Vueling to charge for bringing larger cabin bags and cuts Avios earn rate

Vueling is IAG’s low cost carrier, operating primarily from a base in Barcelona. It flies a number of routes to and from the UK from regional airports.

You can earn and redeem Avios on Vueling flights as we explain in this article. It is a similar structure to Aer Lingus flights – you can either:

• book at vueling.com and get a fixed value per Avios to discount your flight (you can pay 100% of the cost if you wish) or

• you can book via iberia.com and redeem via the standard Avios reward charts

Vueling announced two changes this week to its cheapest ‘Basic’ fares.

The first change is to do with Avios. The rate you earn is cut from 3 Avios per €1 to 2 Avios per €1. Optima, Family and TimeFlex fares will continue to earn 4 Avios per €1 spent.

The second change is baggage related.

If you buy a Basic fare, you can no longer bring a larger price of hand baggage into the cabin for free.

Basic fares will come with an allowance for one piece of underseat baggage which must be no larger than 40cm x 30cm x 20cm.

Interestingly, you can check in a larger piece of hand baggage (max 55cm x 40cm x 20cm and under 10kg in weight) for free.

If you want to bring a larger bag into the cabin on a Basic fare, you will to need to pay extra or book a Space One or Space Plus seat. A larger cabin bag will continue to be included automatically with other fare classes.

This policy is being applied retrospectively so anyone who is holding a Vueling Basic ticket will now need to check it in to avoid an extra charge.

Full details can be found on the Vueling hand baggage page here.

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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.