25% off Avios sale to Middle East now works with a 2-4-1 – but you must book TODAY

TODAY, Sunday, is the last chance to get a 25% discount on Avios redemptions to the Middle East booked via avios.com or ba.com.  Full details can be found here.

When I first wrote about this offer, I was critical of the fact that you could not combine the 25% discount with a British Airways American Express 2-4-1 voucher.

Right at the death, I found out that British Airways has changed their policy.  You can now combine a 2-4-1 voucher with this promotion.

It also works with a Lloyds Avios Rewards card upgrade voucher if you book via avios.com.

This means two things:

if you have an existing 2-4-1 Middle East redemption booked between now and December, you may want to consider rebooking it.  You will pay the £70 change fee but you will save at least 25,000 Avios on a Club World booking.

if you were put off taking part in this offer because you couldn’t use a 2-4-1 voucher, take another look – but do it TODAY

This seems a slightly odd time to launch a Middle East sale, with the peak travel period to the region coming up.  I get a feeling that British Airways has been hit by a nasty combination of:

falling leisure demand (the UAE currencies are pegged to the US$ so everything has got 20% more expensive in £ terms in recent weeks)

increased capacity (Doha and Muscat are to get their own dedicated flights instead of being tagged on to existing services)

falling corporate travel demand post the EU referendum

massively strong competition from Etihad, Emirates and Qatar – exacerbated by the fact that you can earn Avios and tier points on Qatar and, as long as you book it as a Qantas codeshare, Emirates

The 25% discount is valid on:

Abu Dhabi

Bahrain

Doha

Dubai

Muscat

You can travel in:

World Traveller

World Traveller Plus

Club World

but not First.

You must book by 7th August and travel before 11th December.

The EARLIEST travel date varies by route:

Abu Dhabi – 1st September for WT, immediately for WTP, 1st November for CW

Bahrain – 1st September for WT, 1st October for WTP, 1st November for CW

Doha – immediately

Dubai – 1st September for WT, immediately for WTP and CW

Muscat – immediately

The discount applies to both one-way and return tickets.  Full taxes must be paid – these are not discounted by 25%!

If you are heading to Dubai, remember my handy tip.  Flying into Abu Dhabi is more sensible – you land three hours earlier than the first BA Dubai flight and you get to fly a new Boeing 787.  A taxi into Dubai will only be £40 and, time wise, it adds 30 minutes at most to your transfer if you staying near The Palm.

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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.