How to save on regular British Airways short-haul trips with Flight Pass
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It’s been 18 months since we looked at British Airways Flight Pass. I thought it was worth checking it out again for the benefit of newer readers and those for whom it wasn’t relevant last time.
Flight Pass allows you to buy route passes for economy travel on flights from Heathrow, Gatwick and City.
It managed on behalf of British Airways via a company called OptionTown – details are on their website here. You cannot buy Flight Pass directly from British Airways.
It is virtually impossible to give a clear ‘yes’ or ‘no’ statement about whether Flight Pass is a good deal. There are a huge number of pricing permutations based on:
- how many people would share your pass, up to six
- how many tickets you want to pre-pay
- what expiry date you are willing to accept and
- how close to the date of travel you want to book
You can buy a pass for one route or for an entire country.
Flight Pass is ONLY available for Euro Traveller (economy) flights.
The key with Flight Pass is that you are GUARANTEED a seat on the flight you want if cash seats are still available, irrespective of the cash cost at the time you book. However, as the cheapest Flight Pass variants require 30 to 90 days advance booking, this is less attractive than you may think.
Let’s look at two examples for the Heathrow to Newcastle route.
At one extreme, you can buy 12 one-way flights between Heathrow and Newcastle for £821, so £68 each. This includes taxes. You must book all the flights within 3 months AND you must book for travel 90 days in advance. The only person who can use the Flight Pass is the original purchaser.
Taking another example, 12 one-way tickets, shared between two people with 12 months to use them up and booked at least 30 days in advance will cost you £893, so £74 per seat. If you insist on being able to book 4 hours before departure – instead of 30 days – the price shoots up to £165 per seat each-way.
Note that you can only book return flights with Flight Pass which means that it is less flexible than you may think – you may be able to book your outbound with just four hours notice but you need to lock in the return at the same time (changeable for a fee – although the comments below confirm that the ‘four hours’ tickets can be changed at short notice for free).
You can buy a Flight Pass for a child over two years, but there is no discount.
You have last seat availability. If there are still seats for sale, irrespective of the price, you can book them – as long as you are inside the booking window of your Flight Pass. There are no blackout dates or minimum stays. British Airways also lets you pay in instalments so you do not have to find the full cost upfront.
Given the huge number of pricing options, it is impossible to say if this offers decent savings or not but I know many frequent air commuters use it.
PS. Amazingly, Flight Pass can make a huge saving on just ONE family trip. Let’s assume you want to go skiing over February half-term. Four economy flights to Salzburg, Saturday to Saturday (which is what most ski hotels insist on) will cost you over £3,000 for your family:
However, you could have bought a Flight Pass for 12 return flights, shared between four people and booked 60 days in advance, for £1,517:
Even if you ended up throwing away the other 8 return flights on your Flight Pass, you have halved the cost of your ski flights. If you wanted to do this now, however, you’d need to book a 30-day notice pass at a higher price because your Flight Pass would not start until 7th January.
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 Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
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.
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