Bits and pieces for Thursday (BA, Qantas competition)

News in brief:

BA extends Gatwick ‘hand baggage only’ fares

Last month, as I wrote here, BA launched a trial of ‘hand baggage only’ fares on its routes from Gatwick, in an attempt to win back market share from easyJet.

In reality, it will be too early to tell how it is going. However, BA is pushing ahead with a full roll out, and from April 2nd you will be able to buy ‘hand baggage only’ tickets at ba.com to all short-haul Gatwick destinations.

Win Qantas seats to Dubai

I don’t normally flag competitions on Head for Points, but this one is interesting. Qantas is offering two premium economy seats on its new A380 service from London to Dubai.

It is only being offered via the Business Traveller magazine website, which will limit the number of entries, so worth a shot I think. The deadline is March 31st.

BA premium sale extended

BA has extended the Club World, Club Europe and First sale that I wrote about last week. You now have until March 19th to book.

I have taken the plunge myself and scrapped our Austrian / Lufthansa bmi redemption to Dubai in favour of 4 Club World sale seats! I realised that the tickets were so cheap that the value of the miles and taxes I got back from the bmi tickets, plus the Avios we earn on the flight, were about equal – and we now get direct flights.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a 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, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios 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.

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)