Now save up to £400 on British Airways flights with ‘Part Pay With Avios’

Back in October 2013, British Airways introduced ‘Part Pay With Avios’. This was a new scheme which allowed you to reduce the cost of a cash ticket by redeeming Avios points. This had been rumoured for some time.

When it finally launched, it was a major disappointment. It was initially restricted to short haul flights only. The maximum discount was also capped at £30 (4,500 Avios) which was later increased to £50.

Given that you are receiving a pretty poor exchange rate for your points, it was a bit pathetic. Why can’t I redeem my Avios to cover the entire cost of a ticket? I would understand why not if BA was giving me a fantastic deal but 0.67p per point was never going to excite anyone.

Slowly but surely, BA is extending the scheme.  Until April 29th, you can now redeem your points for a cash discount on a long-haul ticket. Here are the rules:

You must book a long-haul flight before April 29th

You must travel by April 1st 2016

Your flight must depart from Heathrow or City, not Gatwick

If you book into World Traveller or World Traveller Plus, you can choose between:

£10 off for 1,500 Avios

£30 off for 4,500 Avios

£50 off for 7,500 Avios

£100 off for 15,000 Avios

For bookings in Club World or First, you can choose between:

£30 off for 4,500 Avios

£50 off for 7,500 Avios

£100 off for 15,000 Avios

£200 off for 30,000 Avios

£300 off for 45,000 Avios

£400 off for 60,000 Avios

The redemption rate is still the relatively weak 0.67p per point but you can at least now redeem for a more interesting sum.  Whilst this offer has run before, it has never offered a discount as high as £400 per person.  BA is also experimenting with a lower ‘entry level’ discount in Club World of £30.

The ‘Part Pay With Avios’ website is here.  Full details of this promotion can be found there.

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.)