Bits: new BA First Liberty washbags, trick when earning Avios with SriLankan Airlines

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News in brief:

New Liberty washbags for British Airways First Class

If you are flying in British Airways First Class from the end of the month, you should get the latest version of the Liberty wash bag which features a new print. They contain lip balm, moisturiser, pulse point (to help customers sleep), toothbrush and toothpaste, socks, a jersey eye-mask and ear plugs, provided in association with Aromatherapy Associates.

Here is the female one:

Liberty bag 3

and here is the dull looking male one:

Liberty washbag British Airways first class

Earning Avios with SriLankan Airlines

As a member of the oneworld alliance, you can earn Avios and British Airways Executive Club tier points when you fly with SriLankan Airlines. You can also redeem Avios for their flights.

A reader pointed out a quirk recently which is worth knowing if you have any SriLankan flights booked.

As of 1st May 2017, Iberia Plus is more generous than British Airways Executive Club for economy flights.

Flights in Q and O earn the same in both schemes – 0.25 Avios per mile flown

Flights in V, S and N earn 0.5 Avios per mile flown in Iberia Plus but just 0.25 Avios in BAEC

Flights in L and R earn 1 Avios per miles flown in Iberia Plus but just 0.25 Avios in BAEC

Flights in B, P, H, K, W, M and E earn 1 Avios per miles flown in Iberia Plus but just 0.5 Avios in BAEC

Flights in Y earn the same in both schemes – 1 Avios per mile flown

So … if a) you are flying Economy with SriLankan and b) your flight is not in Q, O or Y and c) you don’t care about losing the British Airways tier points, you should credit your flights to an Iberia Plus account instead of a British Airways one.

You can move the Avios across to British Airways afterwards using ‘Combine My Avios’ so they won’t be orphaned in Iberia Plus.

You can learn more about BA’s earning rates on partner airlines on ba.com here. The Iberia Plus page showing the earning rates on SriLankan is here.

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:

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.)

Category

British Airways and Avios, oneworld alliance partners

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

Genghis says:

27 Jul27 July 05:46

I thought the article would promote:
http://www.wheretocredit.com/
HDP says:

27 Jul27 July 06:11

That “trick” with Sri Lankan Airlines has been around since they joined oneworld, and the 1 Avios per mile is very generous.

Nearly all advance-purchase intra-Asian flights book into L or R, so I’ve accumulated thousands of Avios on my weekly shuttle SIN-CMB by crediting to Iberia.
- Drav says:
  
  27 Jul27 July 08:03
  
  nobody was saying it’s a new trick… Rob is just pointing out in case anyone didn’t know
  - Rob says:
    
    27 Jul27 July 09:39
    
    I never knew it! You would expect all UL to credit the same across IAG.
    - marcw says:
      
      27 Jul27 July 21:19
      
      something similar happens with Qatar Airways T fare. 50% IbPlus while only 25% BAEC
Simon Cross says:

27 Jul27 July 06:17

Is this “trick” only for Sri Lanka Airways or are there earning disparities between iberia and BA with other one world partners?
David says:

27 Jul27 July 06:38

I’m flying F to Tokyo next May (on a 2-4-1) and wondered what the chances are of getting a ‘female’ rather than a dull ‘male’ washbag – or so they load according to who’s booked on? The ‘female’ one is far nicer (and to be honest the unnecessary ‘gender-ing’ of a wash bag seems a little outmoded, but there we are).
- Barnaby100 says:
  
  27 Jul27 July 07:07
  
  I am sure that if you tell them you think washbags should be gender neutral they will accommodate if they have them on board. I have had flights where I have heard them apologising for not having to offer the opposite sex bags as they were short so not sure how much they load by gender.
- CV3V says:
  
  27 Jul27 July 08:22
  
  You’re flying in First, just ask for the female one and they should provide. On last F flight i got both the male one and the female version (which was a present). Cabin crew complained that they really liked the new bags but weren’t allowed to take them for themselves!
  
  But on a recent LHR – SIN flight they were still handing out the old style bags.
- Richard Shakeshaft says:
  
  27 Jul27 July 08:29
  
  Just ask for a female one! You’ll be missing the blunt razor but otherwise there’s not masses of difference 🙂
  - Graeme says:
    
    27 Jul27 July 11:26
    
    I made the mistake of shaving my head with one once. I knew not to expect something fantastic, but I thought it’d be decent – it wasn’t. What’s it like on a face?
Robbie says:

27 Jul27 July 07:12

I’m flying F back from Dubai on 2nd August, my first time in F. Will I get an amenity kit if I am taking a day flight or are they only for Night Flights?
- Stu N says:
  
  27 Jul27 July 07:20
  
  Should get offered a kit at boarding on a day flight. The old bags were great, one is my travel wash kit and another holds laptop charger and cables. Will see how the Liberty one compares in Aug.
  
  On a day flight we have had to ask for PJs and slippers. Might as well get all the booty going!
  - mark2 says:
    
    27 Jul27 July 07:34
    
    We got the bags on a day flight in June.
    On the way back we asked for and got two not black.
  - Paul says:
    
    27 Jul27 July 07:37
    
    The Liberty bags are firmer than the old bags. They are not quite as useful for storing other gear.
    - Andrew says:
      
      27 Jul27 July 08:14
      
      I think it’s only EK that seem to not provide amenity kits on day flights in J and F.
Richard says:

27 Jul27 July 07:32

OT (but BA first related!) – we’re planning a BA redemption to Chile next September with our little one (who’ll be one by then). Is BA first worth the extra miles over CW if travelling with a baby? We’ve never flown BA first before, but have done a few CW redemptions.
- Genghis says:
  
  27 Jul27 July 08:06
  
  I’ve never flown with a baby but I imagine the extra surface areas in F over J come in very handy
  - roberto says:
    
    27 Jul27 July 08:15
    
    However the two “honeymoon” rear facing seats in club would offer a better play area that two first class seats which are a little more remote from each other.
    
    My babies have babies so my intel might be out of date.
    - Genghis says:
      
      27 Jul27 July 08:20
      
      Better intel than me! 🙂
  - the real harry1 says:
    
    27 Jul27 July 08:20
    
    and if you’re going to annoy those incredibly self-important people who think babies don’t belong in First or Club, might as well go for gold! 🙂
    
    more to the point: where do you stand the best chance of securing a bassinet? – even for a well-grown 1YO, this can really help all concerned get a good sleep.
    - Richard says:
      
      27 Jul27 July 09:04
      
      and 14.5 hours to scl!
      - Nick says:
        
        27 Jul27 July 10:45
        
        If you’re going to SCL it’ll be a 789 and it has a special infant contraption in First – there’s only one seat that can accommodate it (2F) so there’s only one allowed per flight so check it hasn’t been taken before booking. CW there’s more bassinet positions available. If you have the Avios I’d say go F.
      - Miguel says:
        
        27 Jul27 July 16:02
        
        Actually, I’ve flown the 789 to San Jose in F, and on the return flight there were 2 babies in the cabin – mine and another couple’s. (Mind you, both were perfectly well behaved, if I may say so, and slept through the entire flight.)
        
        The point is, more than one baby seems to be allowed, we were unlucky and didn’t get 2F for the bassinet, but the seats are wide enough that this wasn’t much of a problem with a lap child.
    - Stu_N says:
      
      27 Jul27 July 10:11
      
      Our First flight to Washington last autumn had a baby on it, have to admit my heart sank when I saw the couple boarding with it – not a fan of babies in any environment let alone an aircraft cabin.
      
      The wee one was however absolutely good as gold. A few gurgles (which I assume was the effect of the champagne bubbles – you can give booze to a baby in F can’t you?) as the parents got it settled and a little bit of whining on the descent, otherwise you’d have had no idea there was a wee one on board. I wish all passengers were like that.
    - JamesB says:
      
      27 Jul27 July 12:04
      
      On my 30odd years of flying I’ve witnessed numerous problems caused by big babies but not yet one caused by little babies or kids. The most outrageous incident was a wonan who was persistently slapping her daughter.
- Richard says:
  
  27 Jul27 July 09:02
  
  Thanks everyone. Good point about the middle seats in CW, that enclosed space that might be good all round.
  
  I guess there will be less people to annoy in first vs CW, but they might get disproportionately more annoyed than than the people in CW!
- Lawro says:
  
  27 Jul27 July 09:20
  
  How old will your little one be?
  - Richard says:
    
    27 Jul27 July 10:08
    
    Just over one
    - Lawro says:
      
      27 Jul27 July 13:33
      
      Did F to IAD with a 16-month-old and def appreciated the extra space over J. Crew were fantastic with him and had no trouble from any of the other passengers – despite my pre-flight concerns about it.
- Simon says:
  
  27 Jul27 July 10:05
  
  Save the miles. Go Club – get the two seats together facing backwards. tonnes of floor space and they put the bassinet on a shelf right in front of you…. Top tip. feed the baby a bottle on takeoff and landing – the sucking motion helps their ears to pop…..
  - Richard says:
    
    27 Jul27 July 10:08
    
    Thanks, that sounds like the best plan
    - Simon says:
      
      27 Jul27 July 10:16
      
      Also, ignore the “leave the buggy at the plane door” chat….. u might end up with a long walk when u land to get the buggy off the carousel…. Take it on the plane, fold it up, and put it in one of the CW cupboards…. we’ve done that every time. Crew always help us do it. I once used the “its smaller than a guitar” line when I met resistance.
      - Rashad says:
        
        27 Jul27 July 10:58
        
        I’ve got anti baby remedy regardless any cabin I fly – Bose noice cancelling head phones sorts out it nicely for me
      - Canuck says:
        
        27 Jul27 July 16:59
        
        I always leave my stroller at the gate/plane and they always return it to me at the plane exit where wheelchairs are waiting. Gate loaded items go into a different cargo hold. Just ask the gate agent to make sure it comes back out at the other end. At least that is my experience in YYC/YVR/LHR5.
    - Nick says:
      
      27 Jul27 July 18:44
      
      There are no ‘double centre seats’ on a 787, it’s only 7-across (rather than 8 on other aircraft) so there’s only one rear-facing seat in the middle.
- Mrs_Fussy says:
  
  27 Jul27 July 18:29
  
  I think it is totally worth it ! We travelled F ( paid upgrade at the airport from CW ) lhr – lax in A380 and loved it ! Our 5 month old got a full seat and cabin crew even laid down the bed for her instead of skycot so she would be comfortable. She is a great long haul flyer so we luckily didn’t get any nasty looks but it was so worth it, given CW was packed
Sam says:

27 Jul27 July 07:55

Will look foward to the new washbag when flying from JNB on the 5th of August. Can guess a flyer into the BA lounge at LGW today from 6.30pm and possibly the 5th of August in JNB. First come first serve
bsuije says:

27 Jul27 July 08:48

OT: Got an e-mail yesterday from Accor with an opening offer (£98) for the MGallery in Leicester Square. Might come in useful if anyone is planning a trip to London soon.

T&Cs in the e-mail read:
(1) Presented for information purposes only, may not take into account transactions made in the last 24 hours.

Offer is a classic room only rate available only to eligible Gold & Platinum Le Club AccorHotels members. Offer is available to book until 31st August for stays between 21st August and 11th September 2017. Offer is subject to availability and blackout dates may apply for busy periods. You must enter your membership number at the time of booking to access the rate.
- Rob says:
  
  27 Jul27 July 09:40
  
  VERY tiny rooms, bad deal at £98 I think!
  - Rashad says:
    
    27 Jul27 July 11:01
    
    good insight Rob, thank you – I was thinking of this offer with upcoming London trip, however rooms in London are very expensive during this promotion plus school holidays makes everything double expensive so if travelling alone and fancy a central location, it might not be such a bad idea
  - Brian says:
    
    27 Jul27 July 12:36
    
    Not sure that it’s a ‘bad deal’ – it’s a new hotel, MGallery are generally decent, Platinum members get upgrades and free minibar. And if you like the location, then I doubt you’d find much else for under a hundred quid….