Hey everyone, and welcome back to Smart With Points. I'm Jack, and if you're listening to this on the tenth of February, two thousand and twenty-six, I have some genuinely urgent news for you. We're talking flash sale, ends-at-midnight urgent. So let's skip the usual preamble and jump straight in, because you've got less than a day to take advantage of what might be the best UK Avios redemption of the year.

Right, so Loganair, the UK regional carrier that connects Scotland, Ireland, and various cities across Britain, is running a fifty percent off Avios sale. And here's the thing that makes this special: it ends tonight at midnight. Every single Loganair route is available for three thousand two hundred and fifty Avios one-way instead of the usual six thousand five hundred Avios. That's half price, and you can book through the end of their schedule starting from the seventh of March.

Now, I know what you're thinking, because I thought it too. What's the catch? Where are the blackout dates? Well, there are only two periods you can't book: Christmas and New Year. That's it. No sneaky summer exclusions, no bank holiday blackouts. Peak summer travel? Available. Edinburgh Festival? Available. It's genuinely remarkable.

Let me give you a real example of what this means in practice. That London Heathrow to Orkney flight, which goes via Dundee, normally costs around five hundred pounds if you're paying cash. With this sale, you can book it for six thousand five hundred Avios return, that's three thousand two hundred and fifty each way, plus roughly seventy pounds in taxes. If you value Avios at our standard estimate of one penny per point, that's sixty-five pounds worth of points plus seventy pounds in taxes, so one hundred and thirty-five pounds all-in. Compared to the five hundred pound cash fare, you're saving three hundred and sixty-five pounds. That's exceptional value for a domestic UK redemption.

But here's where it gets really interesting. Loganair operates over sixty routes across the UK, Ireland, and even into Scandinavia. We're talking connections like Aberdeen to Dublin, Manchester, or Bristol. Edinburgh to Bergen or Stavanger in Norway. Manchester to Stornoway or Shetland. Belfast City to Orkney or Isle of Man. London to Isle of Man or City of Derry. Every single one of these routes is priced at the same flat rate during this sale. It doesn't matter if you're flying fifty miles or five hundred miles, same price.

Now, there's a key detail you need to know. You can't book these through ba.com. You need to transfer your Avios to a Loganair Loyalty account first. Here's how it works. First, create a Loganair Loyalty account using the same email address and name as your British Airways Executive Club account. This is crucial, if the details don't match, you won't be able to link the accounts.

Then, go to avios.com, yes, the new Avios website actually does something useful, and use their transfer tool to move Avios from your BA account to Loganair. The transfer is instant, free, and reversible. So if you transfer too many, you can send them back. Heads up though, you might need to attempt the transfer twice. The first attempt triggers a two-factor authentication security check, then you'll need to try again. Also, check your spam folder for Loganair emails, that's where mine ended up.

Once your Avios are in your Loganair account, booking is straightforward. Just search for flights on the Loganair website and tick the spend Avios box. What you get is fifteen kilograms checked baggage allowance, six kilograms hand luggage plus a handbag, free snack and drink on board, and the ability to change dates or routes, subject to availability and a fee. No cancellations or refunds though, these are non-refundable tickets.

One warning: seat selection costs extra, and there's no waiver for British Airways elite status holders. You'll pay for seat selection just like everyone else. Bottom line, this is genuinely one of the best Avios redemption values you'll find in the UK right now. If you've been thinking about exploring Scotland's islands, visiting Ireland, or connecting to smaller UK cities, tonight's your deadline. Just remember, Loganair's aircraft are small, seventy-two seats or fewer, so Avios availability is limited. There's no guaranteed award space like you get with British Airways, Iberia, or Finnair.

Right, moving on to some other interesting news. Iberia has just launched family pooling for Avios, and this could genuinely change how many of you manage your points. They've launched family accounts that let you pool Avios with two to seven other people, and here's the clever bit: there's no requirement to actually be related.

Unlike BA's household account system where you need to manually transfer points and pay fees if you want to use Finnair as an intermediary, Iberia's approach is different. Each member keeps their own Iberia Plus account and individual Avios balance. There's no merging of accounts and no manual transfers needed. The account creator becomes the family account manager, and then everyone's Avios are effectively available for booking travel for anyone in the group.

Why does this matter for UK readers? Because Iberia Avios can be used on British Airways flights at often better value than booking through BA directly. Their distance-based award chart sometimes offers better pricing for short-haul European flights. And honestly, this is the kind of flexibility that makes me wonder why BA hasn't implemented something similar yet.

With Iberia's family pooling, you can collect Avios across multiple UK credit cards in different names and pool them for family bookings without the faff of manual transfers. In my opinion, this is one of those quiet updates that will have a bigger impact than it first appears. Especially for couples or families who are strategically collecting Avios across multiple programmes.

Now, some route news. Virgin Atlantic is boosting its long-haul operations from Manchester this summer with additional services to Orlando. This comes as Aer Lingus winds down its Manchester base, and Virgin has wasted no time swooping in to fill the void. Virgin describes this as part of its long-term commitment to the North of England.

This is smart business from Virgin's perspective. Aer Lingus's exit leaves a gap in transatlantic capacity from Manchester, and Virgin's positioned to capture that demand. For UK points collectors, this matters because it means more award availability on transatlantic routes from Manchester. Virgin's Virgin Points programme often has better availability than BA on US routes, and you can transfer points from American Express UK instantly. And if you're up north, avoiding the trek to Heathrow for US flights is worth quite a bit in itself.

Before I wrap up, let me give you the answer to today's trivia question. Which UK airport does Loganair connect to both Orkney and Shetland? The answer is all of the above. Loganair connects London Heathrow, Edinburgh, and Manchester to both Orkney and Shetland. That's quite impressive coverage for Scotland's northern islands. The Heathrow flights stop in Dundee on the way, making them technically two-leg journeys, but Loganair treats them as single flights for Avios pricing, still just three thousand two hundred and fifty Avios one-way during this sale.

Right, that's your lot for today. Don't forget, Loganair sale ends tonight at midnight. Thanks so much for listening to Smart With Points. If you've enjoyed today's episode, please do subscribe on all major podcast platforms, or head over to our website at smartwithpoints.co.uk. We've got new episodes coming out regularly, and I'd love to have you along for the ride.

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