British Airways coronavirus flight changes – an update as of Monday 24th February

I thought it was worth an update on the current changes to the British Airways flight schedules due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The good news is that there are now plans to put Beijing and Shanghai back on the schedule during April, although it is would foolish to see these flights as anything more than tentative at this stage.

Here the changes by route:

Shanghai

All flights cancelled until 17th April

From 18th April to 31st May, British Airways will operate three flights per week on Monday, Thursday and Saturday

From 1st June, the standard 10 flights per week service will resume

If you are booked to fly to Shanghai before 1st June, British Airways will refund your flight or rebook you on a later flight, up to 1st August, at your request.  You may also change to a Hong Kong flight although BA will not pay to get you into China.  Rebooking on selected other airlines is also available.

Beijing

All flights cancelled until 17th April

From 19th April to 31st May, British Airways will operate four flights per week on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday

From 1st June, the standard daily service will resume

If you are booked to fly to Beijing before 1st June, British Airways will refund your flight or rebook you on a later flight, up to 1st August, at your request.  You may also change to a Hong Kong flight although BA will not pay to get you into China.  Rebooking on selected other airlines is also available.

Hong Kong

British Airways will continue to operate just one daily flight, instead of two, until 1st June.

If you are booked to fly to Hong Kong before 1st June, British Airways will refund your flight or rebook you on a later flight, up to 1st August, at your request.

Singapore

Flights continue as usual but the A380 service has been withdrawn on some dates and replaced by a smaller Boeing 777

Seoul

No changes have been announced yet despite the recent spike in coronavirus cases.  It is possible that the Foreign Office will advise against travel in the next few days in which case BA will have little choice but to suspend services.

And nearer to home ….

Italy

No changes to services so far despite 11 towns being placed in lockdown over the weekend

Remember that many countries are refusing or restricting entry to anyone who has visited China, Hong Kong and/or Macau in the past 14 days.   Seek additional advice if this applies to you.  The list includes (taken from the BA Travel Trade page linked below):

• Antigua
• Australia
• Bahamas
• Hong Kong
• India
• Israel
• Japan
• Korea
• Kuwait
• Maldives
• Mauritius
• New Zealand
• Philippines
• Qatar
• Seychelles
• Singapore
• South Africa
• Trinidad and Tobago

The aircraft removed from these routes are being used to operate additional flights to Miami, Seattle and Cape Town, as we covered in this Head for Points article.

The special advisories page of ba.com is here and has the latest information.  However, changes are usually published first on the BA Travel Trade pages here.

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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.