Forget the Avios changes for now – just get booking!

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In what is clearly a co-ordinated plan by British Airways, they announced massive changes to British Airways Executive Club just minutes after I boarded an eight hour flight 🙂

They forgot, though, that just because BA does not have wi-fi it does not mean that no airlines have wi-fi. One up to Etihad.

Avios wing 8

I will do a full analysis of the changes for tomorrow. My wife is away on business so a very late night will not lead to any marital disharmony.

In the short term, ie today, FORGET ABOUT THEM.

Because BA has released tens of thousands of Club World and World Traveller seats overnight, you have NEVER had a better chance of getting the redemption you want.

Fuss about the BAEC changes tomorrow. Today, dust off that Amex 2-4-1 voucher and get something booked.

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:

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.)

Category

British Airways and Avios

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

Chilibenny says:

28 Jan28 January 19:18

Will Aer Lingus redemptions now increase Raffles?
- Mark says:
  
  28 Jan28 January 20:27
  
  What about the sweet spot (dub -bos). Please tell me it is still 12.5k one way. That’s my only pleasure with BA – except the 52 flights per year (bhd – lhr) to earn my summer holiday.
  - Rob says:
    
    28 Jan28 January 21:15
    
    No. Will now be priced as a peak redemption.
    - Brendan says:
      
      28 Jan28 January 21:59
      
      12.5k is the peak redemption so that won’t change. However business will go from 25k to 37.5k each way.
- Rob says:
  
  28 Jan28 January 21:17
  
  Yes, now priced as peak at all times.
  
  Once BA buys Aer Lingus they will also have fuel surcharges attached but that is a year down the road at least.
CV says:

28 Jan28 January 20:08

There is good and bad if redeeming on a BA flight. The real bad news is the pricing of all oneworld airline flights as peak. This means i might have to use avios and fly with BA in Club or First – neither of which have ever appealed to me having flown a bunch of other airlines.

I’m glad i applied the earn and burn rule a few weeks ago when i flew HKG to LHR with Cathay in First Class – was sheer bliss! However, its an experience i wont repeat as i will need to be more careful with spending Avios, and with cheaper redemptions on BA (off peak) and increased availability on BA it looks like i will be forced to use BA!
- RIccati says:
  
  28 Jan28 January 23:02
  
  This is what is going on in core, people are forced to take BA redemptions.
- Polly says:
  
  29 Jan29 January 03:20
  
  We are currently using our 241 on BA F return to HKG, but did avios on Cx to Bali, fab space in Y, their Y asking price was £488 pp, we paid total of £57 plus 50k avios. Really good value, and their 6 seats quite spacious. Trying to figure this out, does this mean we now will be charged full taxes etc even if we do a jump off in Y on a partner?
CV says:

28 Jan28 January 20:20

Another thought – this will significantly devalue the Amex BA card (bonus avios and earned avios) but may be offset by the 2-4-1 seeming better value now.

At least with Amex MR cards you have the option of which airline to put your points into.
- Gordon says:
  
  28 Jan28 January 22:35
  
  Perhaps we are about to see the end of the 2-4-1 voucher as well
  - RIccati says:
    
    28 Jan28 January 23:05
    
    Yes, given how it rolls BA is bound to ask for more cash from AMEX. It’s own price for the partner’s seat have just increased.
  - RT says:
    
    29 Jan29 January 11:35
    
    If that’s the case, that’ll also be the death of the BA Amex card altogether.
Dev says:

28 Jan28 January 20:22

I’m done with BA and Avios. Need to spend another £8K (£3K for wifes 26000 signup bonus) and £5K to activate the 2-4-1. Should give me 200K Avios. Even at the inflated Peak prices, that should be enough for a LHR-BOM rtn in F and then I’m out. I am going to cancel the BA PP Amex’s and focus on universal flexible currencies such as MR and SPG points. The wife and I will churn them and build them up for the aspirational rewards on airlines like Etihad, Emirates and Singapore. Instead, for the yearly holiday or two, I will suck up the money and focus on ex-Europe deals on airlines like Qatar, Emirates to the East and shock horror, airlines such as AA or Delta for Westbound. Both options have better J seats then BA currently. The money I will save from ignoring BA and Tesco will more than compensate for it.
AndyGWP says:

28 Jan28 January 20:39

Hmmm. Not sure where I stand on my next trip, and can’t for the life of me find any detail either.

I have an AA ticket purchased for July for one of the infamous DUB-HNL journeys that were posted here recently.

Will BA know when that ticket was purchased as I was planning to credit from AA to BAEC (which would get me silver, but no idea what it would get me with the new rules!! )
- AndyGWP says:
  
  28 Jan28 January 20:44
  
  Re-reading it, it would still get me silver by HNL as TP earning has not changed, however the question is what TP bonus I get after that point, avios etc
  - Patrick says:
    
    28 Jan28 January 21:39
    
    50% bonus instead of 100% – I am going to finish up my last 2f1 and then just concentrate on ex EU and Avianca miles purchasing. I must say the 2f1 creates loyalty to BA only redemptions which I will not miss – it is dull flying with the same airline – particularly such a mediocre one!
  - Brendan says:
    
    28 Jan28 January 21:43
    
    Tickets purchased before 28 April are not affected – old rules still apply.
    
    New rules are for tickets bought after 28 April.
    - AndyGWP says:
      
      28 Jan28 January 22:20
      
      …and this was really my point / question, will they know when my AA ticket was bought??? Presumably yes? 🙂
  - RIccati says:
    
    28 Jan28 January 23:08
    
    They are likely to pull that and try give 50% tier bonus for Silver, instead of 100% in that case, with excuses such as you were not Silver when booking was made. Be on the guard and prepare to contact customer services.
Joe says:

28 Jan28 January 21:11

Thanks raffles. Ive already used my 241 but used my lloyds avios voucher to get 2 ce one ways from pos to lgw on 5th jan next year for pe miles. Flights are stupidly expensive from Caribbean first week of January so result!

My 241 trip (booked a while ago) is in feb, econ out, club back for trinidad carnival; both flights are now completely sold out for paid tix too!
Simmo says:

28 Jan28 January 21:20

Should we be worried the Tesco /Avios rate may change too? Sitting on a few hundred £

Shame I have my long hauls booked already this year! Will try my luck with my remaining 2-4-1 and availability for January flights in a few weeks.
- Brendan says:
  
  28 Jan28 January 21:44
  
  I’m not worried – but that’s because I won’t be converting after these changes!
  - Andy says:
    
    28 Jan28 January 23:49
    
    Me too. I’ve always quite wanted an Omega Speedmaster… I’m about 25,000 CC points away from one (unless the CHF movements recently have made Swiss watches 30% more expensive!)
Paul says:

28 Jan28 January 21:29

Grabbed 2 seats to Cancun for half term in October that weren’t there before. For those worried about only 2 seats per flight I’m guessing it is two seats per cabin so you can always downgrade a couple of the party by one cabin.