Malaysia Airlines ‘drops’ First Class by calling it Business Suite – and you can’t use Avios
Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.
Malaysia Airlines – a oneworld partner of British Airways – has made a marketing decision to rename its First Class product as ‘Business Suite’.
The airline has stated that it made the move as a result of many corporates now refusing to pay for First Class. The Business Suite – which is available from London Heathrow on Malaysia’s A350-900 and A380 fleet – will be offered at a premium over a standard Business Class seat and will be cheaper than it previously cost to book First Class directly.
As you can see in the photo below, it is a very nice product. The A350-900 version pictured has fully enclose suites with doors.
Nothing else is changing. Business Suite customers will still, it seems, get the old First Class food, First Class amenity kits etc.
Here’s the bad news. It seems that Avios customers are going to lose out.
When I looked last week, it seemed that the new ‘Business Suite’ could not be booked using Avios. I tried to double-check this yesterday and could not find ANY Malaysia Airlines Avios availability from London, in ANY class, for ANY date, so I am guessing there was some sort of IT issue.
Even when it returns, however, I doubt ‘Business Suite’ will be bookable. The only way of getting into the ‘Business Suite’ would appear to be if Malaysia allows you to pay a supplement. It looks like I will need to cross this one off my bucket list ….
You can find out more on the Malaysia Airlines website here.
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.)
Jtz 
Rebecca 
aba 
Shoestring 
Anna 
Ade 
BJ 
Alan 
Chris 
antoinette calleja 
Amit 
will 
nick 
Doug 
Clive 
Russ 
Steve 
SamG
Nick
Geoff 1977
blenz101
Comments (129)