Bits: last day for our Scotland competition, Qatar Airways sale, Cathay Pacific sale

News in brief:

Last chance to enter our Scotland competition

If you haven’t entered already, today is the last chance to enter our Chivas Regal whisky competition.

One reader will win an exclusive VIP visit to the Strathisla distillery in the Scottish Highlands, the home of Chivas Regal, for two people.  Flights or train tickets, hotel, transfers and spending money will all be provided.

More about the prize and the Gleam widget to enter are here.

New Qatar Airways sale and 10% off code

Qatar Airways has been running another sale over the last few days.  Until 19th September – Tuesday – you can book sale fares for travel before 31st May 2018.

This sale is not as good as previous sales, although if you need to book something this week it’s worth taking a look at the fares.

Here are a few examples of good prices for flights from Europe.

Venice – Bangkok for €1333 (£1173)

Berlin – Kuala Lumpur for €1461 (£1284)

Sofia – Shanghai for 2524 BGN (£1135)

Stockholm – Singapore for 16049 SEK (£1483)

Stockholm –  Auckland for 22233 SEK (£2054)

Pisa – Johannesburg for €1725 (£1516)

Zurich – Tokyo for 2328 CHF (£1784)

Qatar has also released a special promo code for the duration of the sale giving an additional 10% off the base fare, excluding taxes, in Economy or Business. This code is only valid on flights from the UK so it won’t help make extra savings on any of the deals above.

You must enter the code UKGTBHOP in the fare search box.  The Qatar Airways sale page is here.

The comments below suggest that code QSUITE may work on departures which are not from the UK – it is worth a try although I have no idea what the rules are for that code.

Remember that Qatar Airways tickets earn Avios and British Airways tier points as they are members of the oneworld alliance.  A business class flight from Europe to Asia is usually 560 tier points (4 flights x 140 points each) as long as each flight, changing in Doha, is over 2000 miles.  That is 90% of your way to a British Airways Executive Club Silver card.

Cathay Pacific is having a sale too

Cathay Pacific is also running a sale at the moment but it does not look very exciting, at least in Business Class. You have to book by 20th September for travel until 6th June 2018.

The only fare that looks interesting is the London – Taipei flight for £2289.

They’re also doing Tokyo for £2419, but the Qatar flight from Zurich I mentioned above looks more attractive if you don’t mind positioning in Europe.

Cathay Pacific is a oneworld member so these fares also earn Avios and British Airways tier points.

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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.