Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

SUNDAY ONLY: Save 10% on Qatar Airways flights from the UK or Europe

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Qatar Airways is running a one-day 10% discount deal for no other reason that the date is 02/02/20!

For TODAY ONLY (Sunday), you can get an additional 10% off the base fare of any Economy or Business Class ticket using promo code 0202.

It is valid for travel from today until 10th December.

This is not just a UK deal.  All of the good value Qatar Airways European starting points are participating.  Cities we recommend trying include:

Berlin / Frankfurt

Copenhagen

Helsinki

Milan / Rome

Oslo

Stockholm

Vienna

The best deals recently have been out of Stockholm and Oslo.  If you are looking for a discounted long-haul flight to Asia, Africa or Australasia then I would start by looking at departures from the UK, followed by Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen and then potentially moving on to Germany.

The 10% discount works on all ticket classes.  However, because it only discounts the base fare and not the taxes, the actual discount will be fairly small for Economy tickets.  Business Class discounts will be nearer to 10%.

There are some great deals from Belgrade but this is a tricky place to reach from the UK.  Don’t book from there unless you know how you will position yourself.

A ‘good’ Business Class fare to Asia would be around £1,200 (£1,500 to Japan and Africa).

How to earn Avios and BA tier points with Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways has an excellent business class product.

If you read my recent series of Qatar Airways flight reviews (the series starts here with the Heathrow lounge) then you will be keen to give them a try.

If you won’t take my word for it, Qatar Airways won Best Airline, Best Long-Haul Airline, Best Business Class and Best Middle Eastern Airline in the 2019 Business Traveller Awards.  And, of course, your fellow HfP readers voted it ‘Best Business Class Seat & Service’ in the inaugural Head for Points Travel & Loyalty Awards.

However, a key reason for Head for Points readers to fly them is that you earn British Airways Avios and tier points from your flight.

How many tier points will I earn?

Qatar Airways is a member of the oneworld airline alliance, alongside British Airways.  This means that, if you put your British Airways Executive Club number into the booking, you will earn Avios and BA tier points when you fly.

When flying airlines other than British Airways, there is something called the ‘2000 mile rule’ in the Executive Club:

  • Business Class flights under 2000 miles earn 40 tier points per sector
  • Business Class flights over 2000 miles earn 140 tier points per sector

From all of the destinations listed above to Doha it is more than 2000 miles.  Doha to Asia is more than 2000 miles.  This means that your return Business Class flight from Europe to Bangkok will earn 140 + 140 + 140 + 140 = 560 tier points in British Airways Executive Club.

Be careful if you see any cheap Qatar Airways flights from Southern Europe.  Check that the distance between your departure airport and Doha is over 2,000 miles.  gcmap.com is a good resource for this – put in the airport codes (eg ‘LHR-DOH’) and click ‘Distance.

How many tier points do I need for BA Silver status?

600 tier points.  This means that you are over 90% of the way there in just one trip to Asia or beyond with this deal.

However, you ALSO need to have done four paid British Airways one-way flights in your current membership year before you are upgraded.  You cannot earn the 600 tier points purely from partners.

Bronze status requires just 300 tier point and two paid BA flight segments in your current membership year.

British Airways Executive Club Silver status has two key benefits – lounge access for you and a guest whenever you fly, plus free seat selection at the time of booking.  You can find out more benefits of Silver status on ba.com here.

Your status would last for the rest of your current membership year plus all of the following year.  If you booked one of these flights in the first few weeks of your next membership year, you would potentially get Silver status for almost two years.

Qatar Airways qsuite

What is Qatar Airways business class like?

Qatar Airways has an excellent Business Class product.  Whilst individual seats can vary from aircraft to aircraft the exceptional soft-product is uniform across the fleet.

Here are the main aircraft options:

Boeing 787-8 – the seat you are most likely to get is the 1-2-1 herringbone configuration I reviewed here. This is based on the same Super Diamond seat that the new British Airways Club Suite is based upon, albeit without a door and a slightly different tray table and sculpted seat surrounds.

A350-900 – whilst some of the A350-900s are fitted with Qsuite, others have the reverse herringbone seat that is also on Qatar’s 787 (review) and A380 aircraft.

A350-1000 – between Doha and a variety of busier destinations in Asia including Singapore you get the fantastic Qsuite which I reviewed recently, which is installed on all of Qatar’s A350-1000 aircraft.

Boeing 777-300ER – some 777 routes still get the older 2-2-2 seating I reviewed here. Qatar is in the process of refitting its entire Boeing 777 fleet with Qsuite and is about 50% completed on the 777-300ER, so you may get lucky with refurbished one with Qsuite (reviewed here).

A380 – on some flights Qatar flies an A380, which features its reverse herringbone seat reviewed here – it is not Qsuite but it has a great bar.

If you are particularly unlucky you may also get an A330.  These are fitted with a 2-2-2 business class seat – I would normally not recommend these but, as these are all companion fares, you will be travelling with other people so your neighbour will be know to you!

It has to be said that Qatar Airways has a habit of changing its aircraft allocations at short notice, so I wouldn’t get too hung up on which one you choose because it may change.

To learn more about Qsuite, take a look at this special page of the website.

To learn more about the herringbone seat on the A380 and Boeing 787, take a look at this special page of the website.

To learn more about the Al Mourjan business class lounge in Doha, take a look at this page of the Qatar Airways website and read my Al Mourjan lounge review here.

Qatar sale

Which credit card should I use?

If you don’t have a credit card with 0% foreign exchange fees, your best option for paying is American Express Preferred Rewards Gold which offers triple points – 3 per £1 – when you book flight tickets in a foreign currency.  This is because the transaction triggers the ‘double points for airline spend’ and the ‘double points for foreign spend’ bonuses.  Our review of Amex Gold is here.

If you’re planning a trip to Asia, Africa or Australasia ….

It is difficult to pick out individual deals.  You need to pick out a few starting points and try some routes.

Don’t get too hung on the cheapest fare to the nearest penny.  Bear in mind the length of any stopovers and the cost and convenience of getting to your European starting point.

I recommend starting a search with Stockholm, Gothenburg (whcre Qatar Airways has a lot of capacity) and Oslo.  Scandinavia has been the home of the best flight deals for the last year or so, and not just with Qatar Airlines.

Don’t forget to add promo code 0202.  Remember that you need to fly by 10th December to get the additional discount.

The 0202 code ends at midnight LOCAL TIME so don’t leave it too late – deals will start to drop away at 10pm and 11pm UK time.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (March 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 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

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to 120,000 points. You receive 80,000 points when you spend £12,000 within three months and a further 40,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 60,000 points. You receive 40,000 points when you spend £6,000 within three months and a further 20,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

American Express Business Platinum

Up to 120,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

Up to 60,000 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 (58)

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

  • Luke says:
    2 Feb2 February 07:22

    Surely 20% would have better reflected the theme @qatarmarketing 😉

  • John W says:
    2 Feb2 February 07:36

    I am not sure if it is a coincidence, but I’ve been following flights to Asia from UK and EU for dates in May – yesterday, they all increased in price ! . I was waiting for a companion sale for Valentine’s Day in business . If my memory is right , did we not have one in 2019 ? . We did previously to that !

    • Ceri Chaplin says:
      2 Feb2 February 08:22

      I was hoping to say exactly the same thing John W.. By my reckoning they have increased by around 15%!

      What Qatar giveth with one hand, they taketh away with another. I smell a rat.

      • janie says:
        2 Feb2 February 09:51

        Yes the fares I had been looking at increased by over £150 pp despite using this code!

        • Lady London says:
          3 Feb3 February 10:37

          Remember
          – January often is a time when fares advertised are much lower than normal
          – February could be expected to revert to normal pricing
          – you could be looking at close-in pricing for long haul if you are booking March-May or a little further ahead.
          – May-August prices can be expected to recede a bit later as that is low season for many long haul destinations

    • Marcw says:
      2 Feb2 February 08:42

      Agree.

    • Harry T says:
      2 Feb2 February 10:15

      @John W
      Lufthansa and Swiss are still doing companion fares in Business and First exUK to Asia. Very good value.

  • meta says:
    2 Feb2 February 09:01

    Belgrade is not that tricky for positioning. You have two direct options. Either Air Serbia from LHR which you can use Etihad Guest miles too (10.4k miles one-way economy, 14.8k for business. Air Serbia has two daily flights I believe. You also have Wizz Air from Luton. If you need to stay the night before there are good options in the city Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Intercontinental…

    • Mr(s) Entitled says:
      2 Feb2 February 09:12

      I suspect both are quite tricky for people who live in Durham. Or Swansea. Or Plymouth. Or Grimsby. Or Lancaster. Or…..

      • Alex Sm says:
        2 Feb2 February 09:37

        Well, everything is tricky if you live in Grimsby…

        • Rob says:
          2 Feb2 February 09:51

          Except buying fish.

        • Tom1 says:
          2 Feb2 February 13:20

          HUY-AMS is very easy from Grimsby. Just bloody expensive.

        • Nick_C says:
          2 Feb2 February 13:48

          If Typhoo put the “T” in Britain, who put the Grim in Grimsby (cleaning up a very old joke)

          • Munch says:
            2 Feb2 February 16:29

            Founder of Grimsby – Grim (a fisherman), heroically saved the infant Prince Havelock of Denmark from the sea. Always love to read the “superior” tone of comments on Northern towns – oh well I suppose we miss out on the daily commute, poor air quality, the cost of school fees, high house prices………

          • Cat says:
            2 Feb2 February 18:25

            Sacha Baron Cohen at his finest.

          • Munch says:
            2 Feb2 February 18:55

            Yes keep the stereotypical comments flowing. I thought you would have mentioned the fast growing renewable energy sector (offshore wind farms), the large food industry, the highly skilled roles within the pharmaceutical manufacturing plants and the largest UK port by tonnage ready for new trading opportunities after Brexit. I suppose I could wish for a sharp rise in interest rates so “us northerners” could pick up cheap repossessed properties south of the border.
            You have to pay a subscription for Netflix so the film isn’t actually free.

      • mutley says:
        2 Feb2 February 13:30

        If you live in Swansea/Plymouth get the Pullman service to Reading or Paddington leaves at 05.55 and 06.50 respectively and get a fantastic brekkie on board for £18!!

    • Alex Sm says:
      2 Feb2 February 09:40

      I was going to say the same. Plus Belgrade only has one airport which could make things easier. But there is only only JU flight per day (they leased the second slot to someone recently, Rob mentioned) and W6 doesn’t go every day…

      • meta says:
        2 Feb2 February 10:45

        You’re right. Only one flight now except Sat&Sun when there are two.

    • LewisB says:
      2 Feb2 February 11:08

      Or a quick connection in AMS or CDG. That’s what I did when I flew to Belgrade. Actually really recommend it as a city. I organised a stag do there last July. An experience!

      • Polly says:
        2 Feb2 February 12:09

        We have got BEL booked for Nov, in the last sale, 1090pp. Plan to fly ret out to bud, bk from Vie possibly, using a 241 in J that we will not use otherwise. Then take train from bud most of the way, which is supposed to be gorgeous. It will make a change from Arn, osl, and hel. QR sale fares are creeping up, and £1150 with Amex 200 off, is about where we will cancel a BA 241 in F to Asia.
        Know we will have the 320 from bud, but as it’s a day flt that’s ok, we have decent ones to and from KUL. Prime route.
        Cancelled a J 241 to KUL for this QR flt.
        On another note, watching virus progress closely from Bali. May not move on to HKT, may stay on here. Insurance won’t cover it, but no case here yet. HKT is biggest place for Chinese visitors outside BKK, so will decide later this week. Plenty of MAS J redemptions available to get us bk in position for our ret to Arn.

        • Lady London says:
          2 Feb2 February 13:02

          Please report back on that train from Bud to Belgrade when you’ve done it Polly!

        • Cat says:
          2 Feb2 February 13:54

          Stay in Indonesia! Find a lovely boat to Flores, stopping off to snorkel and visit beaches and dragons along the way! Or hop across to one of the Gili islands!
          They’re far prettier than Phuket anyway, IMHO!

          • Chas says:
            2 Feb2 February 17:17

            +1

          • Yorkieflyer says:
            2 Feb2 February 23:07

            Definitely a vote for Gili Meno, a tip is to fly into Lombok and not Bali

          • Polly says:
            2 Feb2 February 23:28

            Cat,
            You know we might just do that! Gilli islands are so lovely. Lots of thinking and planning in the next few days.
            Re hkt tho, the area we go to is in Panwa village, very cut off from busy hkt. So it is very relaxing, been to same place for years, eat in local family run places, know locals and staff. So it’s actually hard to decide not to travel there. But the virus may be the deciding factor. In the meantime, 32 degrees, and swim training twice a day, v disciplined, so not complaining, but watchful of developments. Oz tennis was fab, on our local TV time. On our to do list at some point too!

        • Lady London says:
          2 Feb2 February 16:11

          Perhaps being in Asia means not burning fuel in the winter at home? Especially if one is doddery old retired folk that would be at home all day?

          Carbon footprint might actually be smaller that way 🙂

        • Shoestring says:
          2 Feb2 February 16:23

          It’s the Greta Thunberg of HFP 🙂

          who is never going to take a Business or F flight again, sounds like

      • RussellH says:
        2 Feb2 February 12:15

        Our arrival in Belgrade early last June was the most ear-shattering experience I have ever had. We arrived around 0200 on a Danube cruise.
        Belgrade has noise regulations for nightclubs on land, but none for those on boats, even though they are, to all intents and purposes, well inside the city.
        Even once I had closed the cabin window the racket and flashing lights continued for another hour or so.
        I liked the cntral are of the city, though – quite impressive.

        • Polly says:
          2 Feb2 February 23:19

          Yes, it’s one of those older world cities that we have always wanted to visit, and my 1st time to BUD. Think we may return from VIE as trains are fast from BEL to VIe, am told. And we will see their Xmas market, as will do an overnight there. Makes a change from Scandinavia cities we usually stay in.
          Am hoping that trainloads I’ll be fixed by the time we travel down from bud. Would make life easier.

  • Tom says:
    2 Feb2 February 09:22

    Just be aware that this article/page downloaded an index file to my phone.

  • BS says:
    2 Feb2 February 09:28

    I have been looking at flights ex-JNB. Codes don’t work here. But flight prices have recently dropped to USD 1000 each way I’m J to London (without ex-EU faff). Great opportunity to rack up the TPs, especially as many of the fares allow the BA flight on the DOH-LHR sector.
    I assume this counts for my 1 of 4 qualifying flights (BA metal, QR flight code)?

    • Lady London says:
      2 Feb2 February 09:37

      You would be better off with BA flight code on better metal.

      • BS says:
        2 Feb2 February 09:43

        Hah! Agreed. Sadly BA is over double the price. And it is prime summer holiday time, with economy fares currently 66% of the suspiciously cheap J price…

      • BS says:
        2 Feb2 February 09:45

        (And by my reckoning the one bonus is I do get EU261 protection on my DOH-LHR flight, which I on QR)

  • TimM says:
    2 Feb2 February 09:38

    Palindromic sacrilege! The date is not 02/02/20 but rather 02/02/2020. I am concerned about people’s lack of sensitivity over such an obvious contravention of numerical aesthetics. This offence will have shortened my life by a few minutes.

    • Shoestring says:
      2 Feb2 February 09:44

      roll on Feb 12th 2021

    • Roger* says:
      2 Feb2 February 12:41

      Tee hee!

      But wait, what’s this zero-two business? 2nd February 2020 is 2/2/2020. That’s not a palindrome. It can reasonably be abbreviated to 2/2/20. That’s not a palindrome either.

      Still, if it can get a few £/$/€ off a fare, it can be useful.

      Did I really write that? [SWMBO:] Make another cup of coffee!

      • Nick_C says:
        2 Feb2 February 13:00

        Filling in forms on line usually requires leading zeros.

        I’ve been a numbers geek all my life. One of my earliest childhood memories was Mad magazine celebrating 1961 – the last upside down (strobogrammatic) until 6009.

    • Cat says:
      2 Feb2 February 14:01

      Oh my word TimM, I can’t believe someone else was as distressed by this as I was (although I have to admit that your inclusion of the slashes did cause me some anxiety too – surely writing it as anything other than 02022020 would also be sacrilege…).
      Also Nick_C, if you use the correct font, 02022020 is also strobogrammatic!

    • Charlieface says:
      2 Feb2 February 21:09

      Haven’t the faintest idea what the significance is of the year number in a calendar made up in the year 525

  • Berneslai says:
    2 Feb2 February 11:53

    Any tips on the most cost efficient way of getting 3 of the 4 BA flights for silver eligibility? I’ve got 720 tier points flying Qatar and Qantas but only completed one eligible BA flight!

    • Polly says:
      2 Feb2 February 12:13

      Day trip to Man or Jersey, couple of weekends. HBO.

      • Lady London says:
        2 Feb2 February 13:05

        What @Polly says. choose ex-T3 for lounges so it’s not a complete waste of money for a tier point run.

        • Lady London says:
          2 Feb2 February 13:43

          If doing 2 can also nest them. Even though many years ago British Airways stated for about 2mins they were doing away with Sat night rule for decent pricing on many flights it still seems to count.

    • Alex M says:
      2 Feb2 February 12:52

      Kayak.com: From:Lon, To: anywhere, Filter: BA only, Sort by: price, date range: whatever you like.

  • r* says:
    2 Feb2 February 12:59

    Will this virus stuff likely have passed by sept time? Was looking at tyo with a side trip to china but not sure how insurance would stand by then. Was also looking at se asia for june time but im assuming itll still be around by then…

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