Six top destinations Paris: £57.10

BMI British Midland from Heathrow. Must be booked online (£5 extra if booked by phone 0870 6070555). Valid for departures indefinitely. No minimum stay, maximum one year. BMI British Midland (flybmi.com).

Amsterdam: £69

British Airways from Manchester. Must be booked online (£10 extra if booked by phone 0845 7733377) and at least 30 days before travel. Valid for departures indefinitely. British Airways (ba.com).

New York: £209

Air India from Heathrow. Valid for departures January 1-March 31. No minimum stay, maximum 60 days. Quest Travel (0870 4423513, questtravel.com).

Los Angeles: £297

United Airlines from Heathrow. Must be booked by August 31. Full payment required when booking. Valid for departures November 1-December 10. Minimum stay one Saturday night, maximum one month. Airline Network (0870 2349915, airlinenetwork.co.uk).

Hong Kong: £391

Finnair from Heathrow via Helsinki. Valid for departures until August 31. Minimum stay eight nights, maximum one month. Travelbag (0870 8901460, travelbag.co.uk).

Sydney: £563

Asiana Airlines from Heathrow via Seoul. Must be booked by August 31. Valid for departures December 1-December 9. Minimum stay four days, maximum one year. Trailfinders (020-7938 3939, trailfinders.com).

The pick of the rest

Rio de Janeiro: £480

Varig Airlines from Heathrow. Must be booked by September 30. Valid for departures September 1-November 29. Minimum stay one Saturday night, maximum one month but all travel must be completed by December 4. Journey Latin America (020-8747 3108, journeylatinamerica.co.uk).

Melbourne/Perth: £595

Emirates from Gatwick via Dubai. Valid for departures September 1-October 15. Minimum stay one Saturday night, maximum six months. Airline Warehouse (0870 7707339, airline-warehouse.com).

San Francisco: £299

Air Canada from Heathrow via Calgary, Vancouver or Toronto. Valid for departures November 1-December 12. Minimum stay one Saturday night, maximum six months. Bridge the World (0870 4441716, bridgethe world.com).

And the rail alternative

Paris/Brussels: £59. Lille: £55

Eurostar from Waterloo or Ashford (no advance purchase required but may not be available at last minute). Minimum stay one Saturday night. Eurostar (08705 186186, eurostar.com).

· NB Fares can change rapidly. These were available in reasonable quantities at the time of writing, but they can sell out in a sudden rush.