BA World Traveller Plus to Dubai / Muscat / Abu Dhabi from £380 return, ex-Switzerland

British Airways is currently running an exceptionally cheap deal in World Traveller Plus to the Middle East.

These tickets can easily be upgraded to a Club World flat bed with Avios if there is availability.

This deal requires you to start your trip in Switzerland.  However ….. oddly ….. you MUST finish in London on the way back.  You do NOT head back to Switzerland at the end.  Which is handy …..

The deal:

Fly from Geneva or Zurich

Fly to Dubai, Muscat or Abu Dhabi

Class:  World Traveller Plus (Switzerland to London is in Economy)

Total fare:  500 – 570 CHF return (£380 – £440)

Travel dates:  outbound either before 7th December or between 9th January and 27th March

Must book by 10th October

Saturday night stay is required

BA tier points earned:  185 or 190 return, depending on the short-haul ticket bucket

How to book

Because this is not a straight return flight, you need to use the multi-city box on this page of ba.com.

Flight 1 should be Geneva or Zurich to Dubai or Muscat or Abu Dhabi

Flight 2 should be Dubai or Muscat or Abu Dhabi to London

And here is a snag.  British Airways does not show you a price for multi-city flights until you get to the payment page.  This makes the process VERY hit and miss.  All you can do is randomly select a pair of flights and see how it prices.

There is a Plan B.

I have written about ITA Matrix a few times.  It is an online pricing tool – not a booking tool – owned by Google.   You can use ITA Matrix to find the pairs of flights with the lowest price over a 2-3 day window.

This is what you do:

Go to https://matrix.itasoftware.com/

Fill in the screen exactly as I have done below (click to enlarge).  You need to be on the ‘Multi-City’ tab and you need to click on ‘Advanced Controls’ to bring up all the options.  You can make the destination Dubai (DXB), Abu Dhabi (AUH) or Muscat (MCT) depending on where you want to go.

Remember that the return flight is just to London, not Switzerland.

The key bit is adding “f bc=t” which tells the system to look for a discounted World Traveller Plus ticket.

ITA Matrix will then show you the exact flight pairs which bring up the cheapest price.  I recommend you search for a +/- 2 day window to maximise your odds of getting the lowest fare.

Put these dates into ba.com on the multi-city page, select the exact flights shown on ITA Matrix and it will price OK.

CHF 497 is £382.  I found Dubai to be a little more expensive at around CHF 570 (£437).

Conclusion

This is clearly an excellent price for World Traveller Plus, especially in peak season.  You need to factor in the cost of a one-way ticket to Switzerland as well – but that is what Avios and Reward Flight Saver are for.

The key benefit of this trip is the 190 tier points and the tidy pile of Avios that you earn back, compared to the paltry sums gained from flying economy.

You will also be able to upgrade the World Traveller Plus legs to Club World if Avios availability is there.  The price will depend on whether it is a peak or off-peak day.  The cost is 20,000 Avios each way on a peak day and 24,000 Avios each way on an off-peak day.  That is not a typo, by the way – off-peak days do cost more.

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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.