Excellent UK Qatar Airways business class sale launched (Perth £1425, Dubai £880)

Qatar Airways has just launched a new ex-UK sale.  This features some fantastic prices given that you are departing from the UK and not somewhere else in Europe.

The headline fare is Birmingham to Perth for £1,250 return in Business Class.  This would be an astonishing fare – except that I couldn’t find one.  There IS plenty at £1,425 return though.

There is LOADS of availability for Edinburgh to Dubai at £880 return.

The full list of deals is here.  You must book by Monday but can travel up to 31st March 2017.

I will write more tomorrow.

But …..

Before you book, I should warn you about one BIG potential snag.

Qatar Airways flights earn British Airways Avios and tier points.  A trip to Asia would get you 560 tier points (4 flights x 140 each) which is 90% of a BA Executive Club Silver card.  It is a great opportunity.

Last month, Qatar brought in a new ticket ‘class’ for cheap business class seats, ‘R’.  I would expect these flights to book into ‘R’ class.

British Airways has been slow to update its partner list.  If you click here you will see that ‘R’ class tickets will only earn Avios and tier points if BOOKED after 1st May.

I am not 100% convinced by this – I get a feeling that it will actually apply to anything FLOWN after 1st May.  However, the rule as it is written on ba.com is that you would need to BOOK after 1st May and, of course, that isn’t possible as this sale ends on Monday.

If you book one of these deals, you are taking a risk that you will get nothing in British Airways Executive Club.  The best you could do is credit the flights to Qatar Airways Privilege Club but you would be nowhere near earning equivalent status.

Of course, for these prices, you probably shouldn’t care.

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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.