More British Airways airport lounge art for sale at Sotheby’s
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The sale of art from the British Airways Galleries lounges is now in full swing on the Sotheby’s website.
What is surprising is how cheaply most of it is going for.
Apart from the flagship Bridget Riley, which should fetch over £1 million, many of the remaining works carry estimates as low as £4,000.
You have to wonder why British Airways is bothering. Given the staff time involved in this process, it is clearly pointless selling a piece of art from the lounge for £4,000. Sotheby’s charges VERY heavy commissions, and once you’ve factored in logistical costs plus the cost of buying a replacement picture for the lounge, it makes no sense.
The image above, for example, is by Marc Quinn. It is one of a set of eight prints which, as a set, have a reserve price of just £5,000. This means just £625 per image. It will cost BA more than £625 to buy and install its replacement, even putting zero value on the staff time involved in selling and rebuying.
For a £1 million picture, I see the point. I’m not sure, purely from an insurance angle, that I would put a £1 million picture in an airport lounge. Going to the trouble of paying Sotheby’s to sell pictures worth just £4,000, however, makes no sense.
It makes this appear to be a politically motivated sale done as part of the current pay and contract negotiations with staff.
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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (January 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
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Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
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There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:
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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
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The Platinum Card from American Express
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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.
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There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:
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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.
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Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.
