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Welcome to Smart With Points! I'm Jack, and if you're listening to this while frantically refreshing airline websites looking for Black Friday deals, well, you're in the right place. Today we're diving into British Airways' Black Friday twenty twenty-five sale, and I'll be honest with you, it's a bit of a mixed bag this year. But there are definitely some gems worth your attention, so stick with me.
Let's start with what I think is the absolute standout offer this Black Friday. From now until the twenty-eighth of December twenty twenty-five, British Airways Club members can earn a fifty percent bonus on Avios earned through the Avios shopping portal. Now, if you're not familiar with the shopping portal, it's basically a website where you click through to your favourite retailers, make a purchase as normal, and earn Avios on top of your usual credit card rewards. It's genuinely free Avios for shopping you were probably going to do anyway.
During this promotion, the maths is pretty straightforward. If a retailer normally offers two Avios per pound, you'll now get three Avios per pound. Some of the standout rates during the promotion include up to twenty-one Avios per pound at Harrods, twenty Avios per pound at Ray-Ban, and eighteen Avios per pound at Ralph Lauren. If you're doing any Christmas shopping anyway, this is essentially free Avios just for clicking through the portal first.
Here's a pro tip: stack this with an Avios-earning credit card and you're doubling up nicely. So you get the portal bonus, plus your card's earning rate, and suddenly that Christmas shopping is funding next summer's holiday. But there are some important caveats to mention. Some categories are excluded from the bonus, including travel, utilities, telecoms, banking, and insurance. Also, the John Lewis fifty percent bonus specifically only runs from the twenty-fourth of November to the seventh of December twenty twenty-five, so if you're planning a John Lewis purchase, time it accordingly.
Now, let's talk about something that might disappoint some of you. Unlike the July sale that offered up to forty to forty-five percent off Avios redemptions across numerous routes, this Black Friday doesn't appear to include a major Avios redemption sale at the time of writing. In previous years, BA has run London City Airport-specific Avios deals during Black Friday week, typically forty percent off Euro Traveller and twenty-five percent off Club Europe redemptions from London City. However, these tend to be targeted offers that arrive via email, so definitely check your inbox if you're based near London City.
If you're hunting for discounted Avios flights, your best bet is to keep checking the BA website daily through to Cyber Monday, as flash sales can drop with little notice. You can also use tools like Award Travel Finder to monitor availability across partner airlines if you're flexible on routing.
Moving on to the cash fare deals. The sale covers flights departing from London Heathrow and Gatwick to destinations in Europe, North America, and beyond. All fares must be booked by the second of December twenty twenty-five. Let's break down some of the highlights.
For North America, return flights to the US start from around four hundred and three pounds to New York, four hundred and twenty-one pounds to Miami, and similar prices to other major cities. These are World Traveller fares, which is economy, and they include a handbag plus cabin bag. That's actually worth noting given budget carriers charge extra for even basic luggage these days. Travel periods vary by destination, but generally cover January through October twenty twenty-six with some blackout dates around peak holiday periods. A Saturday night minimum stay applies to most routes.
For European city breaks, short-haul deals include weekend getaways from one hundred and fifty-nine pounds per person to destinations like Barcelona, Prague, Nice, and Stockholm. Business class, or Club Europe flights to Amsterdam and Geneva start from around one hundred and thirty-one pounds each way for those wanting a bit more comfort. If you're flying from Gatwick to Europe, there's also an option to add checked luggage for just one pound, which is a nice touch that's been a Black Friday staple for BA in recent years.
Now let's talk about holiday packages. British Airways Holidays is running a tiered discount structure on flight plus hotel packages. You can get fifty pounds off when you spend one thousand two hundred and fifty pounds or more, one hundred pounds off when you spend two thousand five hundred pounds or more, two hundred pounds off when you spend five thousand pounds or more, and three hundred pounds off when you spend ten thousand pounds or more.
These savings apply to bookings made by the second of December twenty twenty-five for travel completed between the first of January and the thirtieth of November twenty twenty-six. The discount is per booking, not per person, so larger group bookings benefit most. Some package examples from the sale include three-night New York breaks, seven-night Orlando holidays, and all-inclusive Cancun packages. Remember that booking through BA Holidays also earns you five Avios per pound spent as standard, plus any bonus Avios from current promotions.
So how do you maximise these offers? Here's my suggested approach for getting the most value. First, use the shopping portal. If you're buying anything online this Black Friday, click through the Avios shopping portal first. The fifty percent bonus applies until the twenty-eighth of December, so this isn't limited to Black Friday itself.
Second, compare cash versus Avios. Before booking any cash fare, check what the same route would cost in Avios. Sometimes the cash sale genuinely beats Avios value, especially on short-haul routes. Third, stack your credit card earnings. Pay for cash bookings with an Avios-earning card. The Barclaycard Avios Plus earns one point five Avios per pound on BA purchases, while American Express cards earn Membership Rewards that transfer one to one to Avios.
And finally, consider your timing. Flights need to be booked by the second of December, but travel periods extend well into twenty twenty-six. If you're flexible on dates, look at the shoulder season periods like January to March or September to October where both availability and prices tend to be more favourable.
Now, while we're focusing on BA here, it's worth noting some complementary offers running this Black Friday. Qatar Airways has up to twenty percent off business and economy fares, and you need to book by the twenty-eighth of November. Emirates is offering up to twenty percent off selected routes. Radisson Rewards has up to thirty-five percent off plus three thousand bonus points with code BLCK25. Hilton has points purchase promotions and hotel deals. And The Wine Flyer is offering four times Avios on purchases until the first of December, which is great for stocking up on Christmas wine while earning Avios.
So here's my honest take on this whole thing. This isn't the most exciting Black Friday from BA in terms of Avios redemption discounts. The real value this year is in the shopping portal bonus. Fifty percent extra Avios on purchases you were probably going to make anyway is genuinely worthwhile. The cash fares are decent but not spectacular. If you're planning a trip anyway and the dates work, they're worth considering. Just do the comparison against Avios redemptions first. Sometimes paying cash and earning Avios on the transaction ends up being better value than spending Avios, particularly for short-haul European flights.
For holiday packages, the tiered discount structure means you need to be spending two thousand five hundred pounds or more before the savings become meaningful. If you're booking a big family trip or premium cabin holiday, then it's worth factoring in. As always with these sales, the best deals go quickly. If you see dates and destinations that work for you, book sooner rather than later.
Thanks so much for listening to Smart With Points. If you found this breakdown helpful, please subscribe to the podcast on all major platforms or head over to our website at smartwithpoints.co.uk. You'll find all the links mentioned in today's episode in the shownotes, including links to the BA Black Friday sale page, the Avios shopping portal, and our tools to help you figure out how many Avios you need for any flight.
Looking for the best award flights? Use AwardTravelFinder.com to search availability across Qatar Airways, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and more. Try it for free with our link in the shownotes.