How to save by using Avios for airberlin long-haul – Part 1

Since airberlin joined the OneWorld airline alliance on March 20th, it has opened up a new range of long-haul routes from Europe that can be booked with Avios. (In some ways, it makes up for the loss of opportunities when Malev of Hungary went bust last year.)

airberlin is an odd airline. It markets itself like a low-cost carrier, but is generally well regarded for its seating and service. It serves a number of long-haul routes, whilst easyJet and Ryanair are strictly 100% short-haul. It also has a business class product, unlike most low-cost airlines.

It also has a lot of code share arrangements, most importantly with Etihad of Abu Dhabi. It sometimes makes wild claims about the number of long-haul destinations it serves, but in reality these mainly involve changing to an Etihad aircraft in Abu Dhabi – and these routes are not available for Avios redemptions.

However … strip out the code shares and you are left with a decent selection of routes served with airberlin planes. And there are some good deals to be had!

How many Avios do I need?

Below I have listed the core airberlin long-haul routes, together with the number of Avios needed for a return trip in business class and the taxes required. For economy or one-way business class tickets, halve the number of Avios shown. (I have ignored a couple of routes which are ending in October, such as Namibia.)

Looking at the number of Avios required, some destinations require more than a BA flight from London, and some require less. This is because the distance from Berlin, Dusseldorf or Munich to your destination will be different to a similar flight from London, and this sometimes tips the flight into a different pricing band.

Looking at the taxes required, you will notice that these are a lot lower than flying from London. This is partly due to lack of Air Passenger Duty, and partly due to differences in fuel surcharges. Some of this saving will be offset by the cost of getting to and from Germany to start your trip, of course – more on this in Part 2 of this post tomorrow.

airberlin long haul routes (business class return price):

Abu Dhabi from Berlin – 50,000 Avios + £48

Abu Dhabi from Dusseldorf – 80,000 Avios + £49

Cancun from Munich – 120,000 Avios + £85

Cancun from Dusseldorf – 100,000 Avios + £82

Chicago from Berlin (starts 3/13) – 100,000 Avios + £62

Curacao from Dusseldorf – 100,000 Avios + £43

Dominican Republic (3 airports) from Munich, Dusseldorf – 100,000 Avios + £105

Fort Myers, Florida from Dusseldorf – 100,000 Avios + £63

Las Vegas from Dusseldorf (Summer 2013) – 100,000 Avios + £63

Los Angeles from Berlin (Summer 2013) – 120,000 Avios + £62

Los Angeles from Dusseldorf – 120,000 Avios + £63

Miami from Berlin – 100,000 Avios + £62

Miami from Dusseldorf – 100,000 Avios + £63

Mombasa, Kenya from Munich – 80,000 Avios + £79

New York from Berlin – 80,000 Avios + £62

New York from Dusseldorf – 80,000 Avios + £63

Phuket from Abu Dhabi – 80,000 Avios + £27

Vancouver from Dusseldorf (Summer 2013) – 100,000 Avios + £79

Varadero, Cuba from Berlin, Munich, Dusseldorf – 100,000 Avios + £50

There are also non-EU flights to various destinations in Egypt, Israel, Morocco and Tunisia, although I don’t class them as long-haul for the purposes of this article. You can use ba.com (I will explain how in Part 3) to look up pricing to these places.

Tomorrow, in Part 2 of this article, I will discuss important things to consider before booking on airberlin.  Part 3 will look at the process of booking partner awards on ba.com.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 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:

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

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.

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

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.

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

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