Bits: earn Avios with the Malaysia / Emirates partnership?, changes to BA peak pricing?

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News in brief:

Earn Avios with the new Malaysia / Emirates partnership?

It is a little known fact, unless you read HfP, that you can earn Avios points and British Airways tier points when you fly with Emirates. The secret, as I explained here, is to book your Emirates flights under the Qantas flight code and not the Emirates one.

Malaysia Airlines has just launched its own codeshare arrangement with Emirates. Most Emirates flights outside Asia can now be booked as Malaysia Airlines codeshares with an MH flight number.

Do these earn Avios and BA tier points too? No.

As you can see on this page of ba.com, a flight with a oneworld flight code but operated by a non-oneworld airline does NOT earn Avios or tier points. The Qantas / Emirates partnership is an exception to this rule as the small print shows:

“Flights booked under the Qantas code (QF) operated by a non-oneworld airline will earn Avios and Tier Points unless operated by Jetstar in a class other than L class.”

If you book an Emirates flight on a Malaysia flight number, you will be out of luck. Stick with the Qantas flight codes.

Malaysia Emirates

Changes coming to Peak and Off Peak BA pricing?

British Airways has been reticent about publishing new ‘peak’ and ‘off-peak’ redemption calendars recently. This is why it is impossible to know if this situation is a bug or not.

If you go to ba.com and try to book a redemption flight for Tuesday 14th February or Wednesday 15th February 2017, they are pricing at peak rates. This will be half term for most schools.

When the new peak and off-peak timetable was introduced, BA promised that every Tuesday and Wednesday would be off-peak, whatever the season. Something has either gone wrong with the IT or BA is planning changes.

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: