Where can I fly from Cardiff with Avios points?

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In this article I want to look at where you can fly from Cardiff using Avios points.

This article only looks at non-stop flights. If you are prepared to change in Heathrow, you can redeem for literally any British Airways flight or a flight operated by one of the other airlines which let you redeem Avios.

There are few direct flights you can book with Avios if you’re not in London

When British Airways sold its regional operations to Flybe a few years ago, it became an airline with NO flights which do not begin or end in London. This situation has been reversed slightly in recent years as a few weekend routes were added from Manchester and Edinburgh, but to all intents and purposes there is no substantive route network outside London.

Luckily, there are still some good value options available if you live outside London. I will list the Cardiff options below as well as all other regional options.

I have not covered Flybe because it is leaving Avios on 30th April 2019.

How can I redeem these flights?

Nothing is ever simple when it comes to redeeming Avios, but I think the caveats below show that the level of confusion has now got beyond silly. For the airlines listed below:

Aer Lingus can be booked online at avios.com but taxes may be lower if you ring up British Airways Executive Club and book from your BA account. For additional confusion, avios.com has different availability to ba.com.

Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair and American Airlines should only be booked at ba.com – you can book them via iberia.com but they are not refundable so this should be avoided

Vueling can only be booked at vueling.com and iberia.com – bookings via vueling.com are revenue-based (more expensive flights need more points) whilst bookings via iberia.com are priced off the standard Avios redemption chart

Iberia and Iberia Express can be booked across all platforms but there is better availability via iberia.com

Remember that short-haul redemptions are NOT covered by Reward Flight Saver unless operated by a British Airways franchise such as SUN-AIR. These flights will often be a very poor use of Avios points because the taxes represent a very high percentage of the fare.

Where can I fly on Avios from Cardiff?

Here are your options:

Qatar Airways to Doha

Vueling to Alicante, Majorca, Malaga

The Qatar Airways flight is clearly the most attractive as you can connect in Doha to their global network.

What other regional flights can be booked using Avios?

Here is a full list of ALL flights from UK regional airports which can be booked using Avios and which take you outside the UK. Long-haul flights are in bold print.

Aberdeen

Aer Lingus to Dublin

Belfast City

Aer Lingus to Faro, Malaga

Birmingham

Qatar Airways to Doha

Aer Lingus to Dublin, Cork, Shannon

Vueling to Barcelona

Iberia Express to Madrid

Bristol

Aer Lingus to Dublin, Cork

Edinburgh

Qatar Airways to Doha

American Airlines to Philadelphia (Summer only)

Aer Lingus to Dublin, Cork, Shannon

Iberia Express to Madrid

Vueling to Barcelona

Finnair to Helsinki

BA CityFlyer weekend routes to Dublin, Palma, Florence (Summer only)

Glasgow

Aer Lingus to Dublin, Cork

Leeds Bradford

Aer Lingus to Dublin

Manchester

American Airlines to Philadelphia

Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong

Qatar Airways to Doha

Aer Lingus to Dublin, Cork

British Airways (SUN-AIR) to Billund

BA CityFlyer weekend routes to Alicante, Ibiza, Malaga, Palma, Nice, Mykonos, Florence (Summer only), Salzburg, Chambery (Winter only)

Finnair to Helsinki

Iberia Express to Madrid

Vueling to Barcelona

Newcastle

Aer Lingus to Dublin

Newquay

Aer Lingus to Dublin

It is also worth remembering that most of the British Airways partners in the oneworld alliance fly to other European capitals. Instead of flying from a regional airport to London to pick up a Cathay Pacific redemption flight to Hong Kong, for example, why not fly to Amsterdam instead and connect there? You may also find better availability out of Europe.

(This article is part of our ‘BA Q&A’ series which explains how British Airways Executive Club works. You can see all of our ‘BA Q&A’ articles here. )

(Head for Points is the UK’s biggest frequent flyer website with 1.8 million monthly page views. Want to learn more about earning and spending Avios? Click here to read our latest news stories, click here to join our email list and click here to read our ‘Avios Redemption University’ series.)

How to get 20,000 Avios from Amex Gold or 30,000 Avios from Amex Platinum (December 2021 offer)

The sign-up bonus on American Express Preferred Rewards Gold converts to 20,000 Avios and the card is free for the first year. You can apply here.

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

You don’t qualify for the Amex Gold bonus if you have a British Airways American Express card. You DO qualify for the bonus on The Platinum Card, which converts into 30,000 Avios. You can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

If you have your own small business, the best way of earning Avios is via the Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa. It has a sign-up bonus which converts to 10,000 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 look at the British Airways Accelerating Business card, because it currently has a limited time offer of 60,000 Avios when you sign up by 14th November. You can apply here.