BA news: Avios 2023 peak/off-peak analysis, Jersey flights to remain at Heathrow

News in brief:

British Airways peak/off-peak Avios analysis

A couple of weeks ago we published the British Airways peak and off peak calendar for Avios redemptions in 2023.

Our friend Andrew has taken the data and compared it to previous years. You can read his full finding here. Here are a few of his findings:

• The number of peak and off-peak dates has remained fairly static over the past four years, with between 138 and 140 peak days per year. In 2023 there are 139 peak dates, or around 38%.
• Like this year, BA has shifted a number of peak days from the summer holidays and spread them out across weekends throughout the year

Andrew concludes that:

“So if you can fly midweek in the Summer, you should be happy with the 2023 British Airways Avios calendar.

But if you like weekend flights, or getting away in June, then you need to budget for some extra Avios in 2023.“

British Airways guarantees Jersey flights will remain at Heathrow

Ports of Jersey issued a press release yesterday which confirmed that British Airways flights between Jersey and London will remain at Heathrow for the next five years.

This is a rather unusual press release to issue. You can only assume that Ports of Jersey has offered British Airways a generous ‘incentive’ if it agrees not to transfer the flight back to its long-term home of Gatwick.

With short haul flights not operating from Gatwick during the pandemic, Jersey services have operated from Heathrow since the island reopened to visitors in July 2020.

The Jersey Government has been active in encouraging passenger flights to and from the island. In July 2020 it gave a soft loan of £10 million to regional airline Blue Islands in return for it moving its operating base to the island.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (March 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Successfully apply for either of the Barclaycard Avios credit cards by 2nd April 2023 and you will be entered into a free draw to win ONE MILLION AVIOS! Full details are on the application forms here (free) and here (paid). This competition is exclusive to Head for Points readers. T&C apply.

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.

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.

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.

Until 30th March 2023, the sign up bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to 120,000 Membership Rewards points – click here. The bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to 60,000 Membership Rewards points – click here. T&C apply, see the application forms for details.

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