News: bid Avios for British Grand Prix VIP tickets, BA’s Manchester to Billund flights suspended

News in brief:

Bid (a lot of) Avios for British Grand Prix Paddock Club tickets

Qatar Airways Privilege Club has opened the bidding on two x 3-day Paddock Club VIP packages for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on 5th to 7th July.

You are bidding for:

• Two 3-day F1 Paddock Club passes
• 4-star hotel for four nights for two people
• F1 Experience Pit Lane Walk
• Access to Paddock Club viewing lounges
• Food and beverages included

The Paddock Club packages on their own are selling for £10,000 for two plus you need to add in the value of the hotel. You won’t be getting it cheap though, as the current bid is 428,000 Avios.

You can read more about how Privilege Club Collection Avios auctions work in this article.

If 428,000 Avios is beyond you, you will get a better deal on the following VIP concert packages at The O2. Remember that each package is for two people and comes with £400 to spend on food and drink.

• TOOL – 3rd June – 16,250 Avios highest bid
• J Balvin – 5th June – 16,100 Avios highest bid
• The Smashing Pumpkins and Weezer – 8th June – 5,241 Avios highest bid
• Liam Gallagher – 10th June – 10,298 Avios highest bid
• Liam Gallagher – 11th June – 7,900 Avios highest bid

BA franchise SUN-AIR suspends Manchester to Billund

SUN-AIR, the airline which operates British Airways flights out of Denmark under a franchise agreement, is suspending its Manchester to Billund (home of LEGOLAND) service for the summer.

It was also possible to book Manchester to Gothenburg on SUN-AIR, with a connection in Billund.

Flights are suspended from 13th May. No firm date is given for a restart except that it will be ‘after the summer break’.

Passengers are being offered a refund or a rebooking on the Heathrow to Billund service with a connection to/from Manchester.

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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:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

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.