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British Airways discounting short haul Avios redemptions – five days only

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British Airways has launched a short flash sale on European Avios redemptions – see here.

The snag is that it is only valid on redemptions from Gatwick and London City which restricts the routes you can choose.

Apart from that, it’s a decent offer with a broad redemption period. Both Euro Traveller and Club Europe cabins are included.

British Airways Club Europe

The key dates are:

  • book by 23rd October 2024
  • travel between 12th November 2024 and 25th March 2025

You will save ‘up to’ 40% on the Avios component of your redemption, depending on route. The cash element is NOT reduced. This means that you should think carefully about which ‘Avios and cash’ combination you choose.

Generally, the ‘most Avios’ option – eg the one with £1 of taxes and charges in Euro Traveller and £25 of taxes and charges in Club Europe – is NOT the best option if you value an Avios at 1p. With a discount of ‘up to’ 40% on the Avios part, however, it may be. There is no list of what the discount is by route.

You can find out more about the offer on this page of ba.com.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

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:

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

Get 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

30,000 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.

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.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large 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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

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

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

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

50,000 points when you sign-up 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 (40)

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

  • Gordon says:
    19 Oct19 October 05:11

    Not mentioned, for anyone not aware of this offer, You have until the 20th Oct! Thanks Rob.

  • Swiss Jim says:
    19 Oct19 October 07:42

    Excellent. Just rebooked then cancelled original Avios flights to Germany. 25% off. 16,000 Avios in total saved….

    The benefits of booking £1 cash element seats. I have a different view to Rob from on this.

    • TGLoyalty says:
      19 Oct19 October 09:01

      What’s the different view? Everyone gets charged the same low cancellation fee of £1 anyway

      • Nico says:
        19 Oct19 October 09:30

        He means £1 fare can be best value in general

        • Swiss Jim says:
          19 Oct19 October 09:49

          I didn’t. I meant booking £1 means I only get charged £1 cancellation fee. But I think @TGLoyalty you’re right – it’s £1 even if I use fewer Avios / more cash isn’t it? My mistake.

          • Rob says:
            19 Oct19 October 10:08

            Correct. Or £25 for a return CE.

          • TGLoyalty says:
            19 Oct19 October 14:09

            Costly Mistake too as that option is rarely good value.

          • Gavin says:
            19 Oct19 October 14:19

            Yes it’s always 50p per leg cancellation fee for short haul no matter which option you booked. At least until they update their IT to reflect the T&Cs.

  • PB2 says:
    19 Oct19 October 08:15

    Cheers 🥂

  • Richie says:
    19 Oct19 October 09:19

    BTW Tesco Clubcard have 25% off 6 bottles of wine if you fancy some Virgin points.

    • Erico 1875 says:
      19 Oct19 October 10:27

      Iv not got that.😭
      May not be available in Scotland due to Multi buy laws on alcohol

      • Richie says:
        19 Oct19 October 10:33

        BTW “….Excludes: meal deal, boxed & fortified wines under £5.50 in England & NI or £7 in Wales & bottles under 200ml. Minimum unit pricing applies in Wales. Max 36 bottles. Excludes Express, Scotland & Whoosh. Ends 31/10/24..”

  • JenT says:
    19 Oct19 October 10:38

    Does anyone have a handy list of places BA fly to from City and Gatwick?

    • Rob says:
      19 Oct19 October 10:46

      City – Winter 2024/5:
      Amsterdam (28+ flights per week)
      Barcelona (4+ flights per week)
      Belfast City (18 flights per week)
      Bergerac (3 flights per week, December only)
      Berlin (21+ flights per week)
      Billund (8 flights per week)
      Chambery (3 flights per week, December – March)
      Dublin (33+ flights per week)
      Edinburgh (49 flights per week)
      Florence (13+ flights per week)
      Frankfurt (16+ flights per week)
      Geneva (5+ flights per week
      Glasgow (22+ flights per week)
      Ibiza (7+ flights per week)
      Malaga (3+ flights per week)
      Milan (1 flight per week)
      Nice (3+ flights per week, October and March only)
      Palma de Mallorca (2+ flights per week)
      Prague (3+ flights per week)
      Rotterdam (20+ flights per week)
      San Sebastian (1+ per week October, December, March)
      Zurich (17+ flights per week)

  • Richie says:
    19 Oct19 October 10:51

    BTW BACF flights from LGW and STN don’t seem to be included in the discounted avios offer.

  • Alan Vickers says:
    19 Oct19 October 11:19

    Wonder if any HfP peeps have gone to BTW airport 🤔

  • Flier33 says:
    19 Oct19 October 11:31

    Would 241/barclays work together with the sale?

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

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