ADVERTORIAL • April 2024

Japan’s cherry blossom: made possible with Avios

It’s one of the world’s most sought-after destinations in its most glorious season – and we can help you tick it off your bucket list by recharging your Avios balance in five easy steps

The destination: Japan

For a few weeks each spring, Japan’s cherry trees (sakura) burst into bloom, painting the landscape delicate shades of pink and white. Its arrival is so significant, in fact, that there are annual sakura forecasts, daily reports and festivals across the country. After flying into Tokyo and experiencing the phenomenon right there in the capital (or by heading to nearby Mount Akagi’s famous tunnel of 1,000 trees), travel by bullet train to Yoshino, one of the most popular blossom-spotting destinations, where the flowers of more than 30,000 sakura trees carpet the Kii Mountains.

Avios: how many do you need?

Our Reward Flight Saver offers excellent value flights, with a fixed cash cost to cover all charges alongside an Avios amount. A Reward Flight Saver to Tokyo costs 75,000 Avios, plus £200, for an off-peak return in World Traveller.¹ To book, visit ba.com, hit ‘Book’, follow ‘Book a flight with Avios’, and then choose your Reward Flight. Look for the Reward Flight Saver icon on the flight display page for some of our best-value flights. Have Avios to spare? Then why not make the journey that bit more comfortable with an upgrade to World Traveller Plus?²

Step one: switch to Barclays and get up to 43,000 Avios in 12 months

If you want to boost your monthly Avios total, regardless of how much you spend, it might be worth switching to a Barclays Premier Banking current account³ and switching on Barclays Avios Rewards.⁴ Joining Barclays Premier Banking is free but, for just £12 per month, those of you who also opt in to Barclays Avios Rewards will see 1,500 Avios added to your balance each month, totalling a grand 18,000 Avios a year without any effort on your part (you can also collect even more Avios if you have other products with Barclays, such as mortgages, which give you an extra 700 Avios a month). Add in a generous joining bonus of 25,000 Avios (payable if you opt into Barclays Avios Rewards within four months of opening your very first Barclays current account and complete a full switch using the Current Account Switch Service),⁵and that’s more than half the Avios you need for that flight to Tokyo. Finally, there’s the anniversary reward for every 12 months and 12 monthly payments you’ve made after enrolling with Barclays Avios Rewards: a cabin upgrade voucher or 7,000 Avios. (Eligibility, conditions and £12 monthly fee apply.)⁶

Step one: switch to Barclays and get 43,000 Avios in 12 months

Step two: super-boost your balance at every bp petrol station

Another simple trick to boost your Avios balance? Fill up your car at bp. British motorists spend an average of £1,225 a year to fuel their cars, a spending that can easily mean a boost to your Avios balance, if you’re smart. Our partnership with BPme Rewards means customers can convert BPme Rewards points into Avios, which could be just the top-up you need to get to Tokyo.⁷ For every 40 BPme Rewards points earned buying petrol or road trip snacks, 25 Avios enter your account, and it all stacks up in the end. The best thing? BPme Rewards points can be converted automatically. Simply link your accounts here. Every month, your entire BPme Rewards points balance will transform into Avios. Plus, collect an extra 50 bonus Avios on your first conversion.

Step three: zhuzh up your Avios with everyday spends

Bring your Japanese adventure closer by turning all your online shopping spends into Avios with the Avios app.⁸ The app allows you to favourite your most-loved brands to see their Avios offers first, plus you can keep track of Avios on the go by viewing recent transactions and an up-to-date balance. Simply log in, hit ‘collect’ and accrue Avios with more than 1,500 online retailers, from everyday stores such as Marks & Spencer, takeaway services including Deliveroo, and speciality shops such as Boots, Apple, NET-A-PORTER and more. Splurge on Japanese streetwear brand A Bathing Ape at Selfridges, for instance, and collect up to 12 Avios for every £1 spent. Similarly, treat yourself to the latest trainers from Tokyo fashion brand Comme Des Garçons at Matches and collect up to 4 Avios for every £1 spent. Want to buy your own cherry blossom trees? Shop for them at Gardening Direct and collect up to 10 Avios for every £1.⁹

Step three: zhuzh up your Avios with those everyday spends

Step four: find extra Avios on the high street

As well as collecting Avios through your favourite stores online, another great perk is that the Avios app allows members to collect Avios out on the high street, too. Simply open the app, tap ‘collect’ and then click ‘shopping in-store’, which will enable you to link your debit and credit cards and effortlessly collect Avios when you shop in store at many partner brands, including local favourites such as John Lewis & Partners, Hamleys, Clarks, Molton Brown, and more.

Step five: don’t stop collecting – even at 35,000 feet

Finally, perhaps the most enjoyable way to collect Avios is by booking flights, but not just with us. That’s because we have an ever-expanding list of 20 partner airlines as part of the oneworld alliance, including Iberia, American Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines and Japan Airlines, meaning you can collect Avios whenever, wherever and with whoever you fly.¹⁰

Collect Avios and make more dream holidays possible

Get one shop closer to your next getaway at shopping.ba.com. Download the Avios app from the App Store or Google Play

Terms & Conditions

Reward Flight Saver
1. The price shown is based on an off-peak, return Reward Flight Saver to Tokyo for one passenger seated in our Club World cabin. Reward Flight Savers are British Airways’ best value reward flights. Reward Flight Saver offers customers great value flights with a low, flat fee to cover taxes, fees and carrier charges and a fixed Avios amount. To be eligible for Reward Flight Saver, you need to have collected at least one Avios in the past 12 months. To find out more about Reward Flight Saver,  go here. Reward flights are subject to availability.

2. An Avios upgrade is always to the next cabin, which can vary depending on the route and airline. On a short-haul flight, you could upgrade from economy (Euro Traveller) to business (Club Europe). On a long-haul flight, you could upgrade from economy (World Traveller) to premium economy (World Traveller Plus); premium economy (World Traveller Plus) to business (Club World), or business (Club World) to First class. We offer a limited number of reward seats on all our published flights and so they are subject to availability. There must be reward flight availability in the next cabin for you to be able to upgrade to it using Avios. Most cash bookings can be upgraded with Avios either at the time of booking or later on, depending on availability. Only the lowest economy (World Traveller) fares (Q, O and G) cannot be upgraded with Avios at any time. You won’t be able to upgrade with Avios at the airport or on board.

Barclays Avios Rewards
3. Join Barclays Premier Banking by opening a Premier Current Account. You also need a gross annual income of at least £75,000 paid into the account, or a total balance of at least £100,000 in savings with Barclays, in Barclays UK investments, or in a mix of savings and investments.

4. You can opt in to Barclays Avios Rewards if you’re a Premier Banking customer or have a personal Wealth current account with Barclays – you’ll need to register for the Barclays app and have a British Airways Executive Club account too. There’s a £12 monthly fee and you have to opt out of Barclays Blue Rewards and go paperless for all your accounts and services with Barclays. To access Barclays Avios Rewards in the Barclays app, you need to be over 18. You can join Premier Banking if you have an income of £75,000 or £100,000 to save or invest with Barclays. Further T&Cs apply.

5. To qualify for the 25,000 Avios joining bonus, you’ll need to join Barclays Avios Rewards within four months of opening your first Barclays current account. Then, you’ll need to complete a full switch of your old current account to Barclays, using the Current Account Switch Service, within three months of joining Barclays Avios Rewards. You will then receive your joining bonus in the fourth month of Barclays Avios Rewards membership. Visit ba.com/barclays-avios-rewards for full terms and conditions.

6. You will qualify for the Anniversary Reward after you’ve held Barclays Avios Rewards for 12 months and paid 12 monthly fees. You will need to choose your anniversary rewards in the Barclays app by no later than one month before your anniversary, otherwise the cabin upgrade voucher will be automatically selected for you. Cabin upgrade vouchers must be used on Avios reward flight bookings. Reward flights and cabin upgrades are subject to availability. Taxes, fees and carrier charges per person apply. Additional Terms and Conditions apply to the use of the cabin upgrade voucher.

BPme Rewards
7. For full terms and conditions, visit exchange.shopping.ba.com

British Airways Executive Club Rewards app
8. Find out more here.

Shopping through British Airways 
9. Collect up to 12 Avios per £1 (instead of 6) on purchases at Selfridges until 21 April 2024. For full terms and conditions, visit shopping.ba.com

BA.com
10. Avios can only be earned for travel on eligible Sectors in eligible booking classes on either British Airways flights or on eligible flights of Airline Partners. Details of currently applicable eligible booking classes on British Airways and Airline Partners are set out on ba.com.