The Avios earning rate on BA Holidays is sharply reduced

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Back in January, I wrote this article explaining the good deals that could be secured via BA Holidays. In particular, how booking a hotel and flight package could be cheaper than just booking a flight – a topic I am returning to in a few days.

One extra upside was bonus Avios points. BA has historically offered 5,000 Avios for a short-haul holiday (ie a flight and hotel booked together) – and that is on top of your BA Amex points (doubled on the BA Premium Plus Amex card as it is classed as BA spend) and the Avios from your flight.

This part of this deal has now been significantly devalued, however.

The new BA Holidays home page is here.

Instead of earning 5,000 bonus Avios on a short-haul break, you now earn 2 bonus Avios per £1 spent. Given that a typical weekend away with Club Europe flights is under £1,000, the bonus has come down sharply.

BA Holidays is still worth a look if you are planning a weekend away, especially if a package is cheaper than just the flights. You can also get away with just paying a £150 deposit, whilst booking just flights would require the full amount to be paid upfront.

How to earn Avios points from UK credit cards

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 BA Amex American Express card

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 BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

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: