Airlink Bargains Now Bookable Via Qatar Avios

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In October 2021 we spent a whirlwind week and a half jumping off bridges, going on safari, flying on a microlight, and swimming to the insane Devil’s Pool overlooking Victoria Falls while crisscrossing South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, and Namibia.

The intra-Africa flights were tricky though, as COVID entry rules were changing daily and I didn’t want to purchase tickets and be locked into something that wouldn’t work out. Flag carrier SAA paused operations due to COVID, which didn’t leave many options.

Most of those flights were operated by Airlink, which has an excellent network in Southern Africa. However, at the time, they had no mileage partners.

On the plus side, the airline did serve a surprisingly tasty kosher meal in economy on a short 90 minute flight from Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe to Cape Town:

In August 2022, United gained the ability to book Airlink flights with miles.

At the time, I noted that rates were reasonable, with a flight from Victoria Falls to Nelspruit, South Africa (one of several airports that serve the Kruger National Park) was 15.5K United miles+$50 one way.

That now goes for 20K United miles+$50:

But now there’s another option.

Qatar Avios is one of the more unique Avios programs. It charges fewer Avios than British Airways, though the website can be hard to use and not eligible flights will show up.

Qatar Avios can also be used to book JetBlue flights at bargain prices, which other Avios can’t do.

You can read this post to learn all about using Qatar Avios.

And now Qatar Avios can be used to book Airlink flights.

That same Victoria Falls to Nelspruit flight goes for just 9,000 Avios+$75:

You can search for these when logged in on the Qatar home page.

Plus, you can frequently get a transfer bonus into Avios. Currently, AMEX, Citi, and Chase are all offering a 20% bonus, effectively dropping the cost from 9,000 to 7,500 points.

The same mileage pricing applies to flights between Livingstone, Zambia or Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe (the 2 primary airports serving Victoria Falls) and Johannesburg, South Africa, home to many incredible kosher restaurant bargains.

In 2022, I noted that United wanted 25K miles to fly between Dar es Salaam and Johannesburg. Now that’s 30K United miles+$30, but it’s only 18K Avios+$60:

The Avios required is based on distance. Zone 1, such as Johannesburg to Hoedspruit, one of the airports serving the Kruger National Park, costs 6K Avios:

Zone 2, such as Johannesburg to Victoria Falls, is 9K Avios:

Zone 3, such as Cape Town to Johannesburg or Cape Town to Hoedspruit, is 12K Avios, instead of 25K United miles:

Zone 4, such as Cape Town to Victoria Falls, is 15K Avios:

And then there’s the coolest Airlink flight, which operates to remote S. Helena.

Zone 5, such as Cape Town to Jamestown, is 18K Avios. This flight can’t be booked with United miles.

You can transfer all major bank points to Avios.

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a 60K signup bonus for spending $4K in 3 months, earns 2.1 points per dollar on travel after the card's 10% anniversary bonus, 3.1 points per dollar on dining, streaming, and online groceries after the card's 10% anniversary bonus, has a $50 hotel credit, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.25 cents each for paid travel ($95 annual fee). Read more here.
• Chase Sapphire Reserve® has a 60K signup bonus for spending $4K in 3 months, earns 3 points per dollar on dining/travel, has a $300 travel credit, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.5 cents each for paid travel ($550 annual fee with $300 travel credit). Read more here.
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card has a 90K signup bonus for spending $8K in 3 months, and earns 3 points per dollar on up to $150K of annual spending on shipping, advertising, and travel, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.25 cents each for paid travel ($95 annual fee). Read more here.

• Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card has a $750 signup bonus in the form of 75K points for spending $6K in 3 months, and earns 1.5 points per dollar on business purchases ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
• Ink Business Cash® Credit Card has a $350 signup bonus in the form of 35K points for spending $3K in 3 months and another $400 signup bonus in the form of 40K bonus points for spending another $3K in 6 months for a total of 75,000 Chase Ultimate points, plus if you have a Chase business checking account open on the card's first anniversary you will get a 10% points bonus on all earnings from card spending, this card earns 5 points per dollar on the first $25,000 in combined purchases on cable, TV, telecom, cellular, and office supply stores, plus 2 points per dollar on dining and gas on up to $25,000 in purchases ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
• Chase Freedom Flex has a 20K signup bonus, plus 5 points on rotating categories, 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through Chase Travel, and 3 points per dollar on dining and drugstores ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
• Chase Freedom Unlimited® has a signup bonus that earns an extra 1.5% cash back in the form of 1.5 points per dollar everywhere on up to $20K of spending during your first year, on top of at least 1.5 points per dollar everywhere, 5 points per dollar (marketed as 5% cash back) on travel purchased through  Chase Travel℠, and 3 points per dollar on dining and drugstores ($0 annual fee). Read more here.

• The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express is offering a rare bonus to earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership and offers 2 points per dollar spent on up to $50K spending annually 1 point per dollar thereafter, plus transfer points to airlines and hotels and keep AMEX points alive. Terms apply. Read more here.
• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is offering a 150K bonus for spending $20,000 in the first 3 months and offers monthly credits, lounge access, and much more. Terms apply. Read more here.
• American Express® Business Gold Card is offering a 100K bonus for spending $15,000 in 3 months, monthly business credits, Walmart+ membership, up to 4 points per dollar spent with a $150K annual spend cap, and more benefits. Terms apply. Read more here.
• Business Green Rewards Card from American Express is offering a 15K bonus for spending $3,000 in 3 months. Terms apply.
• The Platinum Card® from American Express is offering an 80K bonus for spending $8,000 in the first 6 months and offers monthly credits, lounge access, and much more. Terms apply. Read more here.
• American Express® Gold Card is offering a 60K bonus for spending $6,000 in the first 6 months, monthly credits for Uber and Grubhub, and more. Terms apply. Read more here. 
• AMEX Green Consumer Card is offering a 40K bonus for spending $3,000 in the first 6 months and offers up to $199 in annual CLEAR Plus® credits, $100 LoungeBuddy credit, plus transfer points to airlines and hotels and keep AMEX points alive. All information about the AMEX Green Card has been collected independently by DansDeals.

• Limited time offer: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is offering 75,000 bonus miles and a $250 travel credit for spending $4K in 3 months, plus 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase, transfer points to airlines and hotels, 5K MLB redemptions, and more. No foreign transaction fees. $95 annual fee. Read more here. 
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is offering 75,000 bonus miles for spending $4K in 3 months, plus earn 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase, $300 annual travel credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, 10K anniversary bonus miles, Global Entry/Pre-Check, Capital One lounge access, Priority Pass Lounge membership, Hertz President's Circle status, free lounge access and status for free additional cardholders, transfer miles to airlines and hotels, 5K MLB redemptions, and more. No foreign transaction fees. $395 annual fee. Read more here.
• Capital One Venture X Business is offering 150,000 bonus miles for spending $30K in 3 months, plus earn 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase, $300 annual travel credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, 10K anniversary bonus miles, Global Entry/Pre-Check, Capital One lounge access, Enhanced Priority Pass Lounge membership, transfer miles to airlines and hotels, 5K MLB redemptions, and more. $395 annual fee. No foreign transaction fees. Read more here.
• Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card is offering 20,000 bonus miles for spending $500 in 3 months, transfer miles to airlines and hotels, 5K MLB redemptions, and more. No foreign transaction fees. No annual fee.
• Capital One Spark Miles for Business is offering 50,000 bonus miles for spending $4,500 in 3 months, 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase, Global Entry/PreCheck, transfer miles to airlines and hotels, 5K MLB redemptions, and more. No foreign transaction fees. $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.
• Capital One Spark Cash is offering $750 cash back (convertible to 75,000 miles) for spending $7,500 in 3 months, 2% back everywhere, $40 MLB redemptions, and more. No foreign transaction fees. $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.
• New offer: Capital One Spark Cash Plus is offering $2,000 cash back (convertible to 200,000 miles) for spending $30,000 in 3 months, plus get another $2,000 cash back for every $500K spent in your first year, 2% back everywhere, $40 MLB redemptions, annual fee refund when you spend $150K/year, and more. No foreign transaction fees. $150 annual fee. Read more here.

Will you redeem miles to fly Airlink?