Good Oman Air deals from Paris – well worth the diversion

Oman Air is running a sale this week.  There are Business and Economy deals out of Heathrow – see their website.

Bigger bargains, however, are from Paris Charles du Gaulle.  These prices are return, Business Class:

• Abu Dhabi / Bahrain / Doha €1399
• Bengaluru €1449

• Bangkok €1299
• Guangzhou €1599
• Chennai / Delhi / Mumbai €1349
• Dubai €1099
• Hyderabad / Jaipur €1699
• Kuala Lumpur €1599
• Male €1449
• Manilla €1599
• Zanzibar €1599

Clearly not everyone wants to fly UK – Paris – Muscat – Maldives, even if it is €1449 (£1310) in Business Class plus the cost of getting to Paris.  The saving does mean it is worth a look though.

Whilst Oman Air is not in any major airline alliance, you can credit flights to Etihad Guest.  The earning chart is here.  You can top them up with American Express Membership Rewards points for an Etihad redemption or redeem them for cash via PointsPay.

There is a virtual tour of their Business Class product on their website here.

These prices are valid until 16th September.  Annoying the airline website does not list valid travel dates anywhere. If you don’t have a credit card with 0% foreign exchange fees, your best option for paying is American Express Preferred Rewards Gold which offers triple points – 3 per £1 – when you book flight tickets in a foreign currency.  This is because the transaction triggers the ‘double points for airline spend’ and the ‘double points for foreign spend’ bonuses.

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How to maximise your miles when paying for flights (April 2025)

Some UK credit cards offer special bonuses when used for buying flights. If you spend a lot on airline tickets, using one of these cards could sharply increase the credit card points you earn.

Booking flights on any airline?

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold earns double points (2 Membership Rewards points per £1) when used to buy flights directly from an airline website.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points. These would convert to 20,000 Avios or various other airline or hotel programmes. The standard earning rate is 1 point per £1.

You can apply here.

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.

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

Buying flights on British Airways?

The British Airways Premium Plus American Express card earns double Avios (3 Avios per £1) when used at ba.com.

The card comes with a sign-up bonus of 30,000 Avios. The standard earning rate is 1.5 Avios per £1.

You do not earn bonus Avios if you pay for BA flights on the free British Airways American Express card or either of the Barclaycard Avios Mastercards.

You can apply here.

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

Buying flights on Virgin Atlantic?

Both the free Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard and the annual fee Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard earn double Virgin Points when used at fly.virgin.com.

This means 1.5 Virgin Points per £1 on the free card and 3 Virgin Points per £1 on the paid card.

There is a sign-up bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points on the free card and 18,000 Virgin Points on the paid card.

You can apply for either of the cards here.

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

3,000 bonus points, no fee and 1 point for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review