More Avios-earning Qatar Airways £1,000+ business class flights to the Middle East and Asia

If you have been getting sale withdrawal symptoms, don’t worry! Qatar Airways is back with some more great business class fares out of Europe.

These deals are not as generous as some we saw earlier in the year.  They still represent very good deals for business class travel, however, especially as Qatar Airways has an excellent reputation for the quality of its seats, food and service.

£1,000 to the Middle East is certainly good although admittedly diverting via Europe is hassle for a short route.  £1,100 to Bangkok or Singapore is fantastic value, as is £1,400 to South Africa or the Maldives over peak season.

Remember that Qatar Airways flights earn Avios and British Airways tier points if you add your BA Executive Club number.  Most of the Asian routes below will generate 560 tier points return (140 x 4)!  The Middle Eastern routes, assuming you connect to Dubai or Abu Dhabi, would earn (140 + 40 x 2) 360 tier points return.

As with recent sales, Qatar is discounting heavily from selected cities in Europe.

The best deals appear to be out of Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm at the moment.   This is not surprising – Qatar has to fill TWO Boeing 787 aircraft from Copenhagen almost every day in Business Class.  Scandinavian cities are competing against the cheap long-haul pricing offered by Norwegian.no.  Amsterdam is also a small country with big planes to fill.

If you have a particular route in mind, you should also try out other starting points.  Brussels has had some good deals in the past, for example.

Here are the fare rules for the current offers from Amsterdam:

Book by September 10th

Travel before June 28th

No travel inbound between January 2nd – 6th 2016.  There are no stated restrictions on outbound travel.

Minimum stay 3 days, maximum 1 month

The Scandinavia deals are more restrictive, especially if you want to travel over Christmas:

Book by September 6th

Travel before March 31st 2016

No travel between December 10th – 25th 2015 outbound and January 1st – 10th 2016 inbound

Minimum stay 5 days, maximum stay 1 month

Here are some sample prices – remember that these tickets start in Amsterdam (full list here):

Abu Dhabi – €1,400 (£1,022)

Bangkok – €1,470 (£1,074)

Cape Town – €1,885 (£1,377)

Hong Kong – €1,870 (£1,366)

Phuket – €1,660 (£1,212)

Singapore – €2,375 (£1,735)

Tokyo – €2,075 (£1,516)

Zanzibar – €1,555 (£1,136)

Here are some prices from Copenhagen taken from this list:

Abu Dhabi – DKK 10,795 (£1,055)

Bangkok – DKK 13,995 (£1,368)

Cape Town – DKK 19,345 (£1,891)

Delhi – DKK 12,695 (£1,241)

Dubai – DKK 10,795 (£1,055)

Kuala Lumpur – DKK 15,995 (£1,564)

Maldives – DKK 15,995 (£1,564)

Phuket – DKK 16,495 (£1,613)

Singapore – DKK 16,045 (£1,569)

Here are some prices from Stockholm taken from this list:

Abu Dhabi – SEK 13,945 (£1,070)

Bangkok – SEK 15,495 (£1,189)

Dubai – SEK 13,945 (£1,070)

Johannesburg – SEK 22,545 (£1,731)

Kuala Lumpur – SEK 20,245 (£1,554)

Maldives – SEK 22,395 (£1,719)

Phuket – SEK 15,795 (£1,213)

Singapore – SEK 15,895 (£1,220)

Here are some prices from Oslo taken from this list:

Abu Dhabi – NOK 13,045 (£1,013)

Bangkok – NOK 14,995 (£1,165)

Dubai – NOK 13,045 (£1,013)

Cape Town – NOK 18,595 (£1,445)

Kuala Lumpur – NOK 17,145 (£1,332)

Maldives – NOK 18,195 (£1,414)

Phuket – NOK 16,145 (£1,255)

Singapore – NOK 17,195 (£1,336)

Because these fares start in Europe, there are no black-out dates for the UK Autumn half-term holidays.  I had no trouble getting Copenhagen to Dubai to price up from Sunday October 25th to Sunday November 1st, for example, which is half term for most schools.  (Departures on Saturday October 24th were more expensive.)

When booking with Qatar Airways, it is important to NOT just look at the headline price. It is also important to get the right aircraft. You want to be booking onto a Boeing 787 featuring the latest impressive 1-2-1 business class seating which I reviewed here. The A380 and A350 aircraft have the same seating.

The Boeing 777 seating I reviewed here is fully lie flat but is in a more traditional configuration. The A330 and A340 aircraft have sloping business class seats so are not the best first choice.

The good news is that Copenhagen, Oslo, Amsterdam and Stockholm are usually operated by Boeing 787 aircraft so you should get the newest business class product.

Apart from Oslo, which is further and uglier (!), all of these departure points are easy to reach from the UK and a pleasant place to stay for the night if a stopover is required.  I would have a serious look at these deals for your long-haul travel plans over the next six months.  Have a play around at qatarairways.com and see what you can find.

You should also do the maths and consider whether it is worth cancelling any Avios redemptions in order to rebook on a Qatar cash ticket.

The list of Copenhagen deals is here, the list of Stockholm deals is here, the Amsterdam deals are here and the Oslo deals are here.  Other destinations apart from those listed may well be available at sale prices if you search.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

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:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

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

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

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.

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.

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 Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

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.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

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