Student? Get BA Bronze equivalent status (Qatar Silver) on graduation with Qatar Student Club
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Qatar Airways has its own Student Club, aimed at people aged 18-30 who are currently in higher education.
We looked at this briefly when it launched but November 2020 wasn’t the best time to highlight it properly. From what I am told, however, it is proving very successful with its target market which is primarily international students.
That said, you can join yourself if you are under 30 and in higher education. There is no need to be studying outside your home country.
Membership of Qatar Student Club is free so there is no downside in joining.
The benefits are surprisingly good and well chosen given the target market:
- Special fares on flights
- Excess baggage allowance
- Date change flexibility
- Companion Pass to allow a non-member friend to save alongside you
- Privilege Club tier upgrade as a graduation gift
- Complimentary Super Wi-Fi (a decent deal given the cost of inflight wi-fi)
The ‘tier upgrade’ is an interesting one. If you take one return cash flight on Qatar Airways in EACH year of your membership of Qatar Student Club, you will receive a one level tier upgrade when you graduate.
Assuming that you have no Qatar Airways status at that point, you would be upgraded to Silver. This is equivalent to British Airways Executive Club Bronze status and gets you the same benefits, including free selection on British Airways within seven days of departure. There are no lounge access benefits.
There is, of course, a reverse incentive at play here. Since you need to manage one flight per membership year to get the status upgrade, you may want to NOT join Qatar Student Club until your final year of study, at which point you join and take one cash flight. This would meet the requirement to be upgraded to Silver status (BA Bronze equivalent) a year later when you graduate.
You can find out more, and register for Student Club, on this page of the Qatar Airways website.
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (March 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 Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
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 £12,000 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.
Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
Get a 10,000 points bonus plus an extra 500 points for our readers Read our full review
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.
SPECIAL OFFER: You receive a huge 120,000 Membership Rewards points if you apply for American Express Business Platinum by 9th April 2024. You receive 80,000 points for spending £12,000 within 90 days and a further 40,000 points if you retain the card for 14 months. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: You receive 60,000 Membership Rewards points if you apply for American Express Business Gold by 9th April 2024. Remember that the card is FREE for the first year. You receive 40,000 points for spending £6,000 within 90 days and a further 20,000 points if you retain the card for 14 months. Click here to apply.
American Express Business Platinum
Crazy 120,000 points bonus (to 9th April) and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
Huge 60,000 points sign-up bonus (until 9th April) 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.
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