Good Ethiopian Airlines business class flight deal to Johannesburg

Ethiopian Airlines has a very decent £1,784 business class fare from London Gatwick to Johannesburg.

It is widely available until next April.

You can pay a little less by starting in Europe (€1,646 from Rome for example) but the saving may not be worth it for people in the Gatwick catchment area.

Here’s an example for January:

Ethiopian Airlines is a member of Star Alliance so you will earn a chunk of miles and status points which can be credited to any Star Alliance scheme such as Lufthansa’s Miles & More or United MileagePlus. Check the booking class at wheretocredit.com to see the best option.

Rhys reviewed Ethiopian Airlines from Gatwick on a trip to Addis Ababa – click here to see what he thought.

You can check out pricing and dates on the Ethiopian Airlines website here.

The best credit card to pay with is American Express Preferred Rewards Gold, which offers double points – for a total of 2 points per £1 – for spending made directly with an airline. Your payment would also help you trigger your next Amex Gold spend bonus, since you receive 2,500 bonus points for every £5,000 spent, to an annual total of 12,500 points.

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How to earn Star Alliance miles from UK credit cards (July 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 15th July 2025, the sign-up bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card is TRIPLED to 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. This would convert into 25,000 Avios or into 40 other airline schemes. It would also get you at least £300 of Marriott hotel stays based on our 0.5p per point low-end valuation. Other T&C apply and remain unchanged. Click here for our full card review and click here to apply.

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 Card

60,000 points (to 15th July) and 15 elite night credits each year Read our full review