Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

BOOK NOW: The new British Airways US route is …. Cincinnati

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

Last week we engaged in a bit of speculation about a new British Airways route to the United States. We knew it was coming but we didn’t know where.

Because, let’s be honest, the existing 26 routes to the United States aren’t nearly enough ….

The route has now been announced – Cincinnati, in Ohio, although the airport itself sits just over the state line in Kentucky.

(I know we put our money on Kansas City. However, I have heard rumours that there is actually a 2nd new British Airways route to the United States launching next Summer, and this could still be it. All of the reasons we gave for launching Kansas City remain valid.)

This will be the only direct flight between the UK and all of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.

When will Cincinnati launch?

The new British Airways service to Cincinnati will launch on 5th June 2023.

It will operate five days per week, with a Boeing 787 currently scheduled. This is a three class aircraft without First Class.

It will use Terminal 5 at Heathrow.

Outbound flights will leave on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday in the late afternoon, returning late evening local time.

The Tuesday flight will be dropped for Winter 2023, from November.

Avios seats are wide open

As you’d expect, since tickets only went on sale a few hours ago, Avios seats are wide open.

The full 14 seats (eight in Economy, two in Premium Economy and four in Club World) are available for every flight.

This is one way of getting US flights for next Summer for the exact dates you want, although you should check out connections first.

British Airways to launch flights to Cincinnati

What can you do in Cincinnati?

According to British Airways:

Affectionately nicknamed Cincy or the Queen City, the area is home to world-class museums, more than 50 breweries, the USA’s largest Oktoberfest, three major sports teams spanning American football, basketball and football, and the Krohn Conservatory, an Art Deco greenhouse featuring 3,500 plant species from all over the world.

It’s renowned for its Cincinnati Chili, handmade ice cream and beer, whilst acting as a gateway to Northern Kentucky and the famed Bourbon Trail, a playground for bourbon-lovers. In addition, Kentucky is also synonymous with gorgeous rolling hills and bluegrass music.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

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:

Barclaycard Avios Plus 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 card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

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

25,000 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

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a 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, 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.

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review

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.

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

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

40,000 points sign-up bonus 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.

Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (77)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • DAVE BARRON says:
    16 Nov16 November 19:58

    Fab news. Another option for us when visiting family in Michigan (usually use either Toronto or Chicago).

  • Cwyfan says:
    16 Nov16 November 20:02

    Is this really more needed more than bringing Calgary back?

    • BlueThroughCrimp says:
      16 Nov16 November 20:12

      Too true.
      Getting to and from Banff is a bit of a pain.

    • Doug M says:
      16 Nov16 November 21:47

      You’re applying geographic logic or your own needs, BA’s only interest is revenue. They’d fly their entire fleet back and forth to one city if it generated the highest revenue.

    • aseftel says:
      17 Nov17 November 00:00

      There are already two nonstop services from London to YYC. I can’t imagine the economics are that great on adding a third.

  • k says:
    16 Nov16 November 20:08

    Which aircraft….and with club suites, upgraded F (or the old bangers that are still kicking about)

    In fact, where are BA these days in terms upgrading Club Suite across all J?

  • Brian says:
    16 Nov16 November 20:41

    So I’ve just spent an hour switching all our summer flights from ORD to CVG.

    An important heads up – BA carrier imposed “surcharges” are higher to CVG than ORD. On an Econ out and CW back, they were £400 per adult instead of £300… (same avios though).

    Car rental is a lot cheaper at CVG though!

    • Joe says:
      16 Nov16 November 21:11

      Sure this isn’t forex and tax updates since you booked chic?

      • Brian P says:
        16 Nov16 November 21:42

        i did a dummy booking to check.. price difference defo there. what’s weird is that they are both in the same avios tier..

      • Brian P says:
        16 Nov16 November 21:47

        having thought about it, I reckon it’s because the ORD is on an A380 which is more efficient less fuel burn.. maybe Rob can confirm. i can show screen shots of that helps.

        • Rhys says:
          17 Nov17 November 03:16

          I’m not sure the surcharges are that logically calculated 🙂

        • RA says:
          17 Nov17 November 09:41

          Just for interest, the B787 is approx 18kg fuel per hour per passenger, A380 27kg phpp, so the A380 burns approx 50% more fuel per passenger.

          • RA says:
            17 Nov17 November 13:07

            Sorry, after checking my figures, it’s probably more in the region of 22 kg phpp 787-8, and 26 kg phpp on an A380 in BA config (214 vs 469 pax), so 20% more fuel per pax on (obviously lots of caveats here, route length, % of business/first seats etc). Obviously a 787-8 requires far fewer pax to break even – especially on a subsidised startup route – whilst a full 380 can maximise revenue per slot.

        • Joe says:
          17 Nov17 November 19:20

          Interesting. Thanks for responding. I wonder what it is, hard to believe cvg charging an extra tax compared to ORD. I doubt the yq is aircraft dependant.

  • Alex W says:
    16 Nov16 November 21:15

    Any AvGeeks going to this area MUST visit the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. Simply the best aviation museum in the world.

  • Littlefish says:
    16 Nov16 November 21:17

    Back in the day I flew direct to CVG for the Kentucky Derby in Louisville; wasn’t BA though then. Plenty of horse racing as well as Bourbon in those parts.

  • Tom says:
    16 Nov16 November 21:22

    Cincy is an interesting town, being on the border of the MidWest and the South. Over-The-Rhine is an interesting neighbourhood. Probably 48 hours is enough unless you are going to rent a car and explore the country.

  • Will in SJC says:
    17 Nov17 November 01:31

    Surprised there is zero mention of cargo- it will likely be a huge influence on the BA decision. CVG is one of the major cargo hubs in the US. Even for packages heading to the West Coast – given there isn’t a daily UK-West Coast cargo service- they go via CVG- often starting at LHR and going up to EMA by road.

    BA will be able to load the belly with IAG Cargo that will connect onto services across the States at CVG.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Got any questions? Ask them in our forums.

NEW: Sign-up bonuses boosted to 3,000 and 18,000 points

Latest Forum Posts

Get 40,000 bonus points (worth 40,000 Avios) and £300 dining credit with The Platinum Card

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Get £10 when you spend £150 on your free Currensea card

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.7 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

SME? SPECIAL OFFER TO 12TH MAY EARN POINTS WORTH 30,000 AVIOS WITH CAPITAL ON TAP

Get 20,000 bonus points, four airport lounge passes and your first year free with American Express Gold

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.

Got it!