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What is the British Airways baggage / luggage allowance?

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In this article I want to look at what the baggage or luggage allowance is on British Airways.

I want to say at the start that there are different luggage rules for status members of British Airways Executive Club:

If you are a Gold member of British Airways Executive Club, we wrote about your luggage allowance in this article

If you are a Silver member of British Airways Executive Club, we wrote about your luggage allowance in this article

If you are a Bronze or Blue member of British Airways Executive Club, you get the standard BA baggage allowance.  You do not receive any special benefits.

What is the British Airways luggage allowance?

What is the standard British Airways baggage allowance?

As a British Airways Bronze or Blue cardholder, or if you are not an Executive Club member at all, you can only check in the standard luggage allowance:

Basic / hand baggage only ticket

No free luggage allowance.  If you are travelling with a child up to 11 years of age, however, you can check in two items per child for free.  This could include a collapsible pushchair or stroller, a car seat or a travel cot.

Economy / World Traveller / Euro Traveller tickets

With a few specific exceptions (Doha, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria) an adult can check in one suitcase for free, weighing up to 23kg

A child (up to 11 years) can check in one suitcase for free, weighing up to 23kg, plus a fully collapsible pushchair or car seat

Premium Economy / World Traveller Plus tickets

An adult can check in two suitcases for free, weighing up to 23kg

A child (2 to 11 years) can check in two suitcases for free, weighing up to 23kg, plus a fully collapsible pushchair and car seat

An infant (up to 2 years) can check in one suitcase for free, weighing up to 23kg, plus a fully collapsible pushchair and car seat

Business / Club World / Club Europe tickets

An adult can check in two suitcases for free, weighing up to 32kg

A child (2 to 11 years) can check in two suitcases for free, weighing up to 32kg, plus a fully collapsible pushchair and car seat

An infant (up to 2 years) can check in one suitcase for free, weighing up to 32kg, plus a fully collapsible pushchair and car seat

First Class tickets

An adult can check in three suitcases for free, weighing up to 32kg

A child (2 to 11 years) can check in three suitcases for free, weighing up to 32kg, plus a fully collapsible pushchair and car seat

An infant (up to 2 years) can check in one suitcase for free, weighing up to 32kg, plus a fully collapsible pushchair and car seat

British Airways baggage luggage allowance

What happens if I am changing planes?

This a bit more complicated than it needs to be.

If you are travelling in a different class on the outbound and return, you get the allowance of the class you are travelling in.  If you fly out in First Class but come back in Business Class, you do NOT get the First Class allowance on your return.

If you are flying in mixed classes on the same journey (eg Euro Traveller from Manchester to London, connecting to Club World from Manchester to Los Angeles), you get the ‘most significant sector’ allowance.  This allows you to ignore the usual rules on the Manchester to London flight.

If you have a stopover en route and change classes (eg you fly Manchester to London, stop in London for two days and then continue in Club World to Los Angeles) you do NOT get the ‘most significant sector’ allowance.  You only get the allowance of the cabin in which you are sitting.

Full details can be found on the luggage page of ba.com which is here.  You can also find the current charges for additional or overweight baggage on that page.

(This article is part of our ‘BA Q&A’ series which explains how British Airways Executive Club works.  You can see all of our ‘BA Q&A’ articles here. )

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How to earn Avios points from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (January 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £12,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

Get a 10,000 points bonus plus an extra 500 points for our readers Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

There are also good bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These are available to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and free for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

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