airberlin increases long-haul US services – great news for Avios redemptions

I like redeeming Avios points on airberlin. True, their sloping business class seat is not the greatest, but their taxes are! A one-way flight from New York to Germany will set you back a grand total of £1 in taxes and surcharges, plus 40,000 Avios points.

Here is my review of a New York to Berlin business class redemption in February. I have another one booked for the end of July as well.

And, of course, airberlin is slowly rolling out their new fully-flat business class seat as well!

airberlin has just announced increased frequencies on its routes to the USA for the Winter season, starting in November:

airberlin is ploughing ahead with its growth strategy for the USA and increasing the frequency of flights on its routes from Berlin and Dusseldorf to New York and from Dusseldorf to Miami and Fort Meyers on the Winter schedule for 2013.

“The USA is a very popular destination for our flight guests from Germany and Europe. We are responding to rising demand and, following the increase in the frequency of flights offered on the current summer schedule, we are also expanding our Winter timetable to the USA. Our flight guests will thus have a wider choice of departure times to travel to North America during the Winter season,” Paul Gregorowitsch, Chief Commercial Officer at airberlin, said.

One additional flight per week is now available for booking from Berlin to New York and a further three flights a week are available departing from Dusseldorf. On the routes from Dusseldorf to Miami and Fort Meyers, one extra flight per week has been added for each destination.

This winter, therefore, airberlin is offering daily flights from Dusseldorf to Miami and New York all year round for the first time – and in the summer there are up to two flights a day to New York. The Winter schedule starts on 1st November 2013 and ends on 30th April 2014. airberlin operates flights to a total of five destinations in the USA: Chicago, Fort Meyers, Los Angeles, Miami and New York.

These flights should be available for redemption bookings now. However, I did notice on my recent booking that reward seats only opened up a couple of months before departure.

airberlin only ever offers two business class seats for redemption. It is not totally clear if more seats get released later, but they certainly do not immediately offer two more when the original two have gone.

It is not clear to me at the moment what routes have been cut back or scrapped to make room for these new services. This article on airberlin lists all of their current long-haul routes.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (March 2025)

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 Mastercard

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

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 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

30,000 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 £15,000 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large 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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

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

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to 120,000 points. You receive 80,000 points when you spend £12,000 within three months and a further 40,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 60,000 points. You receive 40,000 points when you spend £6,000 within three months and a further 20,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

American Express Business Platinum

Up to 120,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

Up to 60,000 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.