Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Another Qatar Airways flight sale bargain …. to Johannesburg

Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.

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.

HFP-Barclaycard-Avios-Card

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (March 2023)

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Successfully apply for either of the Barclaycard Avios credit cards by 2nd April 2023 and you will be entered into a free draw to win ONE MILLION AVIOS! Full details are on the application forms here (free) and here (paid). This competition is exclusive to Head for Points readers. T&C apply.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher for spending £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher for spending £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

25,000 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 £12,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and unbeatable travel benefits – for a 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.

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

Get a 10,000 points bonus plus an extra 500 points for our readers Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

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.

Until 30th March 2023, the sign up bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to 120,000 Membership Rewards points – click here. The bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to 60,000 Membership Rewards points – click here. T&C apply, see the application forms for details.

American Express Business Platinum

Crazy 120,000 points bonus (to 30th March) and a £200 Amex Travel credit every year Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

60,000 points sign-up bonus (to 30th March) 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.

Category

Qatar Airways and Privilege Club

Comments (89)

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.

  • 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.

  • tical says:
    11 Jan11 January 17:26

    OT and thanks in advance. It seems like the Starwood Pay Your Birth Year Promotion (https://headforpoints.com/2017/05/23/pay-your-birth-year-an-attractive-starwood-promo-for-our-older-readers/) is requiring a username and password to access the site. Has anyone booked such a rate lately?

  • 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.

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

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Got any questions? Ask them in our forums.

Win 1 million Avios when you apply for a Barclaycard Avios credit card by 2nd April. Exclusive to HfP readers.

Barclays Avios credit card
VAA

Latest Forum Posts

Get 30,000 points with American Express Platinum

Amex Gold

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

GET £10 CASHBACK WHEN YOU SPEND £150 ON CURRENSEA

Currensea

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.7 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

SME? Earn points worth 10,500 Avios with Capital On Tap

Get 20,000 bonus points and your first year free with American Express Gold

Amex Gold

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.

Got it!