The Dubai ‘Avios only’ flight in October half-term is wide open, including First – but with a catch
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In October, British Airways is running the first long haul ‘Avios only’ flight, to Dubai. Every seat, in every cabin, was made available for Avios redemptions.
This matches up exactly with half term for most of the country, with the outbound ‘Avios only’ flight departing on Saturday 26th October and the return operating on Saturday 2nd November.
This flight sold out all of its Club World seats in 10 minutes when booking opened up last December, mainly to HfP readers who had advance notice. There was no First Class available.
That was then.
British Airways has just changed the outbound aircraft to a Boeing 777.
The Boeing 777 is substantially bigger than the Boeing 787 it replaced. This means that a huge number of seats have opened up outbound.
This is what is currently showing:
There were (at 9am) seven First Class seats for Avios. There are AT LEAST nine Club Suite and World Traveller Plus seats, because no number is showing. (If there are fewer than nine seats bookable, the total will show.)
It is unprecedented to have this sort of availability showing for a Middle East flight over October half term, which is one of the busiest – and most expensive – weeks of the year for the tourist hotels.
Because the aircraft is now a 777:
- you will get Club Suite and not the old Club World seat
- First Class is now available
But there’s a catch ….
Of course there’s a catch.
It is only the outbound ‘all Avios’ flight which has swapped to a Boeing 777. The inbound flight the following Saturday (13.20 from Dubai, lands 17.25 Heathrow) remains a smaller Boeing 787.
This means that whilst you can get to Dubai very easily at the start of half term, you can’t get back.
There are, of course, a lot of options:
- you could come back with BA on a different day to the official ‘Avios only’ flight – the odd seat is available, especially once the schools are back
- you could use Avios or cash to fly to Doha and pick up the BA or (if not using an Amex 2-4-1 voucher) a Qatar Airways flight from there
- you could drive to Abu Dhabi in an hour and try to get a BA flight from there
- you could use Virgin Points if there was availability on their Dubai service
- you could use Emirates Skywards miles if you have any – you’d almost certainly find seats back to somewhere in the UK
Alternatively, you could gamble.
You could book the British Airways ‘Avios only’ flight outbound and then wait. The return flight might get switched too. Seats may pop up on that flight, or others on nearby days, due to cancellations of Avios bookings or low cash demand.
PS. If you don’t have children and you’re not a teacher, I don’t necessarily recommend booking this ‘Avios only’ service. Hotel pricing is lower in the weeks before and the weeks after the UK half term, and you won’t find your resort swamped with British kids.
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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.
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