Still bookable – British Airways First Class to Cape Town for £2,026 each, or less

Last week I wrote about the new British Airways ‘241’ First Class trial that is running, called ‘Dream Tickets’.  It has proved popular with Head for Points readers – I’ve heard from around 15 who have booked at £3,600 to £4,000 per couple and I assume there are many more who didn’t get in touch – so I thought I’d give it another mention before it ends.

The first ‘Dream Tickets’ deal is Cape Town.  As you can see on this page of ba.com, you get two First Class tickets to Cape Town from Heathrow in January, February or March for just over £4,000.

Unfortunately, availability on the DIRECT flight back from Cape Town is now very limited.  You can get down OK but, coming back, it is very hard to find dates which don’t require you to change in Johannesburg.  On the upside, you get another 10 tier points for doing this.

If you can find dates where you can get the direct flights in First Class in both directions, you can save £300 per couple by booking here at the BA Holidays premium holidays site.  Book your First Class flights for two people and throw in a car rental on top.  For a seven night stay in March, you will pay around £1,800-£1,900 each.  It is far cheaper than just booking the flight on its own.

The snag is that BA Holidays will usually only price up when you are on the direct BA flights in both directions and there are few days left where you can do this. Do give it a go before booking ‘flight only’ though.

You must book by 18th July for travel between 1st January and 31st March.

To maximise your miles when paying, your best bet is the British Airways American Express Premium Plus card which earns double Avios (3 per £1) when you book at ba.com or via BA Holidays.  You do not get double Avios if you book with the free British Airways American Express card.  Another option is American Express Preferred Rewards Gold which offers double points – 2 per £1 – when you book flight tickets directly with an airline.

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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.