Oct11 October 17:42

          Be aware of a very slight added risk if you do back to back on the last flight of the day. If the flight to INV is late then security may have shut. You’re then trying to either persuade the staff to let you stay airside, or hoping that there’s someone to let you go through the staff security entrance.
          It’s a really easy back to back but just be aware of this possibility.

  • Dave says:
    11 Oct11 October 14:45

    OT – amex require business current account in order to apply for business credit card. Do they have any rules on which business accounts they accept, or will they be happy if I open a revolut business account for my small business? Not wanting to pay a monthly fee for a business account from the big providers… Thanks

  • Aliks says:
    11 Oct11 October 14:47

    OT – I am trying to move some Marriott points to my wife’s account. Apparently this requires a call to Customer Services. Does anyone know if there is a UK phone number?
    Various places suggest 020 7012 7312 or 7316 but these give number unobtainable.

  • Grainne says:
    11 Oct11 October 15:10

    Thinking of booking my first ever business flight in the sale, to Toronto in April or May (ex LHR). I thought this should be the A350 which is the major draw, but each time I try to put an itinerary together it says Boeing 777/787. Even for BA92 and 93 which I read were supposed to be the A350 ones. Does anybody know what the truth is?

    • Raj says:
      11 Oct11 October 16:40

      I’ve had exactly the same issue, Grainne.

      It looks like the A350 for Toronto doesn’t go beyond March next year… On FT someone suggested that BA haven’t finalised their summer schedule yet. I’d like to go to Toronto in the summer to try the new Club Suites out but no luck yet in trying to find the right flights…. Maybe one of our fellow HfPers might be able to elucidate (fingers crossed!) 😀

      • Grainne says:
        11 Oct11 October 17:31

        I felt like I must be doing something wrong! Almost glad I’m not the only one. It’s frustrating because if I’m going to spend like that I want it to be completely worth it. I hope someone knows more than us. Came here hoping for the same from all these experts! Seeing first as an option makes me worried too, because it shouldn’t be on the A350. But then I don’t see any other options either, making me wonder if they’re only using it on that route temporarily. That would be a shame.

      • marcw says:
        11 Oct11 October 20:27

        I’ve got the feeling they are going to send the plane to different destinations each season. Some free PR – “BA sends state of the art, environmentally friendly, 30% reductions in emissions….. and with the new Club Suite”

        • Grainne says:
          12 Oct12 October 10:13

          That makes a lot of sense. Unfortunately! It was a bit too good to be true that they’d be on the route I wanted, when I wanted…

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