Bits: Egypt follows India with new visa rules, new BA Gatwick to Vienna route

News in brief:

Egypt launches tough new visa regime

My article yesterday about the disproportionately tough new visa regime brought in with very little warning by India caused a lot of comment.

I hope no-one decided to swap their holiday plans from India to Egypt.  The military Government in Egypt announced yesterday that individual travellers would no longer be allowed to buy a visa on arrival.  Tour groups are exempt.

The change takes place on May 15th.  From that date, you will have to obtain a visa before you fly from the Egyptian Embassy.

Ironically, as Reuters mentioned in the same report:

“Egypt hopes to generate $20 billion in revenue from tourism by 2020 by attracting 20 million visitors, new Tourism Minister Khaled Ramy told Reuters on Sunday at an international investment conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.”

Not behaving like this he won’t.

Cairo has also, in recent years, been one of the cheapest places in the world to buy a British Airways long-haul flight.  Buying a ticket out of Cairo was not only cheap but earned additional tier points, because the Cairo to London leg is treated as long haul.  This game may now be up, unless passengers in transit are still allowed to travel without a visa – and even then, doing a back-to-back flight to Cairo is not for the feint hearted.

New British Airways route to Vienna

British Airways announced yesterday that it will launch a new year-round route from Gatwick to Vienna.

Flights will start on September 17th.  There will be four flights per week during the Winter season (Monday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday) and six per week (not Saturday) during the Summer.

Redemption and cash flights can already be booked at ba.com.  A redemption is 15,000 Avios points return in World Traveller and 30,000 in Club Europe.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a 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

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios 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.

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)