Why the new Qatar Airways Malta route is great for British Airways Executive Club tier points

Qatar Airways confirmed on Monday that it will start flights between Malta and Doha on 4th July 2019.

The service will use a short-haul A320 aircraft but with fully flat beds in business class.  There will be one flight per day in Summer and four per week in Winter.

This page of the Qatar Airways website looks at the A320 layout in detail.

This is a very interesting option if you are looking for British Airways tier points.   London to Malta, on British Airways, is one of the few routes that earns 160 tier points return in Club Europe because of the distance.   A full list of Club Europe routes which give you 160 tier points is here.

Malta is also a cheap route.  Look at the BA Low Fare Finder website here.  Apart from August, you can get return flights for as low as £310.

From Malta, the route to Doha is over 2,000 miles so you will receive 140 tier points in Qatar Airways business class.  Any onward flight to Asia will also be over 2,000 miles, earning you another 140 tier points.

Let’s imagine you bought a Qatar Airways sale deal from Malta to Hong Kong, and positioned using a return British Airways Club Europe flight.  You would earn 80 (BA) + 140 (Qatar) + 140 (Qatar) + 140 (Qatar) + 140 (Qatar) + 80 (BA) = 720 tier points return.  You could – just about – get to British Airways Executive Club Gold with two runs like this over the course of your membership year.

It looks like Malta is a route to watch when the next Qatar Airways sale comes around.

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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.