Bits: Qatar Airways sale launched, double Etihad Guest miles in Business

News in brief:

Qatar Airways sale launched

I wrote about some of the current ex-UK fare sales yesterday.  An email from Qatar Airways has now dropped into my inbox with their offering.

Flights are available from London, Manchester and Edinburgh.  The sale fares are available until January 20th and you can book for travel up to November 30th.

The current sale offers are here.  Both economy and business class deals are available, with business class deals starting at £1460 to Delhi.  £1885 to Johannesburg is a touch cheaper than most other sales.  Don’t forget I reviewed the Qatar 777 and Qatar 787 business class seats a couple of months ago.  Economy prices start at an exceptionally cheap – when you factor in UK Air Passenger Duty – £350 to Muscat in Oman.

Double miles with Etihad in business class

If any of the Etihad sale offers I mentioned yesterday interested you, the airline is offering double Etihad Guest miles for all business class flights until 31st March.  First Class flights will earn triple miles.

You MUST register for this promotion via this page on the Etihad website.

It is ONLY valid for new bookings made before the end of January and flights to Australia are excluded.

Etihad is unique among airlines in letting you redeem Etihad Guest miles for hard cash.  You can use their PointsPay scheme to convert your miles at roughly 0.4p each into a Virtual Visa card for online shopping.

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How to earn Etihad Guest miles from UK credit cards (April 2025)

Etihad Guest does not have a UK credit card.  However, you can earn Etihad Guest miles by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards.

Cards earning Membership Rewards points include:

• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 20,000 Etihad Guest miles. This card is FREE for your first year and also comes with four free airport lounge passes.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

• The Platinum Card from American Express (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 50,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 50,000 Etihad Guest miles.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

• American Express Rewards credit card (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 10,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 10,000 Etihad Guest miles. This card is FREE for life.

Membership Rewards points convert at 1:1 into Etihad Guest miles which is an attractive rate.  The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, which converts to 1 Etihad Guest mile.

The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card earns double points (2 per £1) on all flights you charge to it, not just with Etihad but with any airline.