Lowest ever BA Club Europe fares? Sale flights now from £119 return (tier points from 91p)
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British Airways has decided to make deeper fare cuts as its September sale comes towards its end.
The headline deal is in Euro Traveller, where BA is promoting fares for under £35 each way. Last week I actually saw a one-way flight from Gibraltar to Heathrow for £14 which may be some sort of record.
These additional Euro Traveller discounts are available until 22nd September for travel up to 31st March. Your ticket can be turned into a Future Travel Voucher if you later decide not to travel.
Our real focus, however, is Club Europe.
There are some genuinely crazy Club Europe fares currently available. These are worth 80 British Airways Executive Club tier points return – and in some cases 160 tier points return.
Given that the requirements for status are currently reduced by a quarter (Bronze requires 225 tier points, Silver requires 450 tier points, Gold requires 1,125 tier points) you could earn status for very little money indeed. You would also get a few short breaks in the New Year too.
How cheap are the new Club Europe deals?
These are the examples given in the BA media release:
- Dublin £119 return
- Krakow £129 return
- Luxembourg £129 return
- Prague £149 return
- Vienna £149 return
- Nice £169 return
Here is a longer list which I have drawn from BA’s Low Fare Finder tool. I got these prices by doubling the one-way fares shown, although this often underestimates the cost of a return by £10 or so as one leg is often cheaper than the other.
These are destinations available for under £200 return. Historically, finding a Club Europe fare for under £200 was exceedingly rare.
- Aberdeen £164
- Alicante £142
- Amsterdam £160
- Athens £196
- Barcelona £144
- Bari £186
- Basel £136
- Belfast £188
- Berlin £156
- Bilbao £146
- Billund £122
- Bologna £148
- Bordeaux £170
- Brussels £152
- Bucharest £172
- Budapest £162
- Cologne £196
- Copenhagen £158
- Corfu £176
- Dubrovnik £190
- Dusseldorf £156
- Edinburgh £176
- Faro £154
- Florence £200
- Frankfurt £176
- Geneva £146
- Genoa £156
- Gibraltar £138
- Glasgow £152
- Gothenburg £142
- Hamburg £140
- Hannover £158
- Ibiza £182
- Innsbruck £162
- Inverness £122
- Istanbul £182
- Jersey £170
- Lanzarote £184
- Larnaca £192
- Lisbon £166
- Lyon £160
- Madrid £152
- Malaga £144
- Malta £164
- Manchester £180
- Marseille £154
- Milan £162
- Munich £160
- Naples £144
- Newcastle £170
- Nice £142
- Olbia £176
- Oslo £160
- Palma £140
- Paphos £198
- Paris £180
- Pisa £132
- Porto £142
- Prague £144
- Pula £194
- Reykjavik £154
- Rome £166
- Rotterdam £198
- Salzburg £144
- Sardinia £186
- Seville £144
- Sofia £146
- Stockholm £158
- Stuttgart £150
- Tirana £166
- Toulouse £154
- Turin £144
- Valencia £130
- Venice £144
- Verona £142
- Warsaw £136
- Zagreb £142
- Zurich £146
Remember that actual fares may be £10 or so higher, because the ‘low fare finder’ only shows the cheapest fare in either direction. Some routes have higher fares in one direction than the other.
What about 160 tier point routes?
Here are the cheapest routes which earn 160 tier points:
- Algiers £242
- Bucharest £172
- Catania £228
- Funchal £208
- Gran Canaria £204
- Istanbul £182
- Kalamata £274
- Lanzarote £184
- Malta £164
- Marrakech £205
- Paphos £198
- Preveza Lefkada £246
- Reykjavik £154
- Sofia £146
- Tenerife £204
- Thessaloniki £222
- Tirana £176
This Head for Points article lists all Club Europe routes which earn 160 tier points for a return flight. Some routes on that last are currently suspended, however.
Can you really get 160 tier points for £146 via Sofia?
Out Saturday, back Sunday in late March. 24 hours on the ground to see the city. £144 return in Club Europe, earning 160 tier points. That is 91p per tier point. You’d also earn 3,800 Avios return as a Blue member. Tempting …..
If you want to travel sooner, Istanbul looks VERY interesting. There is no quarantine requirement, in either direction, when visiting Turkey and you will pick up tier points for under £1.20 each. You do NOT need to show proof of a negative covid test.
Club Europe sale fares are bookable until 30th September (eight days later than the economy deals) for travel, in most cases, up to the end of March. Saturday night or minimum stay requirements will apply.
Booking the majority of these routes clearly means taking a gamble that any particular route will open up and not require quarantine. If you’re prepared to take the risk, however, there are some very cheap tier points to be had here.
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 Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
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.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.
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.
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