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 (October 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.

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

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Avios. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to up to 40,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 40,000 Avios. You will receive 4 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. The card is FREE for your first year. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

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