New airberlin options for low-tax Avios redemptions

German airline airberlin offers one of the best options for spending your Avios points without incurring high taxes.

Whilst little known, airberlin is a full member of the oneworld alliance alongside BA, Qatar, Cathay, Qantas etc.  All of its long-haul aircraft now offer fully flat beds in business class.

I have flown airberlin business class from New York and I was perfectly happy with it.  Given the tax was under £2 for a one-way ticket, it would have been churlish to complain.

Abu Dhabi services from Berlin doubled

On October 26th airberlin introduced a 2nd daily flight from Berlin to Abu Dhabi.

This is fantastic news as this is one of the best value Avios redemptions available.  Because Berlin to Abu Dhabi is just under 3,000 miles, a return flight in business class is only 50,000 Avios plus £51 of tax.  Economy is only 25,000 Avios return.

airberlin also flies to Abu Dhabi from Dusseldorf but that is 80,000 Avios per person.

It is also about to launch services from Stuttgart (1st December) and Vienna (24th November) to Abu Dhabi using short-haul aircraft.  These will be 50,000 Avios and under £50 of tax return in business but I have not yet seen what seat will be used.  The Vienna flights will be under the NIKI brand.

Etihad is a 29% shareholder in airberlin if you were wondering why it flies to Abu Dhabi so heavily.

Other US routes improved

airberlin has also announced increased frequencies to the USA.  Dusseldorf will see its New York services increase to daily during the Winter timetable and twice a day from the Summer 2015 timetable.

Services to Los Angeles from Dusseldorf next Summer will increase from four to six per week.

To provide the aircraft for this, the Miami to Berlin service is being dropped from next Summer.  Miami to Dusseldorf will remain.

Full schedule

You can learn more about redeeming on airberlin in my ‘Avios Redemption University’ article.

This is the full list of airberlin long-haul routes together with approximate taxes.  The Avios prices are for return flights in business class.  Halve the Avios number for economy redemptions.

This list was put together a few months ago so may contain some errors – I will update it when I re-run our ‘Avios Redemption University’ series soon.  Some of the holiday routes were due to be losing business class seating this year.

Abu Dhabi from Berlin – 50,000 Avios + £51

Abu Dhabi from Dusseldorf – 80,000 Avios + £52

Abu Dhabi from Stuttgart (starts 1 December) – 50,000 Avios + £48 (short-haul plane)

Abu Dhabi from Vienna (starts 24 November) – 50,000 Avios + £46 (short-haul plane)

Cancun from Munich – 120,000 Avios + £88

Cancun from Dusseldorf – 100,000 Avios + £86

Chicago from Berlin – 100,000 Avios + £65

Curacao from Dusseldorf – 100,000 Avios + £46

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

Fort Myers, Florida from Dusseldorf – 100,000 Avios + £66

Los Angeles from Dusseldorf – 120,000 Avios + £66  (Summer only)

Miami from Berlin (stopping Summer 2015) – 100,000 Avios + £65

Miami from Dusseldorf – 100,000 Avios + £66

Mombasa, Kenya from Munich – 80,000 Avios + £82

New York from Berlin – 80,000 Avios + £65

New York from Dusseldorf – 80,000 Avios + £66

Varadero, Cuba from Berlin, Munich, Dusseldorf – 100,000 Avios + £53

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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.