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British Airways Launches Flight and Holiday Sale
British Airways have launched the return of their ‘The Original Sale’ on flights and holidays. the sale is on until 19th June, so a relatively short one. We have had a look and compiled a list of the best flight offerings they have in the sale. A couple of the stand out fares for us are New York for £1,567 and Antigua for £1,899. Apart from that, there isn’t a huge amount to get excited about. Although, some of the Club Europe fares aren’t too bad.
If you want to look up the best flight deals and what dates they apply to, the BA Low Fare Finder tool is a very good resource.
From London
North America
| Destination | From Price (Return) |
|---|---|
| Austin | from £2099 return |
| Chicago | from £2078 return |
| Cincinnati | from £1999 return |
| Houston | from £2899 return |
| Las Vegas | from £2367 return |
| Los Angeles | from £2299 return |
| Montreal | from £1798 return |
| New York | from £1567 return |
| Philadelphia | from £1999 return |
| Pittsburgh | from £1898 return |
| Portland | from £2098 return |
| San Diego | from £2199 return |
| San Francisco | from £2199 return |
| Vancouver | from £2299 return |
| Washington DC | from £1799 return |
Latin America & Caribbean
| Destination | From Price (Return) |
|---|---|
| Antigua | from £1899 return |
| Bridgetown (Barbados) | from £1899 return |
| Buenos Aires | from £2899 return |
| Cancun | from £1898 return |
| Grand Cayman | from £2199 return |
| Grenada | from £2099 return |
| Mexico City | from £1999 return |
| Nassau | from £2099 return |
| Providenciales | from £2099 return |
| Punta Cana | from £1998 return |
| Rio de Janeiro | from £2530 return |
| San Jose (Costa Rica) | from £2693 return |
| St Lucia | from £1999 return |
| Tobago | from £2531 return |
South & Central Asia
| Destination | From Price (Return) |
|---|---|
| Bengaluru | from £2099 return |
| Chennai | from £1998 return |
| Hyderabad | from £1999 return |
| Islamabad | from £2199 return |
| Male | from £2498 return |
| Mumbai | from £1999 return |
| New Delhi | from £1898 return |
Middle East & Africa
| Destination | From Price (Return) |
|---|---|
| Abu Dhabi | from £1797 return |
| Amman | from £922 return |
| Cairo | from £825 return |
| Dubai | from £1997 return |
| Jeddah | from £1799 return |
| Johannesburg | from £2664 return |
| Nairobi | from £1997 return |
| Riyadh | from £2344 return |
| Tel Aviv | from £845 return |
Europe
| Destination | From Price (Return) |
|---|---|
| Aberdeen | from £228 return |
| Amsterdam | from £260 return |
| Barcelona | from £210 return |
| Basel | from £198 return |
| Belfast | from £192 return |
| Berlin | from £238 return |
| Billund | from £200 return |
| Bologna | from £238 return |
| Brussels | from £228 return |
| Budapest | from £292 return |
| Cologne | from £226 return |
| Copenhagen | from £240 return |
| Dublin | from £202 return |
| Dusseldorf | from £222 return |
| Edinburgh | from £200 return |
| Florence | from £252 return |
| Frankfurt | from £238 return |
| Geneva | from £182 return |
| Gothenburg | from £210 return |
| Hamburg | from £210 return |
| Hannover | from £250 return |
| Inverness | from £208 return |
| Jersey | from £224 return |
| Krakow | from £228 return |
| Luxembourg | from £184 return |
| Madrid | from £288 return |
| Manchester | from £172 return |
| Marseille | from £254 return |
| Milan | from £200 return |
| Munich | from £248 return |
| Newcastle | from £154 return |
| Oslo | from £280 return |
| Paris | from £256 return |
| Pisa | from £206 return |
| Riga | from £288 return |
| Rotterdam | from £230 return |
| Stuttgart | from £246 return |
| Tirana | from £298 return |
| Toulouse | from £238 return |
| Valencia | from £236 return |
| Venice | from £294 return |
| Vienna | from £270 return |
Up to 100% More Points with IHG – Flash Sale Until 13th June
IHG has launched another buy points bonus, and it seems these are now becoming a regular monthly occurrence. When you buy 5,000 IHG One Rewards points or more before 13th June 2025, you could receive a 100% bonus, depending on your targeted offer.
As always, you’ll need to log in to your account to see if you’re eligible and how much of a bonus you’re offered. This deal is being marketed as a Flash Sale, but the bonus rate and cap are consistent with IHG’s usual sales.
How it Works
IHG regularly sells points, typically with a bonus of up to 100%. This means:
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Buy 5,000 points or more and get up to double the points
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The maximum purchase per year is 200,000 points
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With the 100% bonus, you could get up to 400,000 points total if you haven’t bought any yet this calendar year
The value per point improves as you buy more. Based on previous UK pricing and currency rates:
| Number of Points Purchased | Value per Point |
|---|---|
| 5,000–10,000 | 0.51p |
| 11,000–25,000 | 0.43p |
| 26,000–200,000 | 0.38p |
Is it Worth It?
Buying points isn’t always a bargain, but promotions like this can make it worthwhile, especially if you’re:
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Topping up for a redemption
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Booking reward nights that are cheaper than cash rates
For example, a stay at the Kimpton Fitzroy London on 12 June costs £359 or 86,000 points. With this promotion, buying 86,000 points would cost £316.40, saving you £42.60.
You can read our guide to whether IHG is the best Hotel Loyalty Programme for you here.
IHG’s 100% bonus sales are now running almost monthly, so if you’re not getting the full bonus this time, it may be worth waiting for the next round, unless you need points urgently.
This offer runs alongside other IHG promotions like their ongoing “Pick Your Points” promo, so it’s worth checking your IHG account for stackable deals.
Click here to buy your IHG points
Faro Airport Rolls Out E-Gates for British Travellers
There’s good news for anyone heading to Portugal this summer, British passport holders can now use the e-gates at Faro Airport, helping to avoid long queues at immigration. Anyone who has flown through Faro airport since Brexit will be aware of the absolute chaos to get through immigration. In September 2023 it took me nearly 2 hours to get through, although strangely, on a trip last month, we were landed and bags collected within 20 minutes, this must have been an anomaly though.
The welcome change follows a UK-EU agreement signed last month, which confirmed that there are no legal barriers to UK citizens using automated border controls in the EU. While broader rollout across Europe will take time, Faro is the first major leisure airport to implement the change.
Since Brexit, British travellers have largely been unable to use e-gates in the Schengen area, resulting in manual passport checks and stamping, even at airports with advanced biometric border technology.
Now, UK nationals arriving at Faro, will benefit from quicker entry via e-gates, provided their passports meet standard biometric criteria. This change is expected to make a noticeable difference, especially during peak summer months, when queues have historically been long.
The announcement comes just ahead of the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) rollout, which is scheduled to begin in October 2025 and will be phased in over six months. The system will record biometric data and arrival/departure times for non-EU citizens entering the Schengen zone.
Under the new UK-EU agreement, UK citizens will not be legally restricted from using e-gates, even after the EES goes live. While Faro is the first to adopt the new agreement, the UK government has confirmed it is actively working with other EU countries to expand access.
For frequent travellers and holidaymakers alike, this is a welcome improvement. Faro is one of the most popular destinations for British tourists, and the ability to skip lengthy queues is a tangible upgrade.
3 comments
Unless Portugal have also got the agreement of the EU to stop stamping passports on entry and exit into the EU you haven’t as widely reported, eliminated passport control queues by allowing non EU citizens to access the use of E-Gates. Until the EES goes live I presume the requirement to stamp passports as a means of ensuring the passport holder doesn’t exceed 90 days in any 180 days remains.
As the saying does “You ain’t seen nothing yet” when finally the EES goes live with regards to passport queues, as with this system on first entry after the EES system goes live, each and every passenger will be required to provide their fingerprints and a an electronic photograph of there face, which will take longer than just queuing for passport stamping.
Why haven’t the UK been negotiating with the EU to allow this data to be captured at an approved centre in the UK, where you can make an appointment to provide this information prior to your long awaited holiday and then and only then enter the EU quickly and smoothly.
I thought the EU capitulation had nothing to do with using the E gates, as not down to the EU in a report I read?
Was still taking the best part of 2 hours to get through Faro last week even with the e-gates. They need to get their act together quickly or July and August will be a melt down.