Excellent SriLankan business class flight deals to Asia – earn Avios and BA tier points

SriLankan Airlines joined the oneworld alliance in May 2014.  From that time it has been possible to earn Avios and British Airways tier points when you fly with them, and to redeem your Avios for flights to Colombo and beyond.

I haven’t covered the airline much on Head for Points because the route network is limited and it was not aggressively priced.

SriLankan seems to have taken a lesson on pricing from Qatar Airways, however.  It is currently selling some very attractive business class fares from Paris:

Paris to Tokyo (via Colombo) – €1,074 return (£811)

Paris to Hong Kong (via Colombo) – €1,035 return (£781)

Paris to Singapore (via Colombo) – €1,035 return (£781)

Paris to Shanghai (via Colombo) – €1,026 return (£775)

Other destinations may also be available.  Keep an eye on the connection times as you could be stuck with a long stopover in Colombo.

Flights from London are available for around £300 more and from Frankfurt for around £150 more.

The SriLankan website is here.

The Paris flights are on new Airbus A330-300 aircraft.  This would appear to get you a Virgin / Cathay style herringbone 1-2-1 layout with a fully flat bed, presumably this:

…. which seems more than acceptable.  Looks like SriLankan is another one for the ‘better business class than British Airways’ list …..

You need to book before 29th January for travel before 30th June.  A five day minimum stay is required.

As I wrote in this article, Opodo has some ‘flight only’ discount codes at the moment which in theory you could use in conjunction with these fares.  In my tests yesterday, however, I could not get Opodo to match the fares showing on the SriLankan website.

Note that, for tier point purposes, Singapore only earns 360 points return (140 + 40 + 140 + 40) because the 2nd flight is under 2,000 miles.  Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai should earn 560 points return (140 x 4).

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

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 Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

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

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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 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.