A new cheaper way to fly Qatar Airways First Class with Avios – from Frankfurt

Qatar Airways has announced that it will switch one of its two daily Frankfurt flights to an A380 from 31st March 2019.

This may, in itself, not sound very exciting.  Don’t be fooled.

It opens up some very interesting possibilities for anyone wanting to tick Qatar Airways First Class off their bucket list, especially for anyone who wants to try out the amazing First Class Lounge in Doha. 

This is why:

Qatar Airways only offers First Class on its 10 A380 aircraft

Flights from London are blocked for First Class redemptions and even if bookable are expensive, at 160,000 Avios return plus charges

Flights from Paris now seem to be blocked for First Class redemptions (they didn’t used to be) and even if bookable are expensive, at 160,000 Avios return plus charges

The new flights from Frankfurt are NOT blocked for First Class redemptions and are NOT expensive, because Frankfurt is nearer to Doha than Paris or London.  You will only pay 100,000 Avios return, plus charges.

As usual in the wacky world of BA, the taxes and charges don’t make any sense:

One-way Frankfurt to Doha in Qatar First is 50,000 Avios + £227

One-way Doha to Frankfurt in Qatar First is 50,000 Avios + £99

Return Frankfurt to Doha in Qatar First is 100,000 Avios + £412 (so save yourself £86 by booking as 2 x one-ways)

Here is my review of Qatar Airways First Class (I flew it from Paris when you could still get First Class redemptions from there) and here is my review of the Al Safwa First Class lounge in Doha.

At present, there are 2 First Class seats and 4 Business Class seats showing for Avios on virtually every Frankfurt to Doha A380 flight from 31st March.

Business Class is also a good deal from Frankfurt, of course, as you are paying 75,000 Avios return compared with 120,000 Avios return from the UK.

If you wanted to try Qatar’s Business Class then you will save a lot by flying from Frankfurt and booking a separate connecting flight from London – although you’ll miss out on the excellent Qatar Airways lounge at Heathrow.

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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.