BA clamping down on ex-EU tickets – our first example?
Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.
Three weeks ago I wrote about the new British Airways campaign to clamp down on travellers who buy tickets from another European country – because they are substantially cheaper than starting in London – but then fail to take the last leg from London to their starting point.
There was much discussion, both on here and elsewhere, about whether British Airways was serious.
Here is an email I received from a long-time HfP reader a couple of days ago. I have not edited it at all.
“You recently ran an article on a BA clampdown on the final leg of ex-EU flights. I have recently returned from the US and thought I would share my experience as is fits with what you described.
We had book a US flight ex Dublin arriving back in LHR and then connecting to Dublin. As a precaution had our return to London from Dublin booked later in the evening. I thought we would escape because the final leg was going to be the same day!
When we requested to have our bags put through only to London we were met with major resistance at the airport. The check in desk declined to do this and issued our boarding passes and referred us to the ticket desk. At the ticket desk they initially indicated that it would be a change of ticket and we would have to pay a price difference.
We were asked to prove we intended to take the flight to Dublin and they asked for the booking reference of the positioning flight to show that we were planning to fly and not simply going to miss the flights. The request was escalated to the back office and eventually they agreed to book the bags only through to London – security was also given as a reason for not wanting to permit this as well etc! It was made very clear that we were lucky they agreed to let us do this and that it would not be allowed again.
However as things worked out I needed to take the Dublin flight as a family emergency arose. (My colleague missed his connection.)
I share the above as it seems that there is a clear push to make sure people connect to their final destination when returning to another EU city on the same day.”
Whilst one example does not mean much in itself, it is worth bearing in mind.
The only way to ensure that this does not happen to you is to book your final leg from Gatwick or City, or leave a gap of a week or month before taking the last leg – although this adds Air Passenger Duty to your fare and actually makes your ticket look suspicious.
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.)
Comments (101)