You Can Now Redeem Avios for Flights With African Airline Airlink to Exciting New Destinations

New ways of redeeming points and miles are always welcome.

Today, we’ve learned that Avios can now be redeemed for flights with Airlink — an African airline based in South Africa.

Here are the details and what this could mean for your future travels around Africa.

Using Avios To Book Airlink Flights in Africa

For the first time, you can now redeem Avios for flights with the Johannesburg-based carrier Airlink.

As flagged by Head for Points, only Qatar Airways Privilege Club is offering this redemption. This is thanks to the Doha-based airline acquiring a stake in Airlink last year.

In fact, there are now 3 ways to redeem Avios for flights with Airlink. You’ll need to have an active Qatar Airways Privilege Club account for all 3. You can sign up here for free.

The first method is using any Avios you might already have in your Privilege Club account. As of immediate effect, these Avios can be directly redeemed for flights with Airlink.

Secondly, Avios in Aer Lingus’ Aer Club, British Airways’ Executive Club, Finnair’s Finnair Plus, or Iberia’s Club Iberia Plus can be transferred directly to Qatar Airways’ Privilege Club — freely and instantly.

Alternatively, British Airways Avios can be redeemed from your Executive Club account by linking it with your Qatar Airways Privilege Club account. The redemption must still be made through the Privilege Club website or mobile app, and the Avios will be taken directly from your BA Executive Club account.

But what if you don’t have any Avios right now? The loyalty programs of British Airways, Iberia, and Qatar Airways are transfer partners of several travel rewards credit cards. This means you can convert multiple types of credit card points into Avios via any of the 3 airlines’ loyalty programs.

New Destinations Now Available By Redeeming Avios

Airlink has a total of 67 aircraft and operates to a total of 51 destinations across sub-Saharan Africa.

As such, a number of destinations are now reachable via Avios redemptions for the first time.

Examples include destinations that are usually difficult or expensive to reach. The list includes Antananarivo (TNR) and Nosy Be (NOS) in Madagascar, the island of Saint Helena (HLE) in the Southern Atlantic, and several off-the-beaten-track destinations in Mozambique.

A route that will likely be popular with travelers is between Cape Town (CPT) and Johannesburg. Redemptions on this route start at 12,000 Avios and $24 in taxes and fees.

As always, whether you’ll get more value by using miles or paying cash depends on the flight you want to book.

As an example, the cash price (at the time of writing) for the flight above was $151. Using Upgraded Points’ Avios valuation of 1.25 cents each, the actual value of this Avios redemption would be $174 (12,000 x 1.25 cents + $24 in taxes and fees). In this instance, booking the cash fare offers better value.

Final Thoughts

Being able to use Avios, rather than cash, to fly Airlink is an excellent update to the world of miles redemptions. The news is especially exciting as it means some destinations will be reachable via Avios redemptions for the first time.

As a reminder, before you decide to use your Avios, it’s always worth comparing redemption and cash costs to make sure you get the best value.