BA World Traveller Plus to Dubai / Muscat / Abu Dhabi from £380 return, ex-Switzerland
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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.
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (March 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:
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
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
25,000 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 £12,000 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
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a 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, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.
Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
Get a 10,000 points bonus plus an extra 500 points for our readers Read our full review
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.
British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
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: You receive a huge 120,000 Membership Rewards points if you apply for American Express Business Platinum by 9th April 2024. You receive 80,000 points for spending £12,000 within 90 days and a further 40,000 points if you retain the card for 14 months. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: You receive 60,000 Membership Rewards points if you apply for American Express Business Gold by 9th April 2024. Remember that the card is FREE for the first year. You receive 40,000 points for spending £6,000 within 90 days and a further 20,000 points if you retain the card for 14 months. Click here to apply.
American Express Business Platinum
Crazy 120,000 points bonus (to 9th April) and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
Huge 60,000 points sign-up bonus (until 9th April) 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.
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