British Airways launches new ‘Visit California’ campaign in run up to San Jose launch

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British Airways announced a new route yesterday – to Tehran. I will cover this later in the week, but for most people the highlights of the expanded BA route network in 2016 will be Lima, Costa Rica and, from 4th May, San Jose in California.

San Jose will utilise one of the new Boeing 787-9 aircraft which means that it will be a four class service, including the latest version of the British Airways First Class seat.

Operating daily, this is, fundamentally, the ‘silicon valley’ flight. Expect it to be full of Google and Apple employees shuttling back and forth. Amazingly, it is the first direct flight from anywhere in Europe to San Jose.

If you are looking for Avios availability to California or Nevada, it is another option to add to the existing choices of Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Phoenix or Las Vegas.

‘Visit California’ promotion now on

Until 14th February, British Airways is running a special California promotion with discounts on flights and holidays to Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego. Details can be found on this special BA webpage.

As part of this promotion, Head for Points will be running three extra articles over the next week to highlight interesting new tourist opportunities in the area. These articles are on top of the usual three HfP stories each day and are being underwritten by British Airways (but written by us) as it wanted to support the site. I hope you find them interesting.

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: