British Airways launches more ‘Avios only’ flights for late 2023 and Easter 2024
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British Airways recently launched ‘Avios only’ flights, copying a successful Qantas initiative.
Selected flights in the schedule are withdrawn for cash sale with every single seat opened up for Avios redemption.
The second batch has now become available for booking.
There is a subtle change for this second round of ‘Avios only’ flights.
For the first batch, only OUTBOUND flights were ‘Avios only‘. There were no dedicated return flights, although BA told us that they had increased Avios availability over the following week to hopefully allow everyone to get back.
This time, there is a dedicated outbound flight and a dedicated inbound flight. YOU DON’T NEED TO BOOK BOTH but you shouldn’t have problems getting back on the dedicated return date even if all other flights that week have no Avios availability.
Here are the options. Note that there is a concentration of flights over next Easter which will be attractive to many.
Route | Outbound date | Inbound date |
London Gatwick to Las Palmas | 15 November 2023 | 22 November 2023 |
London Gatwick to Lanzarote | 4 December 2023 | 11 December 2023 |
London Heathrow to Barcelona | 29 March 2024 | 7 April 2024 |
London Heathrow to Nice | 29 March 2024 | 7 April 2024 |
London Gatwick to Tenerife | 29 March 2024 | 7 April 2024 |
The Avios pricing for these flights is the same as usual – there are no surcharges or special conditions.
You can use British Airways American Express 2-4-1 vouchers or Barclays Avios Upgrade vouchers if you wish. The usual cancellation rules apply (£35 per person fee or the Reward Flight Saver fee paid, whichever is lower).
I still think that British Airways isn’t making the most of these offers. If it really wants to make a splash, let’s open up a full Boeing 777 to the Middle East over October half term. This would get people talking. It could also tie these flights into a special event, such as a European pride festival.
I also think there is also potential to do a deal with local hotels to offer special rates to anyone who books these flights. You could add a drinks reception midweek with BA representatives for all of the passengers, irrespective of where they stay.
It is still early days for ‘Avios only’ flights, however. If you want to book one of these trips, I would jump in quickly as the first batch sold out within 24 hours.
PS. The hotel image above is the Hyatt Regency Palais de la Méditerranée hotel, Nice which we recently reviewed
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (March 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 Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
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 £12,000 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.
Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
Get a 10,000 points bonus plus an extra 500 points for our readers 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.
SPECIAL OFFER: You receive a huge 120,000 Membership Rewards points if you apply for American Express Business Platinum by 9th April 2024. You receive 80,000 points for spending £12,000 within 90 days and a further 40,000 points if you retain the card for 14 months. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: You receive 60,000 Membership Rewards points if you apply for American Express Business Gold by 9th April 2024. Remember that the card is FREE for the first year. You receive 40,000 points for spending £6,000 within 90 days and a further 20,000 points if you retain the card for 14 months. Click here to apply.
American Express Business Platinum
Crazy 120,000 points bonus (to 9th April) and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
Huge 60,000 points sign-up bonus (until 9th April) 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.
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