British Airways adds four new European routes for Summer

British Airways has announced four new European routes this morning. All are bookable now with Avios, so if you want to take advantage of the guaranteed Avios availability you may want to jump in.

The choice of destinations is a little eclectic, and gives the impression that BA wants to put some pressure on Wizz Air. There is also a distinct focus on the ‘visiting friends and family’ market rather than the holiday market, although there are definitely good weekend break opporunities here.

The new routes are:

• Wroclaw, Poland (image below)
• Gdansk, Poland
• Riga, Latvia
• Cluj-Napoca, Romania

All flights will operate from Heathrow, potentially from Terminal 3.

The frequencies are:

• Wroclaw – twice per week (Thu, Sun) from 1st July

• Gdansk – three times per week (Wed, Fri, Sun) from 2nd July

• Riga – three times per week (Wed, Fri, Sun) from 2nd July

• Cluj-Napoca – three times per week (Wed, Fri, Sun) from 2nd July

All appear to be 40 tier point routes, one way, in Club Europe so are unlikely to work as cheap tier point runs. Although personally I’d rather pay more per tier point and visit places I actually want to see ….

To quote BA:

“Wroclaw is known for its beautiful architecture and array of stunning bridges and islands that cross the Odra River.

Gdansk, on the Baltic Sea, offers fine museums, a dominating church building and a beautiful old city.

Riga, the largest of all three Baltic capital cities, houses a UNESCO World Heritage site, and is known for its Art Nouveau style buildings.

Cluj-Napoca, or simply Cluj, is Romania’s second largest city and often described as a cultural hub.

British Airways last operated flights to Riga in 2007, and flew briefly to Gdansk between 1999 and the early-2000s. The airline has never served the other two airports.”

And Perugia is definitely starting this year …..

British Airways announced flights to Perugia in Umbria for Summer 2020. For obvious reasons, the route never launched.

It is now happening for Summer 2021, hopefully, with the first flight on 28th June.

How should you pay for your tickets?

To maximise your miles when paying, your best bet 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, the free Barclaycard Avios Mastercard or the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard.

Another option is American Express Preferred Rewards Gold which offers double points – 2 per £1 – when you book flight tickets directly with an airline.

Tickets are bookable now over at ba.com.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (June 2023)

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:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

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

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 13th June, the sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card is doubled to 60,000 Membership Rewards points – and you get £200 to spend at Amex Travel too! Apply here.

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.

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.

EDIT: Applications for this card are temporarily suspended due to IT issues with the British Airways On Business SME loyalty scheme.

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.

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