Book an astonishing Manchester – Auckland £1,360 deal in the Qatar Airways flash sale!

Adjusting for inflation, this is the cheapest fare I think I have ever seen from the UK to Australasia in Business Class.

Last January we had Malaysia Airlines offering London to Sydney in Business Class for £1,500 but even that is beaten by this deal.  (EDIT: The comments below mention a £1,100 Garuda deal last year which I missed.)

Until tomorrow (14th), Qatar Airways is selling Manchester to Auckland in Business Class for £1,360 return.

You won’t get this deal over the Summer school holidays in July and August but apart from that it is fairly open from April onwards until the pre-Christmas period kicks in.    

As usual with Qatar Airways, the deal is one route and one route only.  Birmingham,  Dublin and Cardiff are nowhere close on pricing.  Edinburgh and London departures are about an extra £400.  There are no deals to Sydney, Canberra, Perth etc.  It is Manchester to Auckland or nothing.

These flights will earn 600 British Airways Executive Club tier points return.  That is enough for a BA Silver card although you should remember that you need to have flown 4 one-way cash BA flights in your current membership year before you are promoted.

The aircraft

Manchester to Doha is on a new Boeing 787.  This has the herringbone seat which I reviewed here and is very impressive.  Qatar has a special website showing off this seat which you’ll find here.

Doha to Auckland is on a Boeing 777.  You might get the new Qsuite but it is more likely that you get the older 2 x 2 x 2 layout which I reviewed here.  It isn’t great for a solo traveller but good for a couple.  And if you are complaining at £1,363 then really ….

How to book

You can find out more about the flash sale here.  It ends at midnight on Wednesday.

The UK Qatar Airways booking site is here.

Your best option to maximise your miles when paying is American Express Preferred Rewards Gold.  This offers double points – 2 per £1 – when you when you book flight tickets directly with an airline.  Our review of Amex Gold is here.

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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.