Lowest ever Qatar Airways UK Business prices (Perth £1,425) but you risk NO BA tier points

The Qatar Airways UK sale which finished on Monday does not seem to have the impact they hoped.  That is great news for you because it has bounced back with pricing which is unprecedented for UK-departing business class flights.

Let’s get the bad news out of the way first however.

Qatar Airways flights earn British Airways Avios and tier points. Fly with them to Asia in Business Class and you 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’.  These sale flights book into ‘R’ class.

British Airways has been slow to update its partner list.  If you click here and then click on the Qatar logo 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.

Now that I have got the warning out of the way, look at these prices:

The UK sale home page on the Qatar website is here.  There may be other deals which are not listed so feel free to play around with their website.

You can book for travel until 31st March 2017.  The problem with booking a long way out is that Qatar may have another sale after 1st May which would guarantee you Avios points and BA tier points.  If you book today there is a chance that you get nothing.

These routes are under £1,000 in Business Class – and remember that you can fly until 31st March 2017 in most cases:

Edinburgh to Dubai – £880

Birmingham to Phuket – £980

These routes are under £1,250:

Edinburgh to Maldives – £1,130

Edinburgh to Bangkok – £1,140

Edinburgh to Singapore – £1,200

Birmingham to Perth – £1,250 (the most astonishing price I have ever seen for a flight to Australasia from the UK – but, in practice, I couldn’t find it.  I did find seats at £1,425 return however.  Sydney is around £1,700.)

London to Dubai – £1,250

The other thing to check with Qatar is which aircraft you will be getting.  It is shown clearly during the booking process.  The new – and fantastic – business class seating shown above is on the A380 (London only, some flights only), Boeing 787 and A350 aircraft.  Try to prioritise flights with those aircraft.  The excellent food, drink and IFE will be the same irrespective of plane type.

My review of the Qatar A380 business class seating is here, the Boeing 787 business class seating here and the Boeing 777 seat here.

There are lots more deals where these came from.  I recommend taking a look at the Qatar sale page here.  The main booking page is here.  You have until Monday night to book.

It is just s…o…o…o frustrating that you cannot be certain of earning even a single Avios or tier point from these fares.  If you can buy a Perth ticket for £1,250 or £1,425 return, however, I doubt you care.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 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:

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 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is increased to 30,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 30,000 Avios. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card from American Express is increased to 80,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 80,000 Avios! The spend requirement is changed to £10,000 in six months for this offer. 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

Huge 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, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 9th December 2024, there are EXCLUSIVE sign-up offers for our readers on the two Capital on Tap small business Visa cards. You can earn 20,000 points on the Business Rewards card and 30,000 points on the new Pro card. Click here to apply.

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

20,000 points (ONLY TO 9TH DECEMBER) Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

30,000 points (TO 9TH DECEMBER) 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.