NOW BOOKABLE: new ‘Avios only’ flights to Abu Dhabi and Faro for Easter 2025

British Airways has launched two new Avios-only flghts for Easter 2025. These are bookable now.

Both flights will operate on Friday 18th April which is Good Friday, returning eight days later.

There are two options:

• Abu Dhabi
• Faro

Abu Dhabi will be the second long haul flight to operate under the ‘Avios only’ scheme. The first is a Dubai service over October half term, which I am booked on.

ALL seats in ALL cabins are available for redemption. The Abu Dhabi flight is currently showing as a Boeing 787-9 with old-style Club World and no First Class.

Faro will obviously be a typical BA short haul service with Club Europe and Euro Traveller.

Important: most schools are NOT on holiday that week

Easter is very late in 2025 and most schools will not be off that week.

Looking at my own children, schools will break up on either Friday 28th March or Friday 4th April and return on Tuesday 22nd April.

When will the ‘Avios only’ flights run?

Here are the flights, which are now bookable:

• Abu Dhabi outbound – Friday 18th April – 22.25 Heathrow, lands 08.30 Abu Dhabi

• Abu Dhabi return – Saturday 26th April – 10.10 Abu Dhabi, lands 15.20 Heathrow

• Faro outbound – Friday 18th April – 13.10 Heathrow, lands 16.05 Faro

• Faro return – Saturday 26th April – 11.55 Faro, lands 14.40 Heathrow

As per the image above, remember that Abu Dhabi is only a 40 minute cheap taxi ride to Dubai – although Abu Dhabi has lots of decent beach resorts in its own right. Remember that hotel rates in the resorts will be at peak levels over Easter although the lack of British families may see some bargains appearing.

The pricing options for Club World to Abu Dhabi are:

• 170,000 Avios + £375
• 140,000 Avios + £635
• 110,000 Avios + £850
• 96,000 Avios + £1,195
• 68,000 Avios + £1,515
• 48,000 Avios + £1,750

If you have a British Airways American Express 2-4-1 voucher AND you value an Avios at 1p, the cheapest option is 170,000 Avios + £375 (ie 170,000 Avios + £750 for two people). The 140,000 and 110,000 Avios options are not far off. The worst deals by far are the 48,000 and 68,000 Avios options.

If you do NOT have a companion voucher AND you value an Avios at 1p, the cheapest option is 110,000 Avios + £850 per person. The other options are not a lot worse though. except for the 180,000 Avios deal.

Remember that all Avios seats are cancellable for a £35 per person fee. All points and taxes will be returned. You can cancel for free within 24 hours of booking if you want to book now and ask your partner later.

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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.