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Another Qatar Airways flight sale bargain …. to Johannesburg

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Here’s a quick update to our Qatar Airways sale article yesterday.

The best Johannesburg business class deal looked like it was the Frankfurt departure, at €1702 (£1500).  It turns out that, if you are willing to head down to Bulgaria, there is a stonking price out of Sofia – just BGN 2,715 which is £1228.

You need to use promo code PCGTBGIFT to get that price.  It comes down a little further if two people travel.

The Sofia sale deals page is here.

If you don’t have a credit card with 0% foreign exchange fees, your best option for paying is American Express Preferred Rewards Gold which offers triple points – 3 per £1 – when you book flight tickets in a foreign currency.  This is because the transaction triggers the ‘double points for airline spend’ and the ‘double points for foreign spend’ bonuses.

If you want somewhere to stay in Sofia, pictured below, the night before, a new InterContinental (the fully refurbished ex-Radisson) is about to open – see the IHG website here.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

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!

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Barclaycard Avios card

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There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

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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.

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The Platinum Card from American Express

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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.

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There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

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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.

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Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

Category

Qatar Airways and Privilege Club

Comments (85)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Crafty says:
    11 Jan11 January 13:35

    OT: If I book multiple rooms on 1 night at the same hotel (for a group holiday) on my IHG account, and pay myself up front on a non refundable rate, will I get all the points? Website suggests Yes, but I’m sceptical.

    • Gavin says:
      11 Jan11 January 16:43

      I didn’t when I did similar. Perhaps I should have put my name in the booking for each room or set some up under my wife’s account but I needed the late checkout for all rooms and my wife didn’t have any status with IHG

  • Will_2 says:
    11 Jan11 January 13:41

    I thought the IHG sale was only using the app?
    I can’t get the discounted prices to appear using the link above. I can see them in the app but the app won’t let me book as it tells me my address is missing from my profile (it isn’t).

    • Brian says:
      11 Jan11 January 13:45

      First couple of days were via the app. Now available on the website, though of course many of the best deals might have gone. No doubt Rob had a reason for not running the article when the sale actually launched…

      If you click on the link in the article, you seem to go to the normal booking page and then have to click on the banner at the top advertising the sale.

      • Will_2 says:
        11 Jan11 January 14:01

        Aha. Clicking on the Sale banner on the link gives me the same prices as the app.
        Cheers for that.

  • Richard says:
    11 Jan11 January 14:53

    One nice feature about Finnair tickets is that with an emerald card you still get one piece of checked luggage. BA remove this benefit gold card holders with their HBO fares. Using avios redemptions for the AY european flights can be a waste of time though. From Helsinki cash tickets to DUB/EDI are going for 150e return.

  • JamesB says:
    11 Jan11 January 18:25

    Yes, Rob for his mum. IIRC there was an article on it so worth searching.

  • New Card says:
    11 Jan11 January 18:55

    OT – Any idea whether the 35% transfer bonus to BA is likely to come back in February this year? Is this normally announced in advance?

  • Anna says:
    11 Jan11 January 19:02

    OT – I have called avios.com as they have changed their website and it now strongly suggests that you can book 2 x 1 way flights online using the Lloyds upgrade voucher. Unfortunately, due to an IT glitch, you still can’t, and after inputting your flight details you will just get an error message. They don’t know when this will be rectified, which sounds very like the Lloyds answer to when they are asked when the problem with posting avios will be resolved. Can it be just a coincidence?!

    • The_real_a says:
      12 Jan12 January 02:17

      Depends what you mean, but i have always been able to book 2 one ways provided one was IN to uk and one was OUT of the uk. Destinations dont have to be same. Agree if it was an unestricted 2x one ways it would be fabulous enhancement.

  • Henry Larsen says:
    12 Jan12 January 09:45

    The link to Starwood in that article goes 404.

    • tical says:
      12 Jan12 January 10:56

      yes, it does not seem I can get through to the right page at Starwood. Maybe that promo is dead?

      • Rob says:
        12 Jan12 January 11:19

        All my Starwood links are dead this morning because Starwood pulled its partnership programme overnight due to “IT issues”. I need to reset all the links but it won’t be until tonight. Google should be able to find you the page.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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