Some British Airways ex-160 tier point routes from Gatwick showing 80 points from Heathrow

The switch of British Airways Gatwick short-haul services to Heathrow has led to an interesting but annoying quirk – some routes which offered 160 tier points now appear to only offer 80.

EDIT: following our article, it now looks like British Airways has updated its system and the destinations that dropped to 80 tier points are now back up at 160 tier points return. All is well.

I often get emails from readers who say “I need XXX tier points in the next few weeks to reach British Airways Bronze / Silver / Gold status – how can I do it?”.

If you need to earn a small number of tier points – between 80 and 160 – the easiest way was a weekend break to one of the few destinations flown by British Airways which offer 160 tier points return in Club Europe.  This is twice as many tier points as the usual Club Europe return which earns 80.

If you made such a booking for Summer 2020, however, you might be in trouble.  You may now only receive 80 tier points for your flight!

This is the list of ALL British Airways routes which used to offer 160 tier points.  Most of these routes were ALWAYS Heathrow routes and so still earn 160 tier points.

Some of the Gatwick routes have now dropped to 80 tier points following the switch of all short-haul Gatwick flights to Heathrow.  Is this an accident or not?  We don’t know.

The data is taken from the BA tier points calculator here.

• Algiers – still 160 tier points
• Athens – still 160 tier points
• Bucharest – still 160 tier points
• Catania – still 160 tier points
• Chania – still 160 tier points
• Corfu – still 160 tier points
• Dalaman – still 160 tier points
• Funchal – now only offers 80 tier points return from Heathrow
• Gran Canaria – still 160 tier points
• Heraklion / Crete – now only offers 80 tier points return from Heathrow
• Istanbul – still 160 tier points
• Kalamata – still 160 tier points
• Kefalonia – still 160 tier points
• Kiev – still 160 tier points
• Kos – still 160 tier points
• Lanzarote – still 160 tier points
• Larnaca – still 160 tier points
• Malta – still 160 tier points
• Marrakech – still 160 tier points
• Mykonos – still 160 tier points
• Paphos – now only offers 80 tier points return from Heathrow
• Reykjavik – still 160 tier points
• Rhodes – still 160 tier points
• Santorini – still 160 tier points
• Sofia – still 160 tier points
• Tenerife – still 160 tier points
• Thessaloniki – still 160 tier points
• Tirana – now only offers 80 tier points return from Heathrow
• Zakynthos – still 160 tier points

Don’t dispair if you do have one of these routes booked.  It may post correctly once you have flown it, with the number thrown up by the calculator simply being an error.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (July 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 Card

30,000 Avios and the famous annual Companion Voucher voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express Credit Card

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 Credit Card

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

50,000 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 points worth 0.8 Avios per £1 on the FREE standard card and 1 Avios per £1 on the Pro card. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 0.8 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 Card

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.

The American Express Business Platinum Card

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

The American Express Business Gold Card

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.