British Airways signs Joint Business Agreement with China Southern

British Airways has announced a new Joint Business Agreement with China Southern.

As we covered a year ago, China Southern has resigned from the SkyTeam airline alliance.  This had been expected ever since American Airlines bought a stake in the carrier – a stake it has already written down by $50m (25%).

It was assumed that China Southern would then apply for full oneworld membership, but for now it appears happy to strike bilateral deals with key oneworld members.

In the short term, little will change.  British Airways has had a codeshare deal with China Southern since 2017.

Stage 1 of the joint venture will see the codeshare extended to cover all direct flights between London and Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Sanya, Wuhan and Zhengzhou. Domestic connections in the UK and China will be added later.

The key differences between the codeshare deal and the new Joint Business Agreement should be, based on precedent:

• the airlines will co-ordinate their schedules where both fly the same route
• the airlines will co-ordinate their schedules in order to match longhaul with connecting shorthaul flights
• the airlines will jointly set pricing on routes between the UK and China
• the airlines will jointly share all revenue on routes between the UK and China, irrespective of which airline carries the passenger
• passengers will be able to mix and match British Airways and China Southern tickets on return trips
• frequent flyer benefits will be fully aligned – this will mean that you will earn an identical number of Avios and tier points if you fly with China Southern or British Airways

I would also expect to see China Southern become a full Avios redemption partner.

The Joint Business Agreement officially starts on 2nd January although it will take some time to ramp up and for all of the features to go live.

You can learn more about the new partnership with China Southern on this page of ba.com.  There is nothing yet on the ‘partner Avios and tier point earning and spending’ page.

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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.