BA launches new Cape Town route – with full reward availability

British Airways sprung a pleasant surprise yesterday by launching a new Cape Town service from London Gatwick.

As Cape Town is one of the toughest Avios redemptions to book, this is an excellent opportunity.

Starting on 24th November and only for the Winter season, the flights will be operated by a three-class Boeing 777-200ER aircraft with 48 Club World seats.

The outbound flights will depart on Monday, Thursday and Saturday, returning on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday.  Flights will be overnight in both directions and are perfectly timed for a short break.

Remember that South Africa usually has only a one hour time difference so, in Club World, you can get a good nights sleep and wake up perfectly fresh.

As a new route, Avios availability is very good.  BA opened up two Club World seats and four World Traveller seats on every flight yesterday.

These seats are unlikely to last long so, if you fancy a break in Cape Town, I recommend heading over to ba.com and moving quickly.

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.)