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MOVE FAST: New British Airways Cape Town flight added, lots of Avios availability

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This is a very short article because I’m away and Rhys won’t be in the office yet! However, British Airways has added an extra Cape Town flight for January to March 2025.

Avios availability is wide open in premium cabins.

(Whilst I’m not covering it here, extra Bangkok flights have also been added for January and February from Gatwick and are also wide open.)

Here is a SeatSpy screenshot showing what was there in Business Class at 9am:

BA Cape Town availability

Note that the new flight is operated by a Boeing 787-8 and is currently showing the old Club World seating, rather than a refurbished aircraft with Club Suite. That could, of course, change.

Business class redemptions are priced at 180,000 Avios return off-peak, or 200,000 Avios at peak times, with taxes and fees capped at £450. Other pricing option for fewer Avios and more cash are also available.

If you want some, book now.


How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (October 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 – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 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

10,000 points bonus – plus an extra 500 points for our readers 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

Up to 80,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

Get up to 40,000 points as a sign-up offer 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 (72)

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

  • AndyGWP says:

    Offpeak Business class @ 180000 Avios + £ 475.00 per person

  • G K says:

    Old CW. I’ll skip this one

    • TGLoyalty says:

      That’s a big mistake if you ask me. The club suite is great for the solo traveller and admittedly having to stow the tv for taxi takeoff/landing isn’t great but it’s a few mins of a multiple hour flight.

      But the leg room, the shoulder room the proximity to your travel companions is far superior in CW

  • HH says:

    Genuine question — what makes this route such a popular redemption?

    • The real Swiss Tony says:

      High cash fares because of limited nonstop options, I’d guess.

      • Rob says:

        Nonstop is also a shocker. With no real time difference and overnight flights both ways, it is a dream to fly – even for a weekend break – in Club. Changing at 4am in Doha? No thanks.

        Why go? It’s possibly a British thing, like Barbados. Not many other national airlines fly there and certainly not multiple times per day. It is lovely though.

        • Throwawayname says:

          It’s also a very popular winter destination for the Dutch and Germans (particularly the 50+ middle class crowd), probably something to do with its historical popularity from the Apartheid, or possibly even colonial, times.

    • Ken says:

      Direct flights, high direct cash fares, great country, great value for money, English speaking, excellent tourist routes, plenty of people have friends or family out there.

    • Thywillbedone says:

      Lots of South Africans live in London and go back over the UK winter to holiday/see family…

    • Mark says:

      We did a J redemption here over Feb half term this year. Amazing trip, great food (incredibly well priced!) and loads to see. Would definitely go back again

  • ATP says:

    Not to mention good food, weather and strong familial links for a number of Brits.

  • Bernard says:

    Looks like Gatwick to CT pulled. Just all at Heathrow.
    Is this an attempt to squeeze out Norse, then they’ll cut next year as an attempt at duopoly with Virgin ?

  • SamG says:

    @Rob they added extra Bangkok flights too – spotted in the daily chat yesterday. Presumably using the CPT aircraft

  • Ricardos-Alpert says:

    Email that got sent out stated Dubai, presume no deal for that anymore?

  • Bernard says:

    They added extra Heathrow service for January on but cut Gatwick throughout.
    Result looks to be a much reduced pre Christmas supply.

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

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