British Airways has expanded its Avios-only flight portfolio to include France for the first time, joining Spain, South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Barbados and other long- and short-haul favourites in a rapidly growing network of reward-only services designed for its most loyal members.
France Enters the Avios-Only Spotlight
British Airways has confirmed that Toulon Saint-Tropez on France’s Mediterranean coast will join its roster of Avios-only flights in summer 2026, marking a significant broadening of the carrier’s reward-based travel proposition within Europe. Operating from London City Airport, the seasonal service will give members of The British Airways Club the chance to redeem points for every seat on board, from economy through to Club Europe, on flights that cannot be booked with cash in the usual way.
The Toulon route is especially notable because it represents a fresh French destination for the airline and serves as one of the closest gateways to the glamour of Saint-Tropez and the wider Côte d’Azur. British Airways is offering return fares starting from £2 in cash plus 21,500 Avios for Euro Traveller, or £30 plus 36,000 Avios for Club Europe, creating headline-grabbing lead-in prices that underscore the airline’s loyalty-first strategy.
The outbound Avios-only flight from London City to Toulon is scheduled for 13 June 2026, with the return from France on 20 June 2026. Capacity on these services is limited and demand is expected to be strong, especially among frequent travellers who have banked substantial Avios balances over the past few years and are now looking for high-value ways to redeem them on peak summer dates.
For The British Airways Club, bringing France into the Avios-only portfolio is designed to resonate with both leisure and lifestyle-focused travellers in the UK and beyond. The move positions Toulon Saint-Tropez alongside existing sunshine favourites such as Barbados and Cape Town, while reinforcing the message that reward flights are no longer confined to off-season shoulder periods or marginal routes.
Madrid and Toulon Lead New European Expansion
The addition of Spain’s capital Madrid alongside Toulon Saint-Tropez is central to British Airways’ latest Avios-only announcement. From London City Airport, the airline will operate a special pair of services over the late May bank holiday to Madrid in 2026, followed by the June rotation to Toulon, taking the Avios-only tally past a landmark 50 dedicated flights since the concept was introduced in 2023.
Return fares on the Madrid operation start from £2 plus 28,000 Avios in Euro Traveller and from £30 plus 49,000 Avios in Club Europe, mirroring the low-cash, high-Avios structure seen on the Toulon route. Every seat on these services is released as a Reward Seat, meaning that members can choose from multiple Avios-plus-cash combinations but cannot opt to purchase a conventional all-cash ticket.
Madrid has long been an important connecting point within the wider Avios ecosystem, not least through Spanish partner Iberia, but British Airways’ London City operation is pitched squarely at UK-based leisure travellers. The airline is highlighting the Spanish capital’s cultural attractions, from its world-renowned museums to its culinary scene, and the timing of the flights over a key holiday weekend is expected to make them particularly attractive to short-break travellers.
For Toulon, British Airways is emphasising the convenience of a compact airport close to prime coastal resorts, rather than the busier hubs along the Riviera. By anchoring both of the latest Avios-only services at London City, the carrier is also playing to the airport’s strengths for point-to-point travel: fast security processing, short walking distances and a central London location that reduces overall journey time for many travellers.
From South Africa to Barbados: A Growing Global Network
France and Spain are the latest additions to what has become a geographically diverse Avios-only network, stretching from Europe to Africa and the Caribbean. Since 2023, British Airways has scheduled reward-only flights to destinations such as Cape Town in South Africa, Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt, Marrakesh in Morocco, Málaga in Spain and Barbados in the Caribbean, among others.
These services are distinct from standard reward seat allocations that feature a fixed quota of bookable Avios seats on regular flights. Instead, Avios-only flights dedicate 100 per cent of their capacity to members redeeming points, giving those with significant balances a better chance of securing travel at popular times and to highly sought-after destinations.
Themed Avios-only departures to long-haul favourites like Cape Town and Barbados have been particularly visible, often scheduled around peak holiday seasons including festive and winter sun periods. Industry watchers note that the concept allows British Airways to showcase its loyalty programme on marquee routes, while also using inventory management and pricing levers to balance cash and reward revenue over the wider network.
In North Africa and the Middle East, Avios-only services to destinations such as Sharm El Sheikh and Marrakesh have underlined the programme’s role in short- and medium-haul leisure travel. These routes appeal to travellers looking for warmer weather and resort-style breaks within a five- to six-hour flight from the UK, and the reward-only format has helped fill flights during periods of strong seasonal demand.
How Avios-Only Flights Work for British Airways Club Members
Avios-only services are available exclusively to members of The British Airways Club, the carrier’s loyalty programme whose currency is Avios points. Members earn Avios by flying with British Airways and partner airlines, booking holiday packages, spending with co-branded credit cards and shopping with a network of retailers and hotel partners.
On Avios-only flights, redemptions are structured as a combination of Avios plus a cash component that covers taxes, fees and carrier charges. Customers can typically choose from several combinations to suit their cash flow and points balance, with options ranging from higher Avios redemptions with minimal cash to lower Avios with a higher cash supplement.
Because these flights are entirely allocated to reward seats, demand can be intense. Availability is released on a first-come, first-served basis through the airline’s website and app, and recent launches have sold out rapidly after going on sale. Members are also able to use eligible companion vouchers from co-branded credit cards to reduce the number of Avios required for a second traveller on the same booking, adding further appeal for couples and families.
From a traveller’s perspective, the key difference compared with standard reward bookings is the ability to redeem Avios across all cabins on a given Avios-only service, with guaranteed reward inventory. That stands in contrast to popular holiday departures where the small number of reward seats often disappear quickly, forcing many members either to travel on less convenient dates or to use their Avios for upgrades rather than full flight redemptions.
Strategic Loyalty Play in a Competitive Market
British Airways’ commitment to expanding Avios-only flights reflects the increasingly central role of loyalty programmes in the airline business model. Avios has become a significant revenue driver in its own right, as airlines sell points to banks and partners while encouraging customers to channel everyday spending through co-branded cards and shopping portals.
By offering high-profile, high-visibility Avios-only services, British Airways is signalling that the currency can unlock aspirational trips that might otherwise be prohibitively expensive in cash during peak periods. Travel industry analysts say this kind of redemption opportunity is likely to keep members engaged with the programme, particularly as inflation and higher airfares make cash tickets more costly for many households.
The timing of the latest France and Spain launches also comes against a backdrop of rising travel costs and fiscal pressures in the UK, including higher Air Passenger Duty and changes in taxation that have nudged up the cash element on some long-haul redemptions. For British Airways, using Avios-only promotions with striking £2 entry prices on short-haul routes offers a counter-narrative of value and rewards, even as underlying costs rise.
Loyalty specialists also highlight the benefits for British Airways in terms of customer data and engagement. Members who commit their Avios to a flagship promotion are more likely to continue collecting to rebuild their balances, whether through additional flying, holiday packages or partner spending, reinforcing a virtuous circle for the airline and its partners.
What This Means for Frequent Flyers and Points Collectors
For frequent flyers and dedicated points collectors, the expansion of Avios-only services broadens the range of aspirational redemptions available without committing to complex itineraries or off-peak travel dates. The fact that long-haul leisure hotspots such as South Africa and Barbados sit alongside shorter European getaways like Madrid, Málaga and now Toulon means members can tailor redemptions to suit varying time and budget constraints.
Avios-only flights are particularly attractive to travellers who have built up large balances through credit card spending, business travel or historical flying and are now seeking to realise tangible value from their points. Rather than using Avios solely for short-haul off-peak flights or part-payment against cash tickets, they can target one of the limited but high-impact promotions where availability is temporarily abundant and all seats are on offer as rewards.
However, the model is not without trade-offs. Once the initial tranche of seats is sold, there is typically no additional capacity added in the reward-only category, and travellers who miss out may face higher Avios and cash prices on standard reward flights at nearby dates. The limited number of services on each route also means that flexibility is essential, particularly for those planning around set school holiday windows or major events.
Experienced Avios users therefore tend to monitor announcements closely and act quickly when new Avios-only services are released. In practice, that can mean setting alerts, pre-planning preferred dates and having enough Avios in place before the booking window opens, especially when destinations like the French Riviera, Morocco or the Caribbean are involved.
France and the Wider Avios Ecosystem
The introduction of Toulon Saint-Tropez as an Avios-only destination also has implications for the wider Avios ecosystem, which spans multiple airlines and regions. France is already well served within the network through conventional reward flights and partner services, particularly via Paris and other major cities, but the Toulon route brings a new level of leisure-focused specificity to the map.
In combination with existing reward links via Iberia and other partners, the move underscores how Avios has grown into a pan-European and global loyalty currency rather than a purely UK-centric programme. For travellers who are flexible and engaged, it becomes increasingly feasible to string together complex itineraries using Avios across multiple carriers, with British Airways’ Avios-only services acting as high-value anchor points within broader trips.
Looking ahead, analysts expect British Airways to continue using Avios-only promotions selectively on routes that offer strong leisure demand and branding potential. Destinations such as South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Spain, Barbados and now France provide a template of warm-weather appeal, aspirational imagery and relatively straightforward operational planning from the airline’s UK bases.
For France in particular, Toulon’s debut as an Avios-only gateway could pave the way for future reward-focused experiments to other coastal or regional airports that serve popular holiday regions. For now, though, all eyes are on London City, where members of The British Airways Club are preparing to redeem their hard-earned points for exclusive seats on the latest additions to a steadily expanding Avios-only world.