Destinations this Winter that combine business class Avios availability and sunshine
One of the great things about relying on Avios availability is that you're sometimes forced to look at destinations you wouldn't normally consider. Here I break down some great, and warm, holiday destinations where you can start your trip in a BA Club Suite.
Middle East Avios Options
Bahrain might not be at the top of everyone's holiday destination lists. It has a good selection of mid-to-high-priced hotels, and a high/low of 23° and 17° in December. There's a tonne of business class seats available throughout December and into January. At the time of writing the only dates without any seats are the 14th, 27th and 28th December. There's availability every day in January. There is no first-class availability in December and just one date in January with seats (Monday 5th January)
Saudi Arabia gives you two options: Riyadh and Jeddah. Having just returned from an Avios trip to Riyadh I can recommend a trip there, as a couple or as a family. For Riyadh, there's business class Avios availability throughout December with just six days with zero seats. That's the the 17th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 27th. Looking into January there are just two dates with no Business Class availability (3rd, 4th).
For Jeddah, there are 17 days with business class availability: (2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 17th, 19th, 23rd, 24th, 26th, 28th, 30th and 31st). Those dates are nicely spread out making it easier to book than if a two-week block had no Avios availability. In January it's also spread out with availability on the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 13th, 14th, 16th, 18th, 20th, 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th, 28th, 30th). There's no first-class availability to either Riyadh or Jeddah.
Doha is a great destination, but when it comes to business class on BA it's a wipeout towards the end of December. There's currently availability on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 8th and 10th of December. January is different, with only two days without availability (1st and 10th January). There's no first-class availability throughout December and January to Doha.
If you're looking to travel to UAE (Dubai or Abu Dhabi) then it's a wipeout in terms of availability in first or business class. BA may choose to release seats later in the year.
Far East Options
If you're looking to head to Singapore then you're out of luck right now. It's one of my favourite places to travel, especially in Business or First Class as you have a good 12 hours to enjoy the experience. Sadly there's zero availability for first or business right now.
Malaysia is another great option for Winter sun, but sadly it's also a wipe-out
Looking to make that once in a lifetime visit to the Maldives? There are only three days in December and zero days in January with business class availability (and nothing in first class). You could fly out on the 1st, 3rd or 4th December.
Sadly Thailand has zero availability in business class or first class in December or January
Carribean Options
Let's start with the places that have zero Avios availability, and that's Antigua, Aruba, Grenada, Jamaica and St Kitts.
Now let's move on to happier(ish) news. The Bahamas has four days in December (4th, 5th, 8th, 9th) and five days in January (14th, 19th, 21st, 26th and 28th) in business class. A tricky set of dates to make work in December. January offers more options as the dates are spread out.
Barbados has a grand total of one day of business class availability. If you're happy flying out on the 25th of December and not coming home then you might be in luck.
The Cayman Islands options are almost as limited, with two days available in December (4th, 9th) and two in January (14th, 28th).
North American options
If you're looking for Winter sun in the US then there are only a few states that will fit the bill.
Miami has temperature highs of 24 degrees in December and lows of 19. It's a tale of two parts when it comes to Avios availability in December. There's business class seats available from the 2nd Dec to the 12th but then nothing until the 23rd December, and also the 24th and 25th. There's then more availability from the 29th through to the 1st of January. Heading further into January there's availability on the 8th, 9th, 11th, 13th to the 18th, the 20th, then 23rd through to the 31st.
Staying in the Sunshine State, Tampa has business class availability on the 4th and 5th of December, along with the 7th, 8th, 9th...and then nothing until the 5th of Jan. For the rest of Jan you have the 9th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th, 18th, 19th, 23rd, 25th, 26th, 27th and the 29th. If you're looking to head to Tampa January is a better option.
A short-ish trip up the road is Orlando. This unsurprisingly has more limited availability. In December there are just three days that have business class availability: the 2nd, 3rd and 8th. January is slightly better, with 10 days of business class seats: the 1st, 9th, 10th, 12th thru to the 15th, the 23rd and 29th. January gives you more options for a one or two-week stay.
None of the Florida options have any first-class availability.
Avios Business Class Summary
| Destination | December Availability | January Availability |
|---|---|---|
| Bahrain | 27 days | 31 days |
| Riyadh | 24 days | 29 days |
| Jeddah | 17 days | 17 days |
| Miami | 16 days | 20 days |
| Doha | 7 days | 29 days |
| Tampa | 5 days | 14 days |
| Orlando | 3 days | 10 days |
| Male | 3 days | 0 days |
| Singapore | 0 days | 0 days |
| Malaysia | 0 days | 0 days |
| Bangkok | 0 days | 0 days |
A caveat
The availability above is at the time of writing and travelling from London. It does not include any availability that may become visible through the Premium Plus companion voucher. That voucher can give you access to more seats. It's well worth trying some dummy bookings to see what may (or may not) appear when using it.
Don't forget Qatar for your Avios
You can now easily move Avios between your Executive Club account and your Qatar Privilege Club account. However, you won't be able to use a 2-4-1 voucher. Qatar can double up on the number of Avios needed for a flight. If there's limited availability they will give you some options that are 2x the Avios. That being said, it opens up a lot more options. You can fly direct from Manchester, Edinburgh or Birmingham as well as Heathrow and Gatwick.
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