Good British Airways business class fares to Australia from Oslo

Sydney is a popular target destination for using frequent flyer miles, probably because the sheer length of the flight means that people are keen to do what they can to avoid travelling in economy.

Ironically, redemption tickets to Australia and New Zealand are often poor value.  Mile for mile, buying a cash ticket to Australia in a premium cabin can be relatively cheap.  You can often find a business class ticket to Sydney for around £2,000 – although you may end up starting your trip in another European country and flying on an airline you wouldn’t usually consider.

In contrast, an Avios ticket in business class to Sydney is 250,000 or 300,000 points plus taxes, depending on whether you are on an off-peak or peak day.  Even assuming that you can find availability – which is very difficult since the BA service was switched from 2 x daily 747s to 1 x daily 777 and Virgin Atlantic withdrew entirely – it is not the best value.

For some time now there have been some good British Airways prices available out of Oslo.  This obviously involves you flying to Norway – at added cost – and then flying back.

Bergen and Stavanger also price the same, and Bergen is a prettier option.

It isn’t entirely clear why these fares exist.  BA is facing competition from the discounted long-haul services operated by Norwegian but they do not fly to Australia.

The current price at ba.com, for example, is 26,722 NOK or £2,220.  This fare is available pretty much all year.  It is the cheapest starting point in Europe for BA travel to Australasia.

The fare rules (which you can get using the ITA Matrix tool I discussed on Thursday) state that you must book 28 days in advance and stay away for a Saturday night.  Unlimited stopovers are available – the first two are free whilst additional ones will cost €200 each.

A travel agent, or possibly even Expedia if it is playing ball, should be able to book you Oslo – Heathrow – Singapore – Sydney – Perth – Brisbane for example at no extra cost apart from any taxes, with the extra segments being on Qantas.  ba.com can’t offer routings this complex even though the ticket rules allow it and it is one of the few times when a visit to Trailfinders or Flight Centre may be worthwhile.

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.)