Bits: Qatar launches Cardiff with a 787, 500 Avios with £25 Amazon spend, Charles Tyrwhitt sale

News in brief:

Qatar Airways to launch Cardiff with a Boeing 787

I must be honest.  When Qatar Airways announced its plans to launch flights from Cardiff, I assumed that it would use a short-haul aircraft.  This is what it does out of some other smaller cities.

This week, however, Qatar Airways announced that Cardiff services will start on 1st May – using a Boeing 787.  It will fly daily.

This is very bullish, because Qatar needs to create a brand new market for long-haul travel out of the airport.  It isn’t just about enticing flyers to switch airlines, they need to change behaviour and stop people driving down the M4 to Heathrow.  They have 254 seats to fill every day.

This is great news for Avios collectors in Wales.   Avios availability should be excellent on this route, at least in the early days as the route builds up.  We will hopefully see some good sale fares as well.

If you want to know about other Avios redemption ideas from outside London, this HfP article looks at Avios flights from UK regional airports.

Last chance to get 500 Avios or Amex points with £25 Amazon spend

Tomorrow is the last day for the fantastic American Express Amazon offer.  It is available for many – but not all – British Airways American Express, Amex Gold and Amex Platinum cardholders.

If you haven’t done yet, check your offers on your online statement page for a combination of:

Get 500 / 1,000 Avios / Membership Rewards points when you spend £25 at amazon.co.uk before 17th September using your BA Amex / Amex Gold / Platinum card

There are various rules about what you can and cannot buy to trigger the bonus.  The easiest thing to do is buy a £25 amazon.co.uk giftcard via this link and add it to your account via this link.

12% off Charles Tyrwhitt shirts this weekend – and earn Avios

Finally, shirt company Charles Tyrwhitt is offering 12% off everything – no minimum order – this weekend with code UK12CT.

Tyrwhitt is an Avios partner and you will also earn 4 points per £1 on your shopping.  The site is here and the current clearance offers are here.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

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.

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.