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One of the little treats I really enjoy when using points/miles to fly in Business and First Class is the chance to try different types of champagne (and other drinks) that my budget wouldn’t normally stretch to for a speculative purchase on the ground. It’s one thing spending a small ransom on a bottle you know you really love, but it’s much harder to justify shelling out for something you’ve never tasted just because it’s got a good reputation.

The much maligned British Airways First Class may not offer the most spacious or luxurious seat in the air, but I’m sure there are thousands of fellow Avios collectors who can join me in toasting the deliciousness of the Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle served onboard (and in the Concorde Room). The much more famous Krug on the other hand, offered by many airlines in First Class, has always left me relatively underwhelmed – and very pleased I haven’t spent £130+ on a bottle.

With the festive season relentlessly approaching once again, this week it was time to start thinking about restocking the ‘Christmas Cellar’ at Chateau Deeney. Thanks to American Express and Laithwaite’s, I came across some cracking deals which I thought I’d share, so that we can all enjoy our favourite First Class tipples this Christmas without (completely) breaking the bank.

If you have an American Express card, login to your account, scroll down to check your offers, and you will probably be able to see one for £20 off a £60 spend at Laithwaite’s Wine which you need to click on to register:

Unusually, the offer was available on all my Amex cards, so it’s either very widely targeted, or Amex are worryingly confident that I like wine.

Starting at the luxury end of the market, our old friend LPGS is available for £110 per bottle, which would be £90 after the £20 Amex rebate.

Obviously that’s still very expensive, but it’s cheaper than anywhere else I’ve seen in the last few years.

If you’re looking for something more affordable but still very special, there’s a superb deal on Bollinger Grande Annee 2007 – £60 is as low as this one tends to go when discounted, so getting it for £40 (after including the additional Amex rebate) is remarkable.

Moving away from the more expensive examples, there are a few award winning options for under £20 per bottle (before you factor the £20 Amex rebate for spending £60+, which knocks roughly another third off, depending on what your exact total is).

There are also some well-priced big name non vintages on offer for £30-35 (before Amex rebate), like Pol Roger, Louis Roederer and Bollinger.

Once you factor in the Amex rebate, you could get two of those for ~£46 (~£26 per bottle), which is tremendous value.

You do have to pay £7.99 for delivery, which is far from ideal, but there’s also 10% cashback available via TopCashback for first orders, which almost cancels that out.

Bottom line

If you’re looking to stock up on a bottle or 2 of something nice that you last enjoyed at 40,000 feet, the combination of good standard discounts, cashback, and the Amex rebate makes this one of the best champagne sales I’ve seen in years.

There was no additional promotion mentioned when I made my purchase, but I received a bottle of free port (worth £15) with my order, so keep an eye out for unexpected extras too!