Fly a British Airways Boeing 787 in First to Amsterdam

If you’ve never flown British Airways Club World (not Club Suite, unfortunately) then now is your cheapest ever opportunity.  You may even be able to try First Class.

British Airways is rostering a Boeing 787 on the Amsterdam route for the next few weeks.

It is currently scheduled to fly:

Outbound

• Tuesday and Friday, 08.20 Heathrow, arr 10.40 Amsterdam

Inbound

• Tuesday and Friday, 12.10 Amsterdam, arr 12.30 Heathrow

The last flight is Friday 31st July.  Remember that British Airways can swap aircraft at will so a Boeing 787 is not guaranteed, but I imagine that these flights are being rostered for cargo purposes and so are likely to remain in the schedule.

This is what I see when I do a dummy booking and select a seat:

As a BA Gold, I am allowed to sit in First Class (row 1 and 2) or Club World with a Business Class ticket.  Not all flights seem to be operated by the 787-9, which has First Class, but some are and it is clear from the seat map before you book.

You do NOT get access to the Concorde Room at Heathrow, as your ticket shows Business Class and not First Class.

For clarity, be aware that there is a chance that – on the day – cabin crew will decide to close First Class and make you sit in Club World.  You have no recompense if that happens.  The service is the same regardless of where you sit.

You are, of course, taking a gamble on the UK inbound quarantine restrictions being lifted by the date you travel.

Irrespective of UK travel guidelines, UK citizens cannot enter the Netherlands until at least 6th July without going into 14 days quarantine.  Technically, of course, this doesn’t stop you doing a day trip or even an overnight trip.  You can find out more here.

An Avios redemption would be fully cancellable up to 24 hours before travel for a full refund less a £35 fee.  If you booked for cash, you would be able to cancel for free for a British Airways ‘Book With Confidence’ travel voucher, valid until April 2022.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (October 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards. Both have increased sign-up bonuses until 2nd November 2021:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

The 30,000 points bonus on Amex Gold runs to 9th November 2021. The 60,000 points bonus on The Platinum Card runs to 2nd November 2021.

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:

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies. This card has a limited time offer of 60,000 Avios when you sign up:

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)