Book now: BA adds extra Dubai flights over Christmas and New Year, wide open for Avios

British Airways has announced an extra Dubai service this morning. It starts on 8th December and appears to run until 9th January.

Because this service has just been added to the booking system, Avios seats are wide open.

At the time of writing (11am) you will have no problem getting seats for Christmas or New Year.

Here is a SeatSpy screenshot showing dates with at least TWO Club World seats available:

Outbound is on the left, return flights are on the right. The darker circles are peak dates in terms of Avios pricing.

There is also plenty of available in World Traveller Plus. There is no First Class availability.

What aircraft do I get?

The new service is showing as an A350 so you would get the new Club Suite in Business Class. Whilst BA plans to use one on the Dubai route from 5th December, it looks like it will not be swapped onto this service.

This new flight is timetabled to leave Heathrow at 19.55, arriving in Dubai at 06.55.

The return leaves Dubai at 09.25, arriving into Heathrow at 13.10.

If you’re looking for a hotel, Rhys has just returned from nine nights in Dubai checking out various Marriott Bonvoy properties. A series of reviews will follow in a couple of weeks.

I would strongly consider buying hotel points over this period, as we did for our Waldorf Astoria The Palm Dubai trip last Christmas. We cut our bill for 5 nights from £3,200 to £1,250. IHG has a bonus running to 8th October and Hyatt has a bonus running to 31st October – although neither has a beachside hotel in Dubai. A Marriott ‘buy points’ bonus is upcoming and Hilton is more than likely to be back in the game within the next month.

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.)