Bits: see the FA Cup 5th Round games with Emirates, Qatar Airways sale launched

News in brief:

See the FA Cup Fifth Round games with Emirates Skywards miles

Emirates is now the lead sponsor of the FA Cup.  For the 2nd Round in December, they offered tickets for just 1 mile!  They also offered tickets for the 3rd Round, but nothing for the 4th Round.

The deal is now back for the 5th Round.  At just 6,000 Emirates miles for a ticket, you can’t complain about the value.

As at 11.45pm yesterday the following games were available.  Remember that you can only book a maximum of two tickets per game per Emirates account.

• Reading v West Brom or Peterborough
• Watford v Leeds United
• Shrewsbury Town v Manchester United
• Blackburn Rovers v Liverpool or West Ham
• Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace
• AFC Bournemouth v Everton

The Chelsea and Arsenal games are already sold out.

These are for games on 20th February.

Book via this page on the Emirates website (log-in required).

Another generous Qatar Airways sale launched

Qatar Airways is running another round of promotional business class fares this week.

I am down in Istanbul this week and have not had the time to plough through this in detail.  The deals are not, on first glance, anywhere near as generous as the Qatar Travel Festival promotion which ran in January.  Availability also seems  very tight.

However, if you are looking to book a long-haul ticket to Asia, the Middle East or Australia then you might want to have a look around.

These pages are a good starting point:

• Qatar Airways offers from Paris
• Qatar Airways offers from Brussels
• Qatar Airways offers from Amsterdam
• Qatar Airways offers from the UK (pricier)

You must book by 11th February and two people must travel together.

As always with Qatar, check which aircraft you are getting.  The newest business class product is on the 787 (review here), A350 and A380.  My review of the older 777 business class seat is here – for a couple, this may actually be preferable.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (January 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.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

50,000 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.