Don’t forget the 4-day Jubilee Bank Holiday in June 2022

To celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022, the Government has undertaken a big shake-up of the late May Bank Holiday.

Whilst this is still 5 months away, it is worth thinking about it now because you may still be able to pick up a decent reward flight to escape it all!

For most people, you would get a 4-day short break without having to take any time off work.

What is happening for the June 2022 Jubilee Bank Holiday?

The Government is planning a 4-day “blockbuster weekend of celebrations” to celebrate The Queen’s 70 year reign.

If you’d rather poke yourself in the eye with a sharp stick, or simply don’t trust any event organised by the Govenment to be worth attending, it is a great opportunity for a short break abroad.

This is what is happening:

• the second May Bank Holiday has been moved from a Monday to Thursday 2nd June

• an additional Bank Holiday has been created on Friday 3rd June

This allows you to book a holiday from 2nd to 5th June without requiring any time off work, assuming you have a traditional Monday to Friday work pattern.

I want to flag one potential issue. Sunday 5th June, as well as being the last day of the Jubilee weekend, is also the last day of half term for many families. You will be competing with them for return flights. It may make more sense to take one day off work, have a five day holiday and return on Monday 6th June.

Where to book

SeatSpy has an interesting ‘Where Can I Go?’ feature available to paid subscribers.

You input the dates (exact dates or a range) when you want to depart and return and SeatSpy can tell you which British Airways or Virgin Atlantic routes have award availability in the travel classes you specify.

I looked for long haul British Airways routes with 2 x Business Class seats available, travelling out on Thursday 2nd June and returning on Sunday 5th June. Realistic options – given that it’s only four days – include Boston, Washington, Bahrain, Delhi and Mumbai.

If you are willing to return on Monday 6th June, lots more options open up including New York, Houston and Doha. If you felt you could handle the jet leg, Rio, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires are also available.

There are obviously huge numbers of European routes with Avios seats.

Think twice before booking any non-refundable hotel rooms, however. Whilst we are only looking five months ahead, The Queen is 95 …..

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (February 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

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 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

30,000 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

50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large 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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

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

50,000 points when you sign-up 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.