Cheap business class deals to Australia and New Zealand from Sweden

I’ve no idea what happened to the Qatar Airways mega-sale this year.  The airline hasn’t had a sale at all, yet alone a very aggressive one.  I have no excuse for not knowing as I shared a lift with the Qatar Airways CEO last Friday!

Other airlines aren’t standing still, so if you are looking to lock in a deal for 2019 you may be able to find something.  You won’t always be able to earn Avios or BA tier points however.

Price war from Sweden to Australasia

For no logical reason, since I doubt it was ever a major driver of traffic, a price war has broken out from Sweden to Australia and New Zealand.

There are various combinations of starting point (Stockholm or Gothenburg) and destination so you’ll need to have a play around.  There doesn’t seem to anything valid over Christmas and New Year but you can find offers into early December.

I would start on the Singapore Airlines website as they have some interesting deals, routing partly via partners, from Stockholm to key Australian cities.  You will be paying around £2,100 – £2,200.

Try Cathay Pacific too.  I found a deal at SEK 23,656 (£1,995) return from Stockholm to Melbourne in late November.  This flight WILL earn Avios and British Airways tier points, and is partly on BA.  Cathay also has good prices to Auckland.

The best deals are, oddly, on Etihad from Gothenburg.  I found Sydney as low as £1,828 in May.  That Etihad flight has a complex routing, however, so you will be earning your saving.

The best thing to do is play around on the Etihad, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines websites, and also try consolidators such as Expedia who might have private deals.

It is also vital that you check exactly which aircraft types you will be on so you know you are getting a good seat.  You will get a lot of miles and tier points for a trip like this too, so factor that in when comparing pricing.

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.

Egyptair mega-deals from Amsterdam

Are you willing to fly Egyptair via Cairo to get a good deal?  The airline is part of Star Alliance so you will earn a decent chunk of miles if you do, and the prices are very keen.

Here are some interesting business class return fares currently bookable.  You need to book by the end of February and start your trip before 9th April.  You can’t fly back between 15th April and 5th May.

Sample prices include (I have priced in £ as that is how Expedia throws them out):

• Amsterdam to Nairobi – £857
• Amsterdam to Dubai – £902
• Amsterdam to Bangkok – £846
• Amsterdam to Hong Kong – £984

Note that Egyptair business class seating is ‘angled lie-flat’ and has a 2 x 2 x 2 configuration so it is not exactly cutting edge, but the prices certainly are.

I priced it up on Expedia.  If you still have a ‘£200 off £600 spend’ American Express Travel cashback deal showing on one of your Amex cards, I would try them first.  The £200 cashback would take the price into silly territory.

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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.