Travelling business class for cheap with British Airways using Amex and Avios - A comprehensive guide
At Hungry Soles, we love a good value deal, and nothing is more satisfying than ridiculously cheap business-class travel.
In 2023, thanks to a few years of Avois and Amex points planning, we made the following journeys from London:
Return business class flights to Mauritius for £950 (May 2023)
Return business class flights to New York for £350 (June 2023)
Return business class flights to Mexico City for £350 (November 2023)
And yes, those fees are the total we paid for BOTH of our tickets! The normal value of these flights is usually in the thousands, which is why we think using American Express credit cards gives you the most value for money when it comes to points.
*** In this blog post, we talk about credit cards and how we use them. This is not to be taken as financial advice, and please make sure if you use credit cards, you pay your balances in full each month to avoid excessive interest repayments. DO NOT HOLD A BALANCE ON YOUR CREDIT CARD FOR THE SAKE OF POINTS ***
These aren’t even half of the Amex cards we’ve been through!
So, how do AMEX and AVIOS work?
We could talk about Amex and Avios for hours, explaining all your options and nuances, but below, we’ll give you a summary of what we do to take advantage of BA’s companion voucher offer for cheap luxury travel.
Earn a companion voucher from British Airways
The first step is to earn a BA companion voucher by spending £10,000 in 1 calendar year using the British Airways American Express® Premium Plus Card. This is the most valuable credit card reward in the UK.
The British Airways companion voucher allows you to book a reward flight in any class (economy, premium and business) and redeem a second ticket for free. Essentially, it gives you 2-1 on your flights (although you still have to pay the airport taxes for the flights).
There are two credit cards that you can use to earn a companion voucher
British Airways American Express® Credit Card (The free blue one)
British Airways American Express® Premium Plus Card (The £300 black one, this is the one you want)
The free BA Amex card (the blue one) is useless. The companion voucher you earn with that card is only valid for 12 months and can only be used for economy flights which is not worth it since you still need to pay airport taxes making the cost saving minimal.
To maximise the value we get from our companion vouchers, we aim to book business class flights because the airport taxes of these tickets are almost the same as that of economy flights; you just need to spend more Avios points.
£300 may sound like a lot of money to pay for a credit card; however, once you have spent £10,000 on the card and earned your companion voucher, you can cancel the card, get a pro-rata refund of any remaining card fee and get some of your money back.
Remember the £300 is allowing you to get a free business class ticket at the end of the day.
It’s important to know that you can’t just book a rewards flight with cash, you have to pay for it entirely with Avios points which brings us on to the next step.
Earn lots of Avios points quickly
To maximise the companion voucher's value, we use it on long-haul flights rather than short European ones. Long-haul rewards flights can be very expensive (in terms of points), so you need to make sure you have plenty of points saved up to use (around 150,000 can get you anywhere).
You’ll earn 1.5 Avios point for every pound spent on your BA Amex card.
You will also earn 1 Amex rewards point for each pound you spend on any Amex Rewards card. These can be converted into Avios points.
You will need to do a lot of shopping to build up a balance of 150,000 points for a long-haul return business-class flight. Thankfully there are some ways you can boost your Avios balance quickly.
Make sure you are always earning points
Always use your AMEX card whenever you can to earn points. If you want a secondary card to use in case a retailer doesn’t accept AMEX, you can consider the Barclaycard Avios Plus card, which allows you to earn Avios points on a Mastercard as well as a great Welcome bonus.
New member bonuses
When you sign up for a BA or Amex card, there are always new member bonuses that you cna benefit from. These bonuses can go a long way towards building up your Avios balance (last year, the Amex platinum card had a massive 100,000 points welcome bonus).
You are considered a ‘new member’ if you havn’t held a card with the provider for the previous two years. That means if you cancel your card, wait for two years and sign up again, you will be eligible for the new member bonus.
Referral bonuses
You can earn many Amex reward points by referring friends and family for Amex cards. For each person you refer, you will receive a bonus of Amex points, depending on which card they sign up for.
Speaking of referral bonuses, if you use our referral links you will get a welcome bonus of avios on your new card.
The Platinum Card® - Current offer: 31,000 33,000
British Airways American Express® Premium Plus Card - Current offer: 45,000 60,000
Supplementary cards
If you have family members or friends who don’t have their own credit cards, you can consider making supplementary cards for them to use. This allows you to earn points for all of the shopping that they do. Remember that you are responsible for paying the bill of your supplementary card holders so make sure you have a good relationship and understanding with them!
Shop online via BA shopping
BA shopping is a great website where you can earn extra Avios points for your online shopping. All you have to do is log into the BA shopping portal and browse the list of participating retailers. Once you select a retailer, click on their link through the BA shopping site and complete your purchase as usual.
Some retailers offer 10 Avios for each pound spent as a bonus. This is on top of the points you earn on your card anyway.
Your purchases will automatically earn you additional Avios points, which will be credited to your Executive Club account. It's an easy way to boost your Avios balance while shopping for items you already need or want.
Redeem your reward flight
Once you have accumulated enough Avios points, you can log in to British Airways and explore various flight options to your chosen destination. Flexibility is key, as reward seat availability can be limited during peak travel times.
After selecting your preferred flights, you’ll be able to see the Avios points required along with any additional taxes and fees. Make sure your companion voucher has been added to the booking.
Are business-class flights worth it?
Yes, they are.
Now, we know that business class flights are a pure luxury, and we are more than happy to slum it whilst travelling, but if you can fly business for cheaper than economy, then why wouldn’t you?
We’ve seen videos and blogs about credit card rewards and how you can use Nectar cards to reduce your grocery shopping bill, but we don’t think that is worth it. However, you need to decide what’s right for you.
If you are able to and think you will be able to spend on these credit cards to get the vouchers while paying your credit card in full each month, then we think this is the best way to get the most value out of credit card points in the UK.
Business class flights with BA give you:
Two check-in bags
Priority check-in
Airport Lounge access
Much better meals on the plane
Amazing seats that lay flat and turn into beds
A much better luxury travel experience
Using the methods above, you can go on a luxury trip every couple of years without spending any extra money.
How many Amex (or Avios) points do I need for a Business Class flight?
It's tricky to get an accurate answer to how many Amex or Avios points you need for a Business Class flight, as British Airways doesn't make it easy to search for award availability or point requirements without going through their booking process. However, as a general guide, here are some examples leaving from London (For one-way tickets):
Aberdeen (15,000 - 17,000)
Abu Dhabi (80,000 - 90,000)
Agadir, Morocco (15,000 - 18,000)
Athens (24,000 - 28,000)
Dubai (80,000 - 90,000)
Hong Kong (100,000 - 110,000)
Sydney (145,000 - 170,000)
Cape Town (90,000 - 100,000)
Buenos Aires (110,000 - 120,000)
New York (80,000 - 90,000)
San Fransisco (90,000 - 100,000)
Leveraging Amex cards to boost our Avios points and companion vouchers as a couple
We use many tactics to leverage AMEX and AVIOS to enhance our travel, and we will write more blog posts about them in the future.
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