BOOK NOW: a Barbados ‘Avios only’ flight for February half-term is launched

British Airways has launched its first ‘Avios only’ flight of the year.

Every seat, in every cabin, on the Barbados flights on 15th February (out) and 22nd February (back) are bookable NOW.

Move quickly if you want to get a seat.

EDIT: All Business and Premium Economy seats went quickly – you need to follow HfP more closely to jump on these deals! However, we suspect that a lot of seats will be cancelled as people fail to get approval from their partners or employers, or realise how expensive hotels are over February half term. See our comments below about setting up a SeatSpy alert.

‘Avios only’ flights were launched last year, starting with the inaugural flight to Sharm El Sheikh. More short haul services followed. In December, BA raised its game sharply – a Dubai long haul flight was added for October half term, the peakest of peak weeks for UK tourism to the UAE.

(Disclosure: I managed to get four Club World seats on this flight. I missed the outbound when the flight launched, as I was travelling, but quite a few seats were later cancelled and I picked them up via a SeatSpy alert.)

ALL seats in ALL cabins are available for redemption on his new flight.

However, it is a Boeing 787-10 service. In theory, these have a first class cabin although it does not appear to be for sale. BA’s 787-10s have Club Suite, although the aircraft may well change before February.

When will the ‘Avios only’ flight run?

One issue is that February half-term tends to vary amongst schools.

Here are the flights, which are now bookable:

• Saturday 15th February – 13.35 Heathrow, lands 18.35 Barbados

• Saturday 22nd February – 20.25 Barbados, lands 08.35 next day Heathrow

The pricing options for Club World are:

• 200,000 Avios + £450
• 168,000 Avios + £640
• 150,000 Avios + £810
• 116,000 Avios + £1,200
• 84,000 Avios + £1,650
• 60,000 Avios + £1,920

2-4-1 companion vouchers etc can be used as normal.

These seats won’t last long. Remember that all Avios seats are cancellable for a £35 per person fee. All points and taxes will be returned.

Missed out?

It is likely that by the time you read this, Business Class seats will have gone.

Based on my experience with the Dubai flight last year, all cancelled seats go back into Avios availability. A LOT of seats will be cancelled because people have booked without discussing with their family, or indeed checking Barbados hotel pricing over February half term. Many will be cancelled within 24 hours due to the ‘free cancellation within 24 hours’ rule.

Set up a SeatSpy alert and you have a chance of getting seats over the next few days.

There are two Geneva flights as well

Whilst less exciting, BA has also added two ‘Avios only’ Geneva flights for half term.

There are outbound flights on Saturday 15th and Saturday 22nd February, and return flights on Saturday 22nd February and Saturday 1st March.

PS. There is an interesting rule change for the Barbados flight. Any unsold seats on 15th November 2024 will be sold for cash. BA is also selling the flight for cash if passengers connect from elsewhere. It is only ‘Avios only’ for people joining in 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:

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 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.

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.

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

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.