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Bits: new BA Stansted route, HfP in The Economist, new British Airways / China Eastern codeshares

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News in brief:

New British Airways route from Stansted

Over the Summer, British Airways has been running a series of routes from Stansted at the weekend.  These use aircraft which would otherwise be flying from London City but which are left idle by the 24 hour curfew at the airport from Saturday lunchtime.

Despite the often appalling flight times, such as 06.00 departures, the services seem to be doing OK.  BA has announced the following changes for the Winter season:

a new route to Chambery, with an outbound flight on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 17th December

Berlin Tegel to operate all year round (13.15 on a Sunday departure)

Malaga and Faro to be extended by an extra two weeks, with flights to end on 19th / 20th November

I expect further announcements of additional Winter routes to follow.

Cash and Avios bookings to Chambery can be made now at ba.com.

British Airways Stansted routes

HfP in The Economist

The Economist website picked up on the service reductions at British Airways yesterday in this well-written post.

HfP is referenced in the article (although I did not speak to the author) but irrespective of that I recommend that you read it as it offers a good summary of the current position.

This article is outside The Economist paywall so no subscription or sign-up is required.

British Airways announces a codeshare with China Eastern

British Airways has announced a new codeshare agreement with China Eastern even though the airline is a member of the competing SkyTeam alliance.

You will now be able to book flights to Kunming, Xi’an, Nanjing, Hangzhou and Chongqing on a BA flight code, connecting to China Eastern via Chengdu or Shanghai.

Chinese flyers will be able to book flights to Aberdeen, Belfast City, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Newcastle using the MU flight code, connecting to China Eastern flights to Heathrow.


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:

Nectar American Express

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

American Express Platinum card Amex

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 card

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 (41)

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

  • Anon says:

    Bits: Anyone else spied the extra wee secret competition on the Head For Points Facebook page today?

    Another good reason to followi on Facebook…. 😀
    http://www.facebook.com/headforpoints

    • Rob says:

      You really shouldn’t follow HFP ONLY on Facebook as you only see about 20% of the posts in your feed!

      That competition is a favour for the owners but it’s a bit non-core for the main site.

      • Anon says:

        Sorry I meant in addition to visiting the website, subscribe on email & LinkedIn. (I do all of these)

        • Ed says:

          I’m also slightly intrigued by the password protected test page that’s appeared on the menu. Secret hfp group?

          • Rob says:

            No, it is used for drafts of competitions where the organiser can see the text in advance.

      • AndyGWP says:

        Raffles. Is there a setting on Wordpress to make links open in a new window on mobile devices? 🙂

        • Alan says:

          On Android if you press and hold the link it’s akin to a right click and you’ll get a pop-up option to open the link in a new tab (amongst other things). Not sure if iOS has something similar or not.

        • Rob says:

          I usually set up my links to automatically do that but I occasionally forget.

  • Mikeact says:

    Hopefully, the BA tie up with China Eastern won’t affect KL/AF Awards in J.

  • harry says:

    “We regularly review our catering to ensure we are investing where it matters most to our customers.”
    https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1607464/penny-pinching-british-airways-replace-in-flight-meals-on-long-haul-flights-with-fun-size-chocolate-bars-for-passengers/

  • Alex W says:

    Can you make Avios bookings on the China Eastern flights?

  • E1ghty says:

    The degradation of the BA service is making me think twice about saving avios for a long hall first class experience. Just fly business class airberlin or something like that. It sounds to me that BA are taking their customers for granted which seems counterproductive given increased competition.

  • Tina Hammond says:

    BA aren’t the only full service airline to fly from Stanstead. KLM have done so for years with free lounge acces for those in J.
    Nice to get a choice now!

    • Roger says:

      Assuming you mean Stansted, what century are you referring to?

      I regularly used STN connecting at AMS when necessary and for years was KLM Royal Wing (= platinum). Then they ‘merged’ with AF, abandoned STN and I stopped flying KL.

  • G Andrews says:

    Off topic, does anyone know how good the travel accident and inconvenience insurance is that comes with the Amex SPG card? I can’t seem to download the t&c’s.

    I’m travelling around the Caribbean/Miami next month and wondering if it’s necessary to purchase additional travel insurance (presumably to cover theft e.t.c?)

    Wondering if I might just re-open my platinum for the PP and Insurance benefits, Amex Insurance said our previously booked travel would be covered provided I booked them on another held Amex card (which I did).

    Any suggestions? Thanks. 🙂

    • TGLoyalty says:

      My understanding of the SPG and BAPP cover is that its just travel disturbance cover not full travel insurance/medical cover, would either get the platinum or an alternative travel insurance

      • G Andrews says:

        Thanks 🙂

        I plan on taking advantage of BA’s 5th Freedom flights to do a little tour around the Caribbean.
        Any recommendations?

        Thanks.

        • Mikeact says:

          Have you actually managed to book any ?

          • Joe says:

            They are all lovely islands but quiet, definitely go to Tobago and Sr. Kitts. You’ll only get an orange juice on the flight…

  • Brian says:

    OT – IHG are offering a 5% discount on the cash element of Points & Cash bookings until some time in September. It’s not exactly a huge saving, but I know that some people have making a Points & Cash booking as one of their Accelerate targets, so every little helps…

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