New options to Philadelphia with both Avios and Virgin Flying Club miles

Both American Airlines and Delta Air Lines have announced new services from London to Philadelphia this week.

American already runs a daily flight to Philadelphia and will be doubling this to two flights per day from March 29th.  The downside is that American will be using an older Boeing 757-200 operated by US Airways on the route.

As American is a partner in the oneworld alliance with British Airways, you will be able to redeem Avios for this service.  That said, American is currently releasing very little in terms of transatlantic reward seats – this is part of the reason why BA has very few seats available as it picks up the slack.

The Delta service is more interesting as it opens up a new direct route for Virgin Atlantic redemptions.

Delta will also be using a Boeing 757 with its service due to start on April 7th.

The biggest customer on the Philadelphia route is pharma group Glaxo, ferrying staff between its UK headquarters – which you pass on the drive to Heathrow from Central London – to its US HQ. 

British Airways already runs 1-2 flights per day to Philadelphia, one with a Boeing 777 (the 787 that was operating appears to have been withdrawn looking at the timetable) and the other with an older 767.

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.)