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BA adds new Mauritius services for November and December – excellent Avios availability

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British Airways seems to have added a new route between Heathrow and Mauritius today.

This is a route which normally goes from Gatwick – I have it booked for next May – which is how we can tell they are additional services.

Fancy Christmas in Mauritius? You can book it (as of 8pm Thursday).

Here is a SeatSpy screenshot from 8pm today showing the dates with FOUR Club World seats available. As you can see, there is a lot.

There is also excellent availability on the new services in World Traveller Plus and, of course, Economy but I have not shown that.

Outbound is to the left, return to the right:

There is also a First Class cabin, but no Avios seats ….

The outbound is 9pm (arr 12.55) with the return leaving Mauritius at 22.10, arriving at 06.20.


How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 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 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 card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 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

30,000 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 £15,000 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 – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

Huge 80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large 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

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) and NO FX fees Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

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.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus 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.

Comments (35)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • GoodExperience says:

    Awesome thanks for this Rob – I finally get to go to one of the places on my most special bucket list.

  • Anna says:

    RFF is showing F availability on December 10th – not reliable of course but worth checking!
    Fingers crossed for next year here …

  • Mark Collins says:

    Thanks Rob for the ‘heads up’ booked 2 club seats 21st Nov until 4th Dec. Seems to be a safer bet than the flights I have booked to Sri Lanka and Phuket over the same period.
    Only problem the revenue flights are with Qatar in J on BA codeshare so loose a lot of tier points. What a troublesome World we live in!!

  • Wheezer says:

    Just be aware Mauritius changed the rules last night. Previously from the 1st of October, all you needed to do to enter Mauritius if you were vaccinated was pass a PCR test 72 hours before your departure and then you were free to do what you wanted. The announcement last night stated vaccinated travellers now need to have a PCR test when you arrive, isolate for 5 days and then have an antigen test on day 5. Prices of tests and exact logistics of isolation and testing are unclear at the moment so I would hold off booking until more details come out

    • Graeme says:

      I’ve been looking at Mauritius for the last few days and had seen the upcoming 1st of October changes which were obviously a good step forward – that’s really annoying that they’ve gone backwards like that. Grr.

    • Greg says:

      No need to hold off. There are no avios seats left in Business except one way.

    • Graeme says:

      Where is this, by the way? I can still only find reports of the old new rules.

      • Graeme says:

        Thanks Wheezer. I’ll keep my fingers crossed (and thumbs held) it doesn’t get more complicated.

        • Wheezer says:

          They seem to have come to their senses. The latest guidance is as follows

          As for those already fully vaccinated at least two weeks prior to their arrival on the island, they will still have to produce a negative PCR test before boarding the plane. Upon their arrival, they will be able to explore the island freely. On fifth day of their visit, they will have to do a Rapid antigen test.

          So the only addtional rules is the 5 days atigen test. No PCT test on arrival or 5 day isolation

        • Graeme says:

          Ok, I’ll take that! Thanks for checking into it.

  • David S says:

    Go to the Sugar Museum – not as boring as it sounds as tons of history about the island and it’s development and culture.
    For Hotels- many are quite isolated so you can’t always walk out to any shops or local bars. Check the hotel on a map first

  • Greg says:

    Does anybody know how I can cancel my LGW-MRU flight and get back my avios, taxes and companion voucher.

    Last time I cancelled a flight online they sent me a voucher for the taxes. It appears you need to speak to BA to get back what I want. Executive club number is not being answered and after holding for a hour on an 0800 number earlier, was told they only deal with cash bookings not Avios.

    Once cancelled, 1-14 Jan (from Gatwick) should appear available again. All LHR seats now gone it seems.

  • captaindave says:

    Got married in Mauritius … apart from that it was a fantastic holiday ! ( only kidding 😉 ) Stayed at the Maritim.
    Would like to see more of the island next time, did have to visit various offices in Port Louis to have the wedding paperwork stamped at each one..

  • Rachel Wallis says:

    Hello travel connaisseur,

    I was hoping to book on Avios for Easter next year as it is school holiday. Any tips? Is there any hope? 2 adults, 2 children!

    Rachel

    • Rob says:

      Hi Rachel. Yes, there’s hope. The reason is that BA is adding back new services every week to different destinations, and on the day they are added you get the guaranteed 14 Avios seats on every flight.

      I’d set up a SeatSpy alert covering LON-MRU for the Easter school holiday period. If the Heathrow flight is a success, BA is likely to extend it into 2022. If it does, you’d get a SeatSpy alert on the day the flight is loaded and if you’ve got the Avios ready to go you can jump in and book.

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