Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Exceptional £924 British Airways business class fares to the USA from Paris

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The coronavirus is bad news for the travel industry. There is, however, one silver lining for consumers: extremely low air fares.

Last week, British Airways launched a new Luxury Sale from the UK  – you can see the details here.  We wrote about the best BA Club World and First Class sale deals here.

This week, it is offering sub-£1000 business class fares out of Paris to a variety of destinations in the US. These are pretty much as low as it ever gets.

If you’re a long time reader here you’ll know that some of the best business class deals to the United States can be had when connecting from European airports. Airlines have to try a little harder to attract connecting passengers as they are competing with carriers that can offer direct routings.

In addition, you’ll also pay lower Government taxes when departing from European airports, potentially saving you several hundred pounds.

This is good news for you, since you can get some exceptional deals. Paris is one of the easiest (and cheapest) European cities to get to – there is plenty of competition between airlines and Eurostar, and you could also double up a trip to the USA with a few days in Paris.

The following prices are typical for fares from Paris with connections in Heathrow.  These are business class return prices.  You need to travel on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday:

Atlanta – £1098
Austin – £1098
Boston – £924
Chicago – £924
Dallas – £1098
LA – £1272
Miami – £1098
Nashville – £924
New Orleans – £924
New York – £901
Philadelphia – £924
Phoenix – £1271
Pittsburgh – £924
San Jose – £1271
Washington DC – £924

There are no specific dates for travel.  I found these fares right into January 2021, although this will vary by route. You may even find other US destinations not listed – these were just from a quick search.

The flights will be operated by British Airways or American Airlines (review here)  – and if you’re lucky, you may even get BA’s new Club Suite!  For those looking for extra variety, some cities can also be flown on Iberia via Madrid or Aer Lingus via Dublin.

You can book on the British Airways website here.  Don’t forget that you can often save on hotel or car rental costs by packaging your flight via BA Holidays too.

You will be charged in Euro when making bookings for flights from Paris.  With that in mind you should use a credit card with 0% foreign exchange fees.

If you don’t have a credit card with 0% FX fees, your best bet when paying 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 triple points – 3 per £1 – when you book flight tickets in a foreign currency, because it triggers both the ‘double points for airline spend’ and the ‘double points for foreign spend’ bonuses.

For the benefit of new readers, you MUST take the first flight from Paris to London.  You cannot just get on in London as your ticket will have been cancelled by then.


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.

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.

Comments (88)

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

  • J says:

    Message for Head For Points – Book-by date never mentioned in your article – disappointed!!

    • FLYGVA says:

      This is, because there were no expiry date in the fare rules. Only AA had in the change rules a statement regarding tickets issued before March 16, 2020. This was – as we know now – also not the real date.

      Sometimes, there is no end date and this usually means, book as quickly as you can. No reaso to blame hfp for.

  • J says:

    Maybe a good idea to point this fact out for the uninitiated!
    Anyway, offer back on, and cheaper, and I’m booked!

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

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