Cathay Pacific launching Maldives flights from 27th October

When we went to the Maldives, five years ago, it was a pain. At that point, British Airways did not fly the route. We ended up routing ourselves London-Frankfurt-Dubai (on Lufthansa miles) with a connection to a paid Dubai-Male flight that departed at 4am or something equally silly.

Coming back, we bought a one-way ticket on Emirates for cash through to London, since at that time (no longer) they offered exceptionally cheap tickets out of Male.

Since then, getting to the Maldives has become easier. BA launched the route, of course. As I wrote last year, Turkish Airlines is offering Male now as well, offering an option for Star Alliance miles holders.

And now, BA’s partner Cathay Pacific is launching flights from Hong Kong, starting in late October.

Now, lets be clear about this. Flying to the Maldives via Hong Kong is neither a cheap nor short thing to do! However, if:

you really want to go to the Maldives but BA isn’t showing Avios seats

you are happy with a two-centre holiday (ie Hong Kong and the Maldives)

you are flush with Avios

you are travelling as a couple and not with children

…. then it might work!

Cathay will fly to Male four times a week, on Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. The outbound timing is poor, leaving Hong Kong at 5.15pm and arriving at 9.25pm. Coming back, it is better (assuming you can get a late check-out at your resort), with an 11.35pm departure and an arrival into Hong Kong at 8.55am.

They are using an A330 with fully-flat seats in business class, which look pretty good.

It is a long flight from Hong Kong at 7 hours. You are looking at 50,000 Avios per person, return, in Business Class – and that is on top of the Avios needed to get to Hong Kong.

They also seem to limit Business Class redemptions seats to 2 per flight, which is why I said that this option was only good for a couple, not a family. I was struggling to find a lot of days with availability, so you’d need to be flexible.

Another option, by the way, is Malaysia Airways. Availability from Kuala Lumpur to Male in Business Class seems to be excellent, far better than with Cathay. This is just a four hour flight. However, it is still 40,000 Avios per person, return, in Business Class and they appear to be running a Boeing 737 on the route – potentially with short haul seats? For four hours, though, 20,000 Avios per person, return, in Economy may be better.

Neither of these options make a lot of sense if you’re simply planning to go to The Maldives and back. Your availability options will certainly improve, though, if you build in an Asian stopover as well. You could even mix and match these flights with the BA direct services in order to get availability for the dates you want.

Qatar Airways entry into oneworld on October 30th will also open up other options, with a potential routing via Doha. Other options include flying on BA to the Middle East or India – or even Singapore, which is a short onward flight – and getting a connecting flight for cash.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

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.