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

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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.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

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 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 card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

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

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 £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.

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

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

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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.

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus 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.

Category

Qatar Airways and Privilege Club

Comments (103)

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

  • Benylin says:
    12 Dec12 December 04:50

    OT: Triggered the BAPP 2-4-1 which has posted. Now there is a chance I might get a hefty refund on something I purchased, will the 2-4-1 cancel? I still want to earn it so do I rush and put alternative sound on the card or can I take my time, let the 2-4-1 cancel and try accumulate spend and earn it back in a few weeks / months.

    • Jonathan says:
      12 Dec12 December 06:28

      It will stay in your account. To remove it would require manual intervention which I guess would only occur if you closed account after refund & therefore failed to reach the threshold by a wide margin.

    • Anna says:
      12 Dec12 December 07:26

      Previous posts suggest that in these circumstances you’ll need to spend the equivalent of the refund on top of the £10k spend to trigger your next voucher, but you won’t lose the current one.

      • pauldb says:
        12 Dec12 December 10:51

        I think that only applies if the refund falls in your next card year – i.e. a £2000 refund would wipe out your first £2000 of fresh spend.
        I might speculate that the OP might only have a problem if the actual transaction that crossed £10k is refund, if in someway the voucher is tied to a transaction like a MR threshold bonus is. Otherwise I don’t expect a problem but try and finish the year >£10k to avoid any risk of a black flag.

        • Alan says:
          12 Dec12 December 10:52

          Indeed I’d also be a bit wary of refunding the transaction that triggered a bonus.

    • Polly says:
      12 Dec12 December 07:36

      The advantage is if and when you cancel, after referring an OH, or not, the large credit balance is then sent back to your direct debit account, or ask for a cheque. So it can be useful having this refund. If you need to wait your 6 months plus 1 day, downgrade to free bacc, the credit remains in place, ready for refund when you cancel. Card in the drawer.
      So keep spending on an alternative card. Always spending towards a bonus. Gold or SPG?

  • Frenzie says:
    12 Dec12 December 05:49

    OT: I have applied for the Virgin Atlantic card on the 9th of November. I received my first statement and whilst the 15000 points has arrived, the extra 10000 bonus points haven’t.

  • Shoestring says:
    12 Dec12 December 06:37

    O/T transferred 20K+ SPG to BAEC, I was slightly concerned as I could see no mention of the 5000 bonus points – but points arrived with bonus so all good.

    • BJ says:
      12 Dec12 December 07:29

      Talking of which, it looks like SPG buy points promotions have died with the takeover. However, no great loss with tbe devaluation of TP and weak Sterling.

    • SG says:
      12 Dec12 December 08:08

      Hi Shoestring
      How long did the transfer take?(accounts already linked),did you transfer 60K SPG to get the bonus?

      • Shoestring says:
        12 Dec12 December 08:15

        Oh yeah it was SPG but from my new SPG/ Marriottt a/c – so it was 60K+ (new currency) to trigger the 5000 extra Avios.

        So exactly the same as the old currency 20K SPG + 5000 bonus Avios. Not sure why I couldn’t see mention of it on the transfer page, maybe they are going to phase it out?

    • Rhys says:
      12 Dec12 December 09:36

      Hi Harry, could I have your email to ask you a question about Tesco Xmas saver please? Seem to remember a HUD one but can’t find the details. Thanks

      • Shoestring says:
        12 Dec12 December 10:11

        Just ask here. Not really working as easily as hoped – well, it can work that way but only if they play ball on CS – but many have found it an uphill struggle. (Others have succeeded.) Was so much easier with T Direct!

        tbh I’d be tempted to just cut losses (to your time/ patience/ trying to persuade CS to stick to Tesco T&Cs) & buy some giftcards, groceries or petrol/ diesel. I certainly won’t be repeating next year.

      • Louise says:
        12 Dec12 December 12:13

        The problem is the receipt just says coupon, like any money off coupon.

        Not sure what previous years receipts have said?

      • Rhys says:
        12 Dec12 December 12:32

        Cheers. Should plan be: purchase high value item, use Xmas vouchers. Later return via CS and have refund in ‘normal’ vouchers?

        • Louise says:
          13 Dec13 December 06:21

          Yes but as receipt shows coupon I think most people have been offered refund on a Tesco gift card

  • Andy S says:
    12 Dec12 December 07:52

    OT: I’m unable to log into Creation web site this morning to check my IHG card balance. I’m sure I’m entering details correctly. Is anyone else having issues ?

    • EvilDoctorK says:
      12 Dec12 December 07:58

      Works for me as normal

    • SG says:
      12 Dec12 December 08:03

      5000 points from recent Instagram/Twitter promo posted this morning!

      • Alan says:
        12 Dec12 December 09:01

        Yesterday actually 😛 (see OT comments from Tues)

      • Dave Barron says:
        12 Dec12 December 10:35

        +1 (dated yesterday but only appeared on account overnight). Crucially they’ve added another year before point expiration too 😀

    • Ben says:
      12 Dec12 December 08:11

      I can log in (using Chrome in case that is relevant).

      • Andy S says:
        12 Dec12 December 08:26

        well this is odd. It was telling me I’m entering wrong details. So I went through the “forgot password” link and managed to change it. I copied/pasted so I know I am now getting it right but it still says “entering wrong details”. Tried Chrome and Firefox. I’ll have to ring them and see what’s up!

        • Andy S says:
          12 Dec12 December 17:34

          Well I called and they agreed it was odd so deleted my online account and said I should give it a while and then re-register.

          So I have no re-registered and have exactly the same problem !!

          The only thing I can think might be upsetting it is that my username has a number in it!

          I will ask them to delete my account again and then try a new one without!

        • Andy S says:
          12 Dec12 December 18:14

          Still having problems but eventually tracked down to something in latest firefox / my security settings blocking the capaticha – I tried in MSIE and that did make me click some images after which I could log in, and I can now log in on firefox again!

  • Theresa May says:
    12 Dec12 December 08:46

    Could I pose an OT question to the CC Guru’s out there. I currently have a Amex GC and Wife is a supplementary. If i apply for her own card, through an invite from myself, will she be entitled to the 20K points?

  • Graham Walsh says:
    12 Dec12 December 09:07

    OT Want to use up my Lloyds Upgrade voucher, Avios account has 0 points, any way to transfer online or do I have to call up? The Avios site is working again for availability.

    • Graham Walsh says:
      12 Dec12 December 09:21

      Ignore me, did a web chat with Avios and they pointed me in the right direction

      To transfer your Avios, select ‘Your account’ and choose ‘Transfer Avios to/from British Airways or Iberia’. Just so you know you can only transfer if all details including your surname, address, date of birth and e-mail address match on both accounts.

      • Anna says:
        12 Dec12 December 09:56

        You don’t have to transfer the avios, they will take them from your BAEC account when you call to redeem your Lloyd’s voucher.

    • Will says:
      12 Dec12 December 09:47

      Did you have to call up to use your voucher or can you still use it on avios.com? I’ve got one to use shortly and my avios.com account still seems to be open

      • Graham Walsh says:
        12 Dec12 December 09:55

        He said if my account was still open I could do it all online. I had to use Chrome to book it. I used Firefox to login and move my points from BA > Avios. Had to log out and log back in and they were there instantly. However back in Chrome where I had the booking in my basket, it wouldn’t recognise it. Had to log out and back in and find the flights again. Luckily they were still there.

        Out in CW and back in PE to Barbados. Cash price £3,435.32 on BA now for 2 adults. 130k Avios using 1 voucher meant £985 in taxes. Just no availability coming back in CW. At least get to enjoy CW during the day flight.

        It’s on a 777 with 2-4-2 layout, trying to decide to sit at the side or sit in the middle E&F seats. What are people’s thoughts? Exciting using my first BA voucher 🙂 Thanks again to Rob for this hobby.

        • ahop says:
          12 Dec12 December 11:37

          Graham, did they say you could still book online if it was to upgrade a one way flight for two persons? I have been told I need to call for this.

        • Anna says:
          12 Dec12 December 12:35

          It’s never been possible to do that online.

        • meta says:
          12 Dec12 December 12:53

          It actually was though you would still need to call. The way it worked, you would book online and then receive an error message with a reference number. The seats would be removed from inventory immediately. You only needed to call Avios to confirm (quick 2 minute call) and they would ticket in a day or two. I did it this way in April on LHR-SEZ route at midnight. Particularly useful for hard to get routes.

        • ahop says:
          12 Dec12 December 13:07

          Thanks for that meta – very useful indeed as I am trying for the first day of Xmas holidays next year and thus waiting until 8am might rule me out.

        • Mr Dee says:
          12 Dec12 December 18:09

          @meta it wasn’t working hence the error, you should only book over the phone for the upgrade voucher since they started messing around with the transfer to BA.

          Years ago you could use the voucher online no problem but now don’t expect good news trying to book it online (if your account isn’t closed) got charged 3 times Avios plus fees and had to phone up more than once to get the tickets. First time they didn’t issue the tickets correctly so when I went to checking the night before had to phone up as flight was at 6am when Avios isn’t open so would have missed the flight! So book over the phone for the voucher!

          • Alan says:
            12 Dec12 December 18:27

            Online always been pretty useless unless doing straight return from London – always had to call for connecting flights from the regions.

        • meta says:
          12 Dec12 December 20:58

          @ Mr Dee well it was for me in April this year. I don’t know how it is now, but Avios CS gave me PNR number straight away when I called in the morning as they could see it on the screen. The only thing that was different was that it wasn’t ticketed until day or two. Also immediately after I booking I could see the seats gone from both BA and Avios inventories and correct number of Avios taken as well as a notification that the taxes have been taken. Your experience might be different, but for me it was like that and I’ve read about similar experiences on FT and here.

        • Erico1875 says:
          13 Dec13 December 05:54

          I like the middle pair if traveling as a couple

  • Neil says:
    12 Dec12 December 09:32

    A big shout out to the lukers I met last night (Vijay & Alex). I couldn’t believe we ended up drinking until midnight with Duncan, Lisa & Rhys. Struggling this morning but definitely work it! Cheers Rob

    • Rhys says:
      12 Dec12 December 14:15

      You’re not the only one struggling…

      • Shoestring says:
        12 Dec12 December 18:11

        So was a good time had by one & all? 🙂

        • Polly says:
          12 Dec12 December 18:34

          Yes, def you need to find a reason next year or even the summer party, to be in london!
          We thought we, Lev and co, were late leaving around 10…Irish goodbye, took an hour to get out the door, us lot. Nice meeting you Rhys and Lisa…great evening.

        • Shoestring says:
          12 Dec12 December 19:40

          I’ll do my best. Yesterday was typical – my wife had to overnight at short notice in Northampton so I was left holding the fort. I wouldn’t be bothered that much about the younger two as they are old enough & can be sorted with taxis – but my eldest son needs supervision so didn’t fancy coming back to the house burned down or something worse. Constant parental presence needed, can’t really delegate it.

  • Optimus Prime says:
    12 Dec12 December 09:40

    OT – Have an Amex card cancelled on 11th June. Is it okay to apply today to be eligible for the sign-up bonus or should hold off a little longer?

    • Sam says:
      12 Dec12 December 09:55

      Should be fine

    • Luthar says:
      12 Dec12 December 13:35

      It’s worth calling up and checking since the day you call up to cancel is not always the same as the day the deem the account closed.

      • Optimus Prime says:
        12 Dec12 December 15:54

        Thanks, I spoke with online chat and they confirmed that was the cancellation date.

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