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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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Avios. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to up to 40,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 40,000 Avios. You will receive 4 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. The card is FREE for your first year. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

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.

Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (72)

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

  • David S says:
    7 Aug7 August 12:37

    I’ve tried searching for using a 241 to BKK during Jan or Feb return in J without success. I even tried from the regions. But no success on any date at all. Did all the extra availability disappear immediately or is it BA’s IT gremlins at work ? Anyone managed to make a new booking to BKK ?

    • Rob says:
      7 Aug7 August 12:40

      Was there at 10am when I added that line to the article. Only 2 days per week. In fact, even Feb half term was there in Club.

      • David S says:
        7 Aug7 August 13:29

        Thx Rob – I saw a few random dates but nothing I could make into a two week trip in J. Should there be extra I class seats available from the regions ? Must have my coffee earlier next time.

    • SamG says:
      7 Aug7 August 13:20

      Looks like it’s nearly gone – few dates end of Feb

    • MPC says:
      7 Aug7 August 17:50

      So strange, I literally booked on a whim yesterday LGW-BKK and there was quite a lot of availability at the end of Jan through Feb – It seems though this news has eaten through the added capacity in addition to what was already there. Very happy with my impulse purchase now!

  • webloid says:
    7 Aug7 August 16:05

    Thanks for the heads up Rob, I bagged a couple on a voucher at the end of Jan, returning early Feb. It was indeed 80k avios and £950 for 2. Skyscanner showed the BA flight as £4100 pp and the cheapest European carrier, Air Chance at £3800. I didn’t compare a Euro start point.

  • R says:
    7 Aug7 August 20:20

    This is a 2-3-2 CW layout. I assume for 2 adults and a child the middle 3 is a no-brainer? Would you choose row 1 or row 7 given everything is wide open?

    • Froggee says:
      7 Aug7 August 20:51

      Not necessarily. Assuming you put your kid in the middle then they will need to step over a stranger’s legs to get out. Both strangers on either side might be sleeping. I would consider a window and two aisles with one of the aisles next to child and one being the seat they have to step over.

      • Ben says:
        7 Aug7 August 21:47

        Not in row 7 as it’s at the back of the cabin, so this would be ideal.

        • R says:
          8 Aug8 August 08:29

          Perfect, I’ve only ever flown CS with toddlers, so CW will be refreshing! I anyway personally find CW easier to sleep in.

          • Froggee says:
            8 Aug8 August 09:38

            Yeah I misread- totally row 7 three in the middle. (Or row 3). Not great seats for the adults but best for the kid.

  • Lozza says:
    8 Aug8 August 09:49

    Perfect timing. Managed to grab a return to CPT using a Barclays Upgrade voucher and 95000 Avios in March, CW 👌🏻

  • Den says:
    9 Aug9 August 08:41

    We now travel twice a year to the Garden Route (Nov and Feb) for 3-4 weeks to escape our winter.
    For Feb (Bus return) we use Avios with a Companion Voucher and Virgin pts with a CC voucher for Nov (Upper Class out, Premium back) – Both are a no-brainer compared to cash fares!!

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

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