Bits: Egypt follows India with new visa rules, new British Airways route to Vienna

News in brief:

Egypt launches tough new visa regime

My article yesterday about the disproportionately tough new visa regime brought in with very little warning by India caused a lot of comment.

I hope no-one decided to swap their holiday plans from India to Egypt.  The military Government in Egypt announced yesterday that individual travellers would no longer be allowed to buy a visa on arrival.  Tour groups are exempt.

The change takes place on May 15th.  From that date, you will have to obtain a visa before you fly from the Egyptian Embassy.

Ironically, as Reuters mentioned in the same report:

“Egypt hopes to generate $20 billion in revenue from tourism by 2020 by attracting 20 million visitors, new Tourism Minister Khaled Ramy told Reuters on Sunday at an international investment conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.”

Not behaving like this he won’t.

Cairo has also, in recent years, been one of the cheapest places in the world to buy a British Airways long-haul flight.  Buying a ticket out of Cairo was not only cheap but earned additional tier points, because the Cairo to London leg is treated as long haul.  This game may now be up, unless passengers in transit are still allowed to travel without a visa – and even then, doing a back-to-back flight to Cairo is not for the feint hearted.

New British Airways route to Vienna

British Airways announced yesterday that it will launch a new year-round route from Gatwick to Vienna.

Flights will start on September 17th.  There will be four flights per week during the Winter season (Monday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday) and six per week (not Saturday) during the Summer.

Redemption and cash flights can already be booked at ba.com.  A redemption is 15,000 Avios points return in World Traveller and 30,000 in Club Europe.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (January 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.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

50,000 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.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 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.