When Lee won our Christmas Party raffle ….

If you were at our Christmas Party in December, you will remember that the star raffle prize was a business class ticket to any destination of your choice on Qatar Airways who generously sponsored the event.

The winner was Lee – see photo below.  Lee is the one who hasn’t got his arm around the (then) UK marketing head 🙂

He just dropped us a note to tell us about his prize flight:

“I thought I would send you both an email to say I took the Qatar Airways flights that I won at the HfP Christmas party to Tokyo and arrived back last week. Qatar Airways exceeded my expectations and the whole trip was excellent.

I exchanged a few emails with Qatar Airways to arrange the flights and gave a selection of dates that suited me in the hope they could arrange one of the flight combinations. I also asked them if it was possible to get on the A380 and the 777 Qsuite so I could experience all of the best cabins and to my surprise they managed to arrange exactly that for me! A week before I went they changed the 777 Qsuite flight for DOH-LHR to an A350-900.  This was a brand new A350-900 with Qsuite which was delivered a week before I flew on it!

The A380 daytime flight (10:50) from LHR-DOH was excellent; the seat was really spacious and very comfortable, Bric’s amenity kit, Lanson champagne, and crew that couldn’t be more helpful. The whole flight had just over 90 people on-board; 12 in business, 0 in first, 69 in economy. The business class cabin had almost 1:1 crew to passengers! I had some really good food and wine during the flight, and also visited the bar and stood chatting to the crew who were running the bar for the flight whilst sampling a couple more drinks and snacks.

I had a 6.5 hour connection in Doha on my way out, but that was fine as I got to experience the amazing lounge, showers, restaurant, and bar before taking the ~12 hour late overnight flight to NRT. There was plenty of food available in the restaurant and the staff were pleased to help wherever they could. It was also refreshing to get a shower before the next long flight to Tokyo.

The 777 to Tokyo was a 2x2x2 business class cabin and had loads of room at each seat. I didn’t have anyone next to me so I had even more room and nobody to disturb when moving from the window seat. Although it wasn’t quite as comfortable as the A380 I managed to sleep well for the first half of the flight which was great for an evening landing in Tokyo and fighting off the jet lag. Again, the crew, the food, the Giorgio Armani amenity kits, The White Company sleep suit, and lie flat bed, all very good! The flight was about 45 minutes late taking off due to a technical fault but this was quickly resolved and they kept us updated throughout. As it was a 2:20am flight, I was glad to finally sleep!

Coming back from NRT to DOH, I visited the JAL lounge and had some excellent Japanese food before the next overnight flight (22:20) on the same 777 with a 2x2x2 cabin. I had a middle aisle seat on this flight which was just as comfortable and as much room as the DOH-NRT flight. The service may have been slightly slower than outbound but it was completely full in comparison and an evening service to contend with, but still all the crew were very attentive throughout.

I had shorter connection on the way home in Doha of 3 hours which meant I could have another quick shower and get ready for the last flight in Qsuite, right at the front in 1K! I didn’t know at the time that it was a brand new plane but I did notice a number of times how it had that ‘new car/plane’ smell! The crew showed me to my seat and explained where and what everything was and had the champagne and hot towels ready to go. My first thought was “this is amazing, it’s an actual suite with a closing door!”.

As it was a daytime flight (06:35) back to LHR I didn’t have any reason to sleep which was good because I could experience the Qsuite, but not so good because I didn’t get to see how well I slept! Just like the other 3 flights, the crew were excellent, the food was fantastic, more Bric’s amenity kits, and an ultra-comfortable seat (which probably had less than a dozen people in it) with a large and really responsive touch screen entertainment system. The crew popped by every so often to see if I wanted anything and were always available otherwise. I didn’t see much of the other suites, but the double and quad suites look fantastic for travelling with other people. 

We landed back in Heathrow on time and the staff waved us goodbye, and I realised how much I wanted to fly with Qatar Airways again! This is the first time I’ve flown with Qatar Airways after having many flights with BA and continued loyalty with them. Other than a few minor things with BA they’ve always been good and I’ve always been loyal. However, Qatar Airways are on a whole new level with their service and business class cabins.

To sum it up; Qsuite, the crew, the food and wine/champagne, the seating and cabin, the A380 bar, the whole A350-900, Giorgio Armani, Bric’s, and The White Company, the lounges and staff – all fantastic.”

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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.