MOVE FAST: new British Airways ‘Avios only’ flights launched for August 2024

Earlier this year, British Airways launched ‘Avios only’ flights, copying a successful Qantas initiative.

Selected flights in the schedule are withdrawn from cash sale with every single seat opened up for Avios redemption.

The third batch has now become available for booking – and it includes some excellent Mediterranean destinations for August 2024, over the Bank Holiday.

This time, there are dedicated outbound and return flights for all of the destinations. The flights are a week apart, with all routes except Florence running Saturday to Saturday.

Route	Outbound date	Inbound date
London City to Florence	23rd August 2024	30th August 2024
London City to Ibiza	24th August 2024	31st August 2024
London Heathrow to Mallorca	24th August 2024	31st August 2024
London Heathrow to Faro	24th August 2024	31st August 2024
London Heathrow to Corfu	24th August 2024	31st August 2024

You don’t need to book these flights as a return. If you wanted to stay away for longer or less than a week, you can mix and match these flights with any other available Avios service.

It’s simply that there will be unlimited Avios availability on one flight on the dates above and so getting a seat won’t be an issue if you book now.

The Avios pricing for these flights is the same as usual – there are no surcharges or special conditions. The lead in Avios pricing, based on the lowest available cash element and the highest possible Avios element, is the following (all prices return):

Florence

• £1 + 25,500 Avios in Euro Traveller (economy)
• £1 + 44,500 Avios in Club Europe (business class)

Ibiza, Mallorca, Faro

• £1 + 25,500 Avios in Euro Traveller (economy)
• £1 + 44,500 Avios in Club Europe (business class)

Corfu

• £1 + 30,500 Avios in Euro Traveller (economy)
• £1 + 54,500 Avios in Club Europe (business class)

You tend to get a better ‘point per Avios’ valuation if you select the mid-tier level of taxes and fees, which tends to sit around £50 return in Club Europe and £35 in Euro Traveller. It makes little sense to book the ‘£1’ option unless you are very Avios rich and cash poor.

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, ahem, whatever lower sum ba.com may choose to charge you – or the Reward Flight Saver fee paid, whichever is lower).

Conclusion

Based on previous ‘Avios only’ sales this year you will have to move fast to secure tickets on these flights. The first sale – with flights to Sharm El Sheikh in November – sold out within 24 hours. I imagine these destinations, falling over August Bank Holiday, will be even more popular.

You can book on the British Airways website here. There is no dedicated landing page – just book your redemption in the usual way.

PS. the photo above is of the W Ibiza, which we reviewed a few years ago.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2023)

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 9th January 2024, you will receive 30,000 Membership Rewards points (convertible to 30,000 Avios) with American Express Preferred Rewards Gold. You receive 25,000 points if you spend £3,000 in three months and a further 5,000 points if you hold the card for 15 months. You can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 9th January 2024, you will receive a huge 100,000 Membership Rewards points (convertible to 100,000 Avios) with The Platinum Card. You receive 75,000 points if you spend £10,000 in six months and a further 25,000 points if you hold the card for 15 months. You can apply here.

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.

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.

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.

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