Lots of one-way British Airways Club Suite Avios seats to Sydney on 23rd / 24th December

This is an odd one which I can’t easily explain, but the seats are definitely there.

ba.com is currently showing a LOT of one way business class Club Suite redemptions between Inverness and Sydney for 23rd December and 24th December.

(EDIT: the comments show that Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow also work, albeit you pay Air Passenger Duty)

If you fly on 23rd December you will land at 7am on Christmas Day.

This is why it is weird:

• you can only book if you have a British Airways American Express Premium Plus 2-4-1 voucher – one of the new-style vouchers, issued after 1st September 2021 (these vouchers unlock extra Avios availability)

• there is no availability from London, only from Inverness (think about how you will get to Inverness in mid December before you book!)

• there is no easy way to get back in Club Suite – you’d need to find a route back in Economy or Premium, or hope for a last minute Club seat, or come back on another British Airways partner using Avios

Whilst there are a LOT of seats available, you can only book for one or two people using the voucher. You cannot access the extra availability to add a 3rd or 4th ticket at full Avios price. (Obviously if you have two vouchers you can book for four people.)

Here is proof they exist – the lack of a ‘4 left’ or whatever notation under the words ‘Business Class’ means that there are at least NINE seats available:

Taxes and charges are £850 for two people plus 150,000 Avios for the two tickets. A solo traveller would pay 75,000 Avios (one person travels for 50% off using the new-style vouchers) and £425:

Remember that this is one way only …. Christmas on the beach in Sydney could cause you issues later if you need to get back for work in January!

The seats may do also show if you try other connecting points to London. However, one benefit of Inverness is that there is no Air Passenger Duty to pay which is why the taxes and charges number is so low.

PS. If you want to know why this is happening …. the extra seats in Business Class made available to British Airways Premium Plus American Express cardholders are triggered when roughly 8-10 heavily discounted tickets are available for cash.

BA is not discounting this route for cash from London (it thinks there are people around who will pay more) but IS discounting it from other starting points – assuming you call £2,500 each way to be ‘discounted’. This is why the extra seats do not appear when searching from London.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 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.