Bits: see BA’s new BOB menu, 25% off Radisson Blu and Park Inn, BA / Avis deal renewed

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News in brief:

Changes to BA’s buy-on-board menu

British Airways has made changes to their short-haul economy buy-on-board menu – and, if you click the link, you’ll see they don’t look great.

There is a new tapas meat and cheese platter with a couple of crackers, a new roasted falafel and spinach wrap as well as a turkey sandwich. But several (healthier) options have been taken off the menu and if you are avoiding wheat or gluten, you’ll have to be happy with cashews and crisps.

The couscous salad and the fruit salad have disappeared without a decent replacement. You can’t get olives any longer and the sweets selection has been reduced from 12 items to 5. Yoghurt seem to have disappeared too. Basically, if it was at risk of going off, it has gone.

If you want to know what the menu was like before, here is a link to our buy-on-board article in January.

The new menu can be found on this ba.com page.

25% off Radisson Blu and Park Inn

Radisoon Blu and Park Inn have launched a half term offer aimed at families.

Club Carlson members can get up to 25% off during the Autumn holiday, free wifi, kids under 16 stay for free in the UK and Ireland and kids under 12 eat for free.

This offer is valid for stays between 16th October and 27th October in the UK and Ireland and stays between 13th October and 12th November in Belgium and France.

The Radisson Blu page to book is here .

The Park Inn page to book is here.

You must book by 24th October to get up to 25% off. The offer is also available at Radisson Red and Quorvus Collection.

IAG renews its exclusive Avis / Budget car rental deal

Avis Budget Group has renewed its car rental partnership with IAG.

The brands will remain the exclusive car rental partners of British Airways, Iberia and Iberia Express, with Aer Lingus to be added later. The two brands will also remain the only car hire brands to earn points in any of the Avios loyalty schemes.

In general, I think the Avis partnership has worked well. It does offer good benefits via avisba.com including a free second driver . The ability to earn bonus Avios by paying with a British Airways American Express card is a rare example of partner brands working together.

Regular Hertz renters will have to stick with crediting to Virgin Flying Club, although their 1,000 miles per rental deal is attractive.

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

Avis and Avis Preferred, British Airways American Express, British Airways and Avios, Radisson Rewards

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

Rivo says:

15 Oct15 October 12:55

On one my regular complaint emails to BA following a return flight from LCA where 3 bell calls went ignored, I raised the BoB issue. Mainly because it slows down the entire on board service and the cabin crew are effectively M&S checkout staff which they find demoralising.

The response I got was that customer feedback regarding BoB was positive and we’ll received. Who are the people?
- andijs2000 says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 14:06
  
  Mostly Alex Cruz’s family I assume!
- Aspirational Flyer says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 15:36
  
  BA send me surveys quite regularly. I think the questions are carefully worded – for example, around whether you’d like a greater choice of food and drink onboard and having more options etc. I think if you directly asked would you like to pay for what you previously received for free, the responses would be less positive…..!
  - Mr Dee says:
    
    15 Oct15 October 16:20
    
    I remember the days of a iced bun in WT thankfully now with BOB I can get a bacon sandwich, which last time was cold in the middle…
- Ian says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 16:43
  
  This was the response that I got when I complained about having to pay to select a seat.
  
  Apparently, this was introduced based on customer feedback…….
- BigDave says:
  
  17 Oct17 October 07:52
  
  BoB would be better if they didnt run out of stuff – so unless you sit where they start the BOB runs you will find litte choice if they didnt load up enough stuff as happened to me and my parents on a BA flight recently from Gibraltar to UK – when they got to us they had only one tomato mozarella sandwich left – which my dad had to have as he is diabetic
Tony Burns says:

15 Oct15 October 12:55

Guess it all comes down to what has actually been sold on board as am sure BA and M & S been closely monitoring. Only flights I have had recently have been with BA’s city flyer.
- Jimbo78 says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 21:22
  
  I’ve started shifting my flights to London from Newcastle to Edinburgh to make use of the LCY flights. Before, it was similar timing from my door in Northumberland to my office in London. It is just a much better experience on the LCY flights. There is more engagement with the cabin crew – just like it used to be. I very much doubt BOB will last the course. As soon as Alex has gone, I reckon’ this will be the first change that the incoming CEO rolls back on. A bit like ASDA. Which would more preferable to the rubbish, pretentious M&S stuff.
  - Drav says:
    
    16 Oct16 October 07:56
    
    depends if they can demonstrate improved profits… which they probably can, so i would be surprised to see it removed.
Keith says:

15 Oct15 October 12:59

£1.20 for a Kit Kat. Wow that’s pretty expensive. Tesco often sell packs of four for £1.00. Buying in bulk, BA probably gets them for a fraction of that.price. What a rip off!
- mark2 says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 13:54
  
  probably cheaper than W H Smith in the terminal!
- Fenny says:
  
  16 Oct16 October 13:24
  
  Add in the costs of transporting them and the cabin crew selling it to you! Still a big mark up, but there are additional costs in them being available to you at 30,000 ft.
Leo says:

15 Oct15 October 13:07

I just don’t miss BA’s free short haul snack/G and T if I’m totally honest. Only thing I have bought onboard since the changes is a couple of mini bottles of prosecco. It’s short haul – eat in the airport before the flight or buy a snack there if you can. I am currently questioning whether I continue using BA at all but the short haul menu isn’t a deal breaker for me.
- Aspirational Flyer says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 16:08
  
  I miss the drinks, I don’t miss the food.
jfduncan says:

15 Oct15 October 13:24

Slightly off topic – i have a BA Charter flight to Rhodes next week.

Last year meals were included – has anyone any experience of a BA charter since they brought BoB in? Do i need to stock up before?

Thx

James
- Anna says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 15:12
  
  There should be some info in your booking somewhere.
- Dave says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 15:20
  
  I flew on a BA Charter flight to Rhodes recently. It was the same BoB as any other BA flight.
- James says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 16:06
  
  Thanks both for the reply – looks like will be buying sarnies at T5.
  
  J
Andrew says:

15 Oct15 October 13:41

Quote:- “This offer is valid for stays between 16th October and 27th October in the UK and Ireland and stays between 13th October and 12th November in Belgium and France.”

Most Scottish kids go back to school tomorrow now that the “tattie howking” holidays are over…

Which is a massive benefit to anyone in England who doesn’t mind flying from EDI or GLA – even if it means double-backing on themselves through Heathrow. You can save £1000s on a holiday.
andijs2000 says:

15 Oct15 October 14:04

BoB, what a complete joke!
the real harry1 says:

15 Oct15 October 14:41

O/T pls confirm I’ve got it right

1. Get BAPP, annual fee is charged immediately
2. hit spend target & bank the points
3. downgrade to blue on the phone (keep for Shop Small) & the fee is refunded pro rata
- Genghis says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 15:02
  
  Confirmed.
  - Genghis says:
    
    15 Oct15 October 15:04
    
    As an extra little tip, get yourself a supp in the main card holder’s name for an extra SS card (Mrs and I have six BAPPs between us)
    - the real harry1 says:
      
      15 Oct15 October 15:06
      
      thanks both
    - Genghis says:
      
      15 Oct15 October 15:06
      
      Hat tip to @Alan for sharing that a while back
      - Alan says:
        
        15 Oct15 October 17:43
        
        Haha thanks, can definitely be handy for both ShopSmall and splitting costs.
        
        BTW now you’re expanding your UK tips, Genghis, have you looked at Cardiff too? Had a couple of excellent trips there in the summertime.
    - Barry cutters says:
      
      15 Oct15 October 15:53
      
      Sorry if I’m being stupid , but to confirm – I can get a supp card -in my own (main card holder) name . This would be brilliant for me when splitting expenses and personal spend . Reporting back – the groupon offer posted and my Iberia account is now fully working. About to book Lima flights for Machu Picchu in early summer – bargain at 85k.
    - Genghis says:
      
      15 Oct15 October 15:59
      
      @Baz Cutters. Yes. I use it to split personal and work as it serves for an easier tick back exercise. Pleased Iberia account activated rather easily. Enjoy!
    - mark2 says:
      
      15 Oct15 October 16:20
      
      Also for Lloyds cards, but not MBNA where sup card has same number.
    - Genghis says:
      
      15 Oct15 October 21:39
      
      I had an excellent holiday when at university visiting South Wales and camping on the Gower. Was early thirties. Beaches were fantastic. It could equally have been freezing so we were v lucky.
    - Jimmy says:
      
      16 Oct16 October 11:07
      
      six, between 2? 3 each then? one main & one supplementary each…whats the third card?
    - Genghis says:
      
      16 Oct16 October 14:15
      
      @Jimmy. One main, one supp for partner and one supp for the main card holder x 2.
    - Tom says:
      
      16 Oct16 October 16:13
      
      If you get a supplementary card in your own name do you then get a bonus if they offer one?
    - Genghis says:
      
      16 Oct16 October 16:49
      
      @Tom. No idea. Give it a go and report back.
- Rob says:
  
  15 Oct15 October 15:03
  
  Yes, works