Fly Qatar Airways business class to Auckland for £1,125

Qatar Airways has launched a limited batch of Avios and BA tier point earning sale fares.  These are only available until Monday but you can book for any date in the next 12 months.

This is not a wholesale mega sale as we saw in January.  The prices are certainly good but you need to look carefully for the real bargains.

The good news is that you are now 100% certain to receive British Airways tier points and Avios on discounted Qatar business class tickets.

There is bad news for people who missed out on the April Qatar sale because they took BA at their word when they said that Qatar business class sale tickets booked before 1st May but flown later would not earn Avios.  Reports on Flyertalk are that these tickets ARE crediting perfectly happily to BA Executive Club.

The best deal I can find is to Auckland.

Qatar confirmed today (Monday) that Auckland is delayed until 1 February 2017.  You cannot now book tickets for travel before that date at this price.  If you booked over the weekend, I would imagine Qatar will re-route on the A380 via Sydney which is not a huge hardship.

If booking this deal, make sure you book directly on the Qatar website.  This leaves Qatar fully responsible for getting you to Auckland in case the start of services is delayed again – most likely by putting you onto a Sydney flight and buying you a connection.  Booking via Expedia or another agent adds a level of doubt about who would be responsible.

You should also note that Doha to Auckland is currently 17 hours on a Boeing 777 which has Qatar’s older style 2 x 2 x 2 seating.  This is great for a couple but less good if travelling alone.  My review of this seat can be found here.  It will hopefully be switched to an A350 if Airbus can fix the problems which are delaying their deliveries to Qatar.

Warnings out of the way, here are the best prices I have seen advertised.

Whilst not mentioned on their Italy deals page, Qatar is offering Pisa to Auckland for €1,423 (£1,125).  I had no problem finding this price for January 2017 but, of course, you cannot now book for departures before 1st February.  The flight from Pisa to Doha is on a short haul A320 but it does apparently have ‘proper’ business class seating.  From Rome you will pay a lot more – €2,000.

Another option, and a more convenient one, is from Berlin.  Berlin to Auckland is €1,649 (£1,300) return.  A list of other Qatar sale deals out of Germany is here.

Oddly, you can mix and match these two fares to get an even better price!  Using the multi-city option on the Qatar website lets you book Berlin – Auckland / Auckland – Pisa for just €1,393 (£1,100).

What sale deals are available from the UK?

The list of sale deals from the UK is here.

From Birmingham, which is the only city listed, there is a lot around the £1,600 mark including Hong Kong and Johannesburg.  It is worth trying prices from Manchester, Edinburgh and London as well.

Apart from Auckland, there is nothing in this sale which is a ‘must book’.  It is worth remembering that these fares are good for the next 12 months, however, so you may want to lock in something for Christmas or Easter 2017.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

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.