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EXCLUSIVE: ‘50% off’ Avios redemption sale starts Monday

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An extra 4th article today to let you know that I have it on good authority from a source in Sussex that British Airways will be launching a ‘50% off’ Avios redemption sale on Monday.

This will only apply to World Traveller flights (long-haul economy).

Most – but not all – routes will be included.  New York, Dubai etc are all in there.

Avios wing 14

It will only apply to tickets which start in the UK.

Full taxes and charges will still be payable.

The booking period will run from Monday until 13th July.

You must travel between 1st October and 28th February, excluding the Christmas period of 18th December to 10th January.

Full details on Monday when I have them.  However, do not make any World Traveller bookings over the weekend!


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.

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.

Comments (45)

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

  • Adam Huberman says:

    Not such a bargain on long haul as BA crucifies you on fuel surcharges which makes the par less than £100 cheaper than a revenue ticket where you would also earn miles making it pretty much worthless even at half the miles. The only exception would be if you can get seats on peak dates.

  • Lipton says:

    A genuine BA sale would see a reduction in the rip off rates of taxes/fees. £361 in fees for a return economy flight from London to New York is ridiculous when you can pay a little extra in cash and get avios anyway.

    • Adam Huberman says:

      My point precisely, about time BA copied Virgin and started reducing fuel surcharges on redemptions.

  • Scott says:

    I picked up some fares from OSL etc recently to SFO and JFK for less than £300 (getting 15-25K Avios back) so wouldn’t be going out of my way to spend 20k Avios + £361 in taxes.
    There have been some LHR-JFK fares for £398 and below as well recently.

    Possibly aimed at people who fly once a year, have a few Avios built up and don’t really know prices that well but see “half price” and jump on it thinking they’re getting a bargain.

  • Mikeact says:

    What is the shortest/nearest long haul destination ?

    • Rob says:

      Moscow or Tel Aviv. Note that not all Moscow flights are on a 747, some are shorthaul planes.

      And you need a visa.

      • Rich. S says:

        Only short haul if their is a sub.
        Aircraft operating are
        747-400 (4 class)
        767-300 (3 class)
        A321 (2 class -Club world (former BMI flat bed) and economy)

  • Kiran says:

    Got excited with the headline but then realised WT+ isn’t included. The wife wants an LHR-BLR-LHR trip in late July/early August and the only availability is in WT+. Also the availability is sparse. Perhaps I should go ahead and book those anyway. 75K Avios + £503 taxes is a rip-off!

  • Mikeact says:

    This may be better than we think, as Avios themselves start their sale as well…. on all their partners maybe ?

  • CV says:

    This doesn’t really change much – economy redemptions are poor value.

    Will Avios match Virgin and reduce their fees/surcharges? Probably not.

  • Rich. S says:

    Don’t forget that starting in JER or IOM may be possible with different surcharges?

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

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