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What is worth booking in the new British Airways Sale?

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British Airways has launched its latest sale.

It is surprisingly good, with prices to North America now broadly down to pre-covid levels. This means sub-£1,300+ Club World fares to New York and more – all direct from London.

It is also offering some good savings on BA Holidays packages which include a Business Class flight – in some cases, the holiday costs little more than buying the flight on its own.

British Airways best sale deals

Details of the luxury flight deals are here and the BA Holidays deals are here. You must book by 30th May.

When do I need to travel?

Travel dates for the sale pricing are all over the place, annoyingly. Some routes only have deals for Summer 2023, others only have deals in 2024, and others are inbetween. Most require a Saturday night to get the sale pricing. For full details visit the sale website and scroll down to the T&Cs at the bottom.

All of the flight and holiday deals can be found on the British Airways website. We’ll explain later why booking via BA Holidays can be a better deal.

What are the Club World business class flight deals?

2022 was an expensive year for air fares, so it’s good to see sale prices finally back to levels they were back in 2019. This is potentially bad news for BA, which has been enjoying sky-high prices, but good news for the rest of us.

We recommend using the Low Fare Finder tool on ba.com to see which months the sale fares are available. Minimum stay requirements may apply.

British Airways luxury sale

The best Club World fares are to the US and Canada:

  • Austin — £1,441
  • Boston — £1,364
  • Chicago — £1,339
  • Cincinnati — £1,570
  • Denver — £1,692
  • Houston — £1,516
  • Las Vegas — £1,954
  • LA — £1,816
  • Miami — £1,862
  • Montreal — £1,347
  • Nashville — £1,520
  • New Orleans — £1,595
  • New York — £1,296
  • Philadelphia — £1,389
  • Phoenix — £1,804
  • Pittsburgh — £1,495
  • San Diego — £1,829
  • San Francisco — £1,716
  • Seattle — £1,410
  • Toronto — £1,308
  • Washington DC — £1,439

There are slim pickings outside of North America, with just a handful of historically decent fares:

  • Buenos Aires — £2,498
  • Grenada — £2,099
  • Male — £2,697
  • Shanghai — £2,323
British Airways sale deals

Get an even better deal with BA Holidays

There are also some good deals over at BA Holidays, assuming you are happy to package a hotel and / or car with your flight.

You can make substantial savings when you book a flight + hotel deal with BA Holidays. For example, in the sale Club World flight prices to Boston start at £1,364 pp. The sample deal below, which includes four nights in a four star hotel, is £1,569 pp. Adding the hotel only costs a couple an extra £100 per night.

Some headline deals include:

  • New York: 3 nights room-only at the 4* Hilton Times Square from £579pp departing 8th January 2024. Includes World Traveller return flights from London Gatwick Airport, 23kg luggage allowance and accommodation.
  • Antigua: 7 nights at the 4* Royalton Antigua, An Autograph Collection from £1,399pp departing 4th September 2023. Includes World Traveller return flights from London Gatwick Airport, 23kg luggage allowance and a free room upgrade from Luxury Junior Suite to Luxury Junior Suite Bay View.
  • Boston: 4 nights room-only at the 4* Boston Park Plaza from £1,569pp, departing on 11th January 2024. Includes Club World flights from London Heathrow, two 32kg bags and accommodation.
  • Mexico: 7 nights all-inclusive at 4* Allegro Playacar from £2,239pp, departing on 7th November 2023. Includes Club World flights from London Gatwick, two 32kg bags and accommodation.

Here are typical Club Europe deals:

  • Morocco: from £739 for seven nights at the 4* Kenzi Club Agdal Medina, travelling in December 2023. Includes Club Europe return flights from London Gatwick Airport, two 32kg bags and accommodation.
  • Prague: 3 nights room-only at the 4* Hotel Duo from £319pp, travelling on 19th November 2023. Includes Club Europe flights from London Heathrow, two 32kg bags and accommodation.

You will receive DOUBLE British Airways Executive Club tier points too

One of the most attractive promotions currently running from any travel company is the British Airways Holidays ‘double tier points’ offer.

If you book a ‘flight and hotel’ or ‘flight and car’ package for 5+ nights via British Airways Holidays, for travel completed by 31st December 2023, you will receive double tier points on your flights.

(Yes, this offer is now extended until December 2023. Even better, the extra tier points are now posting punctually according to our readers. You will receive them within 14 days of your flight.)

There are two things to note about the double tier points offer:

  • you must book flights which carry a British Airways flight number – codeshare flights with, say, Qatar Airways are acceptable but only if your booking shows a BAXXXX flight number
  • whilst your booking must contain at least five nights of hotel or car rental, your overall stay can be longer

In my pricing example above, Marrakech is a 160 tier point route in Club Europe, so you would receive a whopping 320 tier points if you travel in 2023 via the double tier points offer.

Full details of the ‘double tier points’ offer can be found on the British Airways Holidays website here.

Why book with BA Holidays?

The benefits of using BA Holidays versus booking a cash flight and hotel include:

  • only pay a deposit now with the balance not due until 5-7 weeks before travel
  • 1 bonus Avios for every £1 spent at BA Holidays on top of the usual Avios earned from your flights

You can also use Avios now to pay or part-pay at BA Holidays – see our article here.

Conclusion

You can see full details of offers and fares in the sale section of the BA website here. It is also worth using the Low Fare Finder tool on ba.com to track down destinations and fares and which months they’re available.

To maximise your miles when paying, your best bet is the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card which earns double Avios (3 per £1) when you book at ba.com or via BA Holidays. You do not get double Avios if you book with the free British Airways American Express card or a Barclaycard Avios Mastercard.

Another option is American Express Preferred Rewards Gold which offers double points – 2 per £1 – when you book flight tickets directly with an airline. This card currently has a sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 20,000 Avios if converted.

The British Airways sale ends on 30th May.

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 (44)

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

  • Jonathan says:
    16 May16 May 06:07

    Having to use BA’s heavily outdated and frustratingly difficult to use holidays website, for some it might not be worth looking at…

  • TimM says:
    16 May16 May 07:06

    “There are slim pickings outside of North America”
    Indeed.

    Regarding BA Holidays, the price pp assumes double occupancy. One of the best luxuries is solo-occupancy of a double room. Does anyone really want to share the snoring, farting and mess of someone else in their room? Solo-occupancy pricing should be at least mentioned in the same breath.

    • NorthernLass says:
      16 May16 May 07:19

      You can book a BA holiday for one person, it’s just that most hotel rooms sleep two or more people. It’s generally still better value than booking the flight and hotel separately.
      You can also add more rooms if you are booking for 2 or more people and don’t want to share!

    • Gordon says:
      16 May16 May 07:44

      “Farting and mess” Err House keeping would need PPE for changing that bedding!!!

  • Alex says:
    16 May16 May 07:08

    Do British Airways ever have sale on rewards flights paid with Avios?

    • NorthernLass says:
      16 May16 May 07:16

      Once, during the pandemic, I doubt we’ll see it again.

      • meta says:
        16 May16 May 09:13

        There were many reward sales in the past, not just during the pandemic. They do print Avios like never before so I agree that the chances of one again are slim.

    • Lewis says:
      16 May16 May 09:46

      I once managed to get back to the UK with half the Avios, but then had to cancel the return due to covid. I got the full amount back. Don’t tell anyone 😅

  • Stefaan Michels says:
    16 May16 May 07:50

    One important caveat on the double tier points bonus.
    Your flight must originate in the UK.

    Having read this promotion on HFP a few days ago, I booked a holiday to Miami for 5 days, business class so was looking forward to quite a lot of Bonus Tier points. Only to read in the small print later that your flights had to originate in the UK.
    My flight is out of Brussels.
    Called BA and they confirmed I was not eligible.
    HFP / Rhys Jones should probably add that to their article as I am sure quite a few readers don’t live in the UK.

    • Rob says:
      16 May16 May 08:20

      Everything on HfP is written from a UK perspective. If you’re one of the very tiny handful of readers outside the UK then you need to adjust accordingly unfortunately.

      • Stefaan says:
        16 May16 May 09:15

        I actually do live in the UK, however on this occasion I am in Brussels on business before starting the trip.
        I was unaware your website was written with starting travel from a UK perspective only.
        It’s not a problem, as I still got a good deal, however I think it should have been part of :”things to note about the double tier points offer”, then I wouldn’t have book the extra night to get to 5, and would have remained with my originally planned 4 nights.

        • Jonathan says:
          16 May16 May 09:23

          At least you’ve got some extra time to enjoy the city !

    • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:
      16 May16 May 09:07

      If you’ve only paid the deposit then you could cancel the booking and forgo the deposit and simply book a new trip starting in London.

      Depends how much that affects the price though and whether that’s then worth the double tier points plus the cost of the extra BRU-LHR flights and possibly a hotel at LHR.

      This has always been an ex UK offer.

      • Jonathan says:
        16 May16 May 09:40

        Depends how much an individual is willing to pay for tier points

  • Dan says:
    16 May16 May 07:51

    How to navigate the holiday offers selecting the hotel just for part of the the stay?
    Is any way around?

    • Rob says:
      16 May16 May 08:18

      There should be a tick box saying ‘I only want a hotel for part of my stay’.

    • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:
      16 May16 May 09:01

      Use the ”create custom trip” option.

      On the main BA.com page select “flight + hotel” then “create custom trip”

      • Dan says:
        16 May16 May 09:35

        Thank you, super useful.

        • Irons80 says:
          16 May16 May 13:03

          Tip: if you do a create custom trip, extra discount doesn’t come off automatically… you have to phone in to have it applied… just did it for a flights (different start and end point) + car… got £100 extra off

  • Andrew. says:
    16 May16 May 08:47

    A few things have caught my eye.

    The most irritating thing when flicking through the BA holiday finder is when you get the “price has changed” message, although it does very occasionally drop.

    Also, and this is the same for many OTAs, when the room type is vague. Eg “King or two doubles”, “Room allocated at check in”, or “run of the house”. When I’m travelling with a mate and don’t want to share a bed with them, I want to have confidence in the number of beds in the room I’ve booked.

    • Ade says:
      16 May16 May 08:56

      The website is unbelievably vague. Long lists of room types with no pictures and no information. It feels horribly outdated.

      • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:
        16 May16 May 09:32

        I refer back to the hotels own website. But multiple rooms seems to be a result of the hotel having so many subdivisions of the same type.

        The hotel I booked at the weekend has only 5 room types and BA Hols only showed those 5 types.

        Also I never use the “holiday finder” because it is awful. Once I know where I want to go I use the “flight + hotel” option on the main page as it’s much more user friendly (but still with some quirks) !

      • Jonathan says:
        16 May16 May 09:37

        A summary of BA’s IT software system that the general public use.

        The fact that you can’t do certain types of bookings online (notably open-jaw) and must be completed via making a call to them is quite frankly unbelievable.
        If they invested heavily in their IT it’d decrease the need in call centres.
        When you use their iOS app to loom for a reward availability, it asks for Face ID / fingerprint login / verification and then asks you to put in your BAEC login details like you’re using a completely different computer !

        With this sort of thing in mind, it’s definitely time BA got a new software system in place, or heavily updated the current one

        • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:
          16 May16 May 10:15

          BA has a team of 200 working on all sorts of website fixes and improvements on both the passenger facing and staff facing sides. Some of the staff facing systems are worse than the ones for passengers and really do limit the ability for lots of passengers to self serve bookingd.

          These really are fixes and improvements and not just changing the look and feel.

          Some info here but this is more than a ‘refresh ‘. BA had plans (from before the pandemic) for a whole root and branch update of all their IT sysyems.

          https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/2121742-ba-com-refresh-improvements-wishlist.html

          • Rhys says:
            16 May16 May 11:35

            I’m surprised a company the size and complexity of BA doesn’t have 200 devs working on its systems all year round…

          • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:
            16 May16 May 14:32

            @Rhys but isn’t all IT consolidated within IAG and not the individual airlines and with cost cutting is in our DNA the staff that should really be there weren’t there.

  • Vit says:
    16 May16 May 10:17

    Thanks Rhys. Need to travel for work to both YYZ and HOU next couple month. Quite reasonable price comparing to what I seen browsing around past month or so.

    Do you (anyone) know if both HOU flights are with CS? I take the AM one with 777 has CS but the later one is 787-10 also has CS and F?

    • Rhys says:
      16 May16 May 11:34

      787-10 is Club Suite and F

    • jjoohhnn says:
      16 May16 May 12:09

      All 787-10 have first and club-suite, delivered from Boeing. It’s the 777 where you might get an equipment swap to a 777 which doesn’t, although there are becoming less of these. You might see a 789 on the route too which are CW

  • SteveCroydon says:
    16 May16 May 10:26

    A couple of typos:
    “This is potentially bad news for BA, which has BEEN enjoying sky-high prices, but good news for the rest of us.”
    I tried looking for “Phoeniz” but could only find “Phoenix”!
    None of these fares match my First return to Denver via DFW last year for £2k. 500 TPs and BAEC Silver for 25 months, plus 32,000 Avios. It was actually £20 better value than an Avios return in Club to Denver.

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