British Airways launches a new sale – what is worth a look?

British Airways has launched a new sale, covering short haul routes and the Caribbean.

We will admit that it isn’t the most exciting sale ever launched. A number of restrictions mean your options are limited:

• Only travel in September is included (1st-30th for Caribbean and Mexico, 13th-30th for European bookings)
• The sale is mostly on package bookings via BA Holidays eg. flight and car, flight and hotel
• There don’t seem to be any discounts on Club World or Club Europe flight-only bookings

You can see all deals available on the sale section of ba.com here.

You need to book by 3rd August for European deals and 9th August for the Caribbean and Mexico offers.

What are the BA sale flight prices?

As mentioned above, only Euro Traveller (economy) flights are included in the sale if you are just searching for flights.

Here are some ‘lead-in’ prices in Euro Traveller (each-way)

For selected outbound travel dates between 13th and 30th September, for trips including a Saturday night stay:

• Barcelona from £29
• Budapest from £38
• Chania from £36
• Corfu from £36
• Lisbon from £37
• Milan from £34
• Palma from £26
• Porto from £31

‘Book with Confidence’ is still running

Remember that, under the British Airways ‘Book With Confidence’ guarantee, you can cancel your flight at any time, for any reason, for a British Airways ‘Future Travel Voucher’. 

This applies to bookings for travel by 30th April 2022.  The voucher must be used for a flight which is taken by 30th April 2023.

If your flight is cancelled by British Airways for any reason, you will receive a full cash refund. Based on my own experience from a cancellation last month, you will have your money within a couple of days of requesting it – there appear to be no delays in processing refunds at present.

British Airways Holidays has discounted holidays and city breaks

British Airways Holidays has also got in on the act with a selection of ‘flight and hotel’ and ‘flight and car’ packages.

The key thing to know about British Airways Holidays is that booking a flight and hotel, or flight and car hire, together can offer better value than booking each element separately.

These are the ‘lead in’ deals in the current sale.  There are lots of other options available which you can see if you look here.

Club World (business) – flights plus hotel

• Barbados – seven nights at the 4* South Beach Resort breakfast included from £1,699pp, travelling in September. Includes business class (Club World) flights from Heathrow.
• St Lucia – seven nights at the 4.5* Windjammer Landing Villa Beach Resort including breakfast from £1,699pp, travelling in September. Includes business class (Club world) flights from Gatwick.
• Antigua – seven nights at the 4* The Verandah Resort & Spa by Elite on an all inclusive board from £1,999pp. Includes business class (Club world) flights.

Booking a British Airways Holidays package also gives you additional protection in case there are any issues with your flights or hotel, due to the strong legally-binding ATOL scheme.

Under the British Airways Holidays coronavirus guarantee, if you book a holiday for travel up to 30th April 2022, you can amend your booking for free (just pay the difference in price) or cancel it and get a voucher for travel up until 30th April 2023.

Other little known benefits of booking with British Airways Holidays ….

Just pay a deposit now

As usual with British Airways Holidays you don’t have to pay in full when booking. You can secure the deal with a small deposit and then pay the balance three weeks before departure. This is a substantial extra benefit compared to just booking flights.

British Airways Holidays has recently reduced the minimum deposit required. You can pay as little as £60 per person.

You get a degree of cancellation flexibility

If you only pay the deposit now, you can walk away from your booking at any point and your deposit will be turned into a Future Travel Voucher for travel until April 2023.

For travel after that date, you sill have a degree of cancellation flexibility. You can cancel up to three weeks before departure, which is when the final payment is due. You will lose your deposit but that is an excellent outcome compared to having to walk away from pre-paid non-refundable flights.

Bonus Avios

You earn a bonus 1 Avios per £1 you spend when booking with British Airways Holidays. You can find out more on ba.com here.

This bonus is on top of the Avios and tier points you will earn from the flights which are the same as you would get for booking a ‘flight only’, and from your credit card.

Remember that British Airways Holidays spending earns you double Avios (3 per £1) if you charge it to a British Airways Premium Plus American Express card.

Bonus tier points

In addition to the extra Avios, any BA Holiday bookings for travel between 9th June and 30th September are also eligible for BA’s current double tier points offer. You can read more about this offer in our article here.

Don’t forget that tier point targets have also been reduced by 25% which should make (re)qualifying for Executive Club status even easier.

You can find out more about double tier points on ba.com here.

…. plus lounge access and use of the First Wing

If you don’t already have status you can also get access to the Galleries Club or Galleries First lounges at Heathrow for travel between 9th June and 30th September.

If you spend £1,500 or more on a BA Holidays package you get Fast Track security and Club lounge access.

If you book Club Europe or Club World flights and spend £2,500 per person or more you’ll be able to use The First Wing and access the Galleries First lounge.

You can see the full terms and conditions of this offer on the BA Holidays website here.

A non-benefit – no OnBusiness points

The only downside of using British Airways Holidays is that the flights do not earn On Business points in BA’s small business loyalty scheme.

How to pay for your British Airways sale booking

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. 

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

Conclusion

The British Airways sale home page is here where you can find out more and get your head around what is available. 

Remember that you need to book by midnight on 3rd August for Europe deals or midnight 9th August for the Caribbean offers.

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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:

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. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

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.

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.

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.