Bits: great Qatar Airways business deal with a catch, Thistle / Guoman Easter hotel sale

News in brief:

Great Qatar Airways business class deal …. with a catch

Regular readers of Head for Points will know that Qatar Airways comes up with some exceptional deals from time to time.  As Qatar Airways is a oneworld alliance partner, you will earn Avios and British Airways tier points when you fly them.

The latest deal, on the face of it, could have great potential if you have time on your hands – Business Class to Dubai for £453 (€520) return.

The good news is that price is easy to find on most dates between now and 15th December.

The bad news comes in two parts:

You need to start your trip in Bucharest and book Bucharest-Dubai via Doha

Bucharest to Doha is only 1,951 miles

The cut-off for earning long-haul British Airways tier points is 2,000 miles.  As Bucharest to Doha is just under this threshold, you only earn 40 tier points each way for the long-haul flights as opposed to 140 tier points each way.

It still isn’t a bad deal, because you’d get First Class tier points for the Doha to Dubai connection.  200 tier points return for £453 isn’t bad.  However, if it had been 400 tier points return instead it would have been an amazing deal.  It’s not to be, however.

If you fancy trying this one anyway, note that Qatar Airways uses a short haul aircraft so you’ll be getting their – still decent – ‘regional’ Business Class seat instead – see below.  You can book on the Qatar Airways site here.

Thistle / Guoman Hotels Easter sale now on

Thistle Hotels dropped me a note about their Easter Sale which has just launched.  You need to book by 16th April for stays between 31st March and 17th April.

If you are planning a trip to London over the holidays this may be worth a look as Thistle and Guoman have very strong coverage. The Thistle deals are here  and the Guoman deals are here.