Book an impressive TAP business class flight deal to Rio (£1,349) for Christmas
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TAP Air Portugal is offering some excellent Business Class deals to Rio de Janeiro.
These flights are from London and Manchester, so no positioning is involved. You will be routed via Porto or Lisbon. You can add a stopover here if you wish for the same flight price, although obviously you are responsible for your hotel costs.
TAP has recently taken delivery of a fleet of A320neo, A321neo and A330neo aircraft. It is the first airline in the world to operate the A330neo and this is what you will be getting to Rio in most cases. You can find out more about the TAP neo fleet here.
A typical fare to Rio covering Christmas will come up at £1,349.
This price is available from September until New Year, albeit not every day. Similar deals are available to Recife and Salvador.
TAP Air Portugal is a member of Star Alliance so your flights will earn miles in any Star Alliance frequent flyer scheme. This HfP article discusses which Star Alliance programme may be best for you.
Your best option to maximise your miles when paying is American Express Preferred Rewards Gold. This offers double points – 2 per £1 – when you when you book flight tickets directly with an airline.
You can find out more on the TAP website here.
HfP and a reader in The Sunday Times
Back in early December, I asked for volunteers to work with a national newspaper which was planning a big article of earning Avios from credit cards.
The article ran yesterday in The Sunday Times (see here, paywall) featuring myself and reader Paul, who had a fantastic story to share. I can’t reproduce it but if you look at HfP on your Twitter, Facebook or Instagram feeds you may be able to expand the image I posted enough to read it.
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How to earn Star Alliance miles from UK credit cards (March 2025)
None of the Star Alliance airlines currently have a UK credit card.
There is, however, still a way to earn Star Alliance miles from a UK credit card.
The route is via Marriott Bonvoy. Marriott Bonvoy hotel loyalty points convert to over 40 airlines at the rate of 3:1.
The best way to earn Marriott Bonvoy points is via the official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card. It comes with 20,000 points for signing up and 2 points for every £1 you spend. At 2 Bonvoy points per £1, you are earning (at 3:1) 0.66 airline miles per £1 spent on the card.
There is a preferential conversion rate to United Airlines – which is a Star Alliance member – of 2 : 1 if you convert 60,000 Bonvoy points at once.
The Star Alliance members which are Marriott Bonvoy transfer partners are: Aegean, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Avianca, Copa Airlines, Singapore Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines and United Airlines.
You can apply here.
Marriott Bonvoy American Express
20,000 points for signing up and 15 elite night credits each year Read our full review
