Book £1,460 business class flight tickets to Australasia

Air China has brought back its annual German super-sale weekend.  I have no idea why Air China offers such low prices for one weekend a year but it does offer exceptional opportunities.

Prices are astounding, although I have no experience of Air China’s business class seat or service and I recommend doing some digging before booking.  For the money, I doubt you can go far wrong.

As a member of Star Alliance, you can credit the flights – as long as the relevant booking class is valid – to Miles & More, United MileagePlus, SAS EuroBonus,  Singapore Airlines Krisflyer or one of the various other options which are easier to operate than Air China’s PhoenixMiles scheme.

Here are typical prices from Frankfurt (you can also choose Dusseldorf or Munich), return in Business Class:

• Sydney €1807 (£1585)
• Auckland €1664 (£1460)
• Melbourne €1692 (£1485)
• Brisbane €1707 (£1498)
• Bangkok €1433 (£1257)
• Hong Kong €1306 (£1146)
• Tokyo €1352 (£1186)
• Singapore €1354 (£1188)

Travel dates are:

• 9th – 15th February
• 16th March – 1st April
• 1st – 13th May
• 1st July – 24th August

If you don’t have a credit card with 0% foreign exchange fees, your best option for paying is American Express Preferred Rewards Gold which offers triple points – 3 per £1 – when you book flight tickets in a foreign currency.  This is because the transaction triggers the ‘double points for airline spend’ and the ‘double points for foreign spend’ bonuses.  Our review of Amex Gold is here.

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How to maximise your miles when paying for flights (March 2025)

Some UK credit cards offer special bonuses when used for buying flights. If you spend a lot on airline tickets, using one of these cards could sharply increase the credit card points you earn.

Booking flights on any airline?

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold earns double points (2 Membership Rewards points per £1) when used to buy flights directly from an airline website.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points. These would convert to 20,000 Avios or various other airline or hotel programmes. The standard earning rate is 1 point per £1.

You can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

Buying flights on British Airways?

The British Airways Premium Plus American Express card earns double Avios (3 Avios per £1) when used at ba.com.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 30,000 Avios. The standard earning rate is 1.5 Avios per £1.

You do not earn bonus Avios if you pay for BA flights on the free British Airways American Express card or either of the Barclaycard Avios Mastercards.

You can apply here.

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

Buying flights on Virgin Atlantic?

Both the free Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard and the annual fee Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard earn double Virgin Points when used at fly.virgin.com.

This means 1.5 Virgin Points per £1 on the free card and 3 Virgin Points per £1 on the paid card.

There is a sign-up bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points on the free card and 18,000 Virgin Points on the paid card.

You can apply for either of the cards here.

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

3,000 bonus points, no fee and 1 point for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review