Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Qatar Airways raises Avios surcharges substantially

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

Qatar Airways Privilege Club has raised taxes and charges on Avios redemptions sharply last night in a ‘no notice’ move.

In general, around £125 per sector has been added to Business Class tickets.

This means a return flight with an aircraft change in Doha has risen by around £500 per person on longer routes.

Qatar Airways raises Avios surcharges substantially

I haven’t had time to do a deep dive yet but here is one example.

This is Heathrow to Brisbane, priced a few months ago for an earlier HfP article:

Qatar Airways Avios surcharges

As you can see, you were paying £613 plus 180,000 Avios for a return flight in Business Class.

Here is the same route priced last night:

Qatar Airways Avios surcharges

Taxes and charges are now £563 per person, return, higher at £1,176.

If you nominally value an Avios at 1p, the overall implied cost has jumped from (£613 + £1,800) £2,413 to (£1,176 + £1,800) £2,976 which is an increase of 23%.

Suddenly those £1,900 return China Eastern cash tickets in Business Class between Amsterdam and Sydney look more appealing ….

Here is more pricing. Bangkok is now £899 return in Business Class (not sure what it used to be):

Qatar Airways Avios surcharges

Return flights to Doha, because they are only one segment each way, remain cheaper at £499 return in Business Class:

Qatar Airways Avios surcharges

If you’ve recently booked a Qatar Airways redemption and can compare old and new, please post in the comments.

ba.com is showing identical taxes and charges figures if you book through BA.


How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (May 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 Card

30,000 Avios and the famous annual Companion Voucher voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express Credit Card

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 Credit Card

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 Card

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.

The American Express Business Platinum Card

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

The American Express Business Gold Card

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.

Comments (218)

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

  • David Smith says:

    Confirmed it’s back to yesterday. Just booked BHX DOH BKK in Business and First for 75000 avios and £380. Didn’t really want to book it for a while yet but if we are in a temporary refilling window had to bite the bullet! Thank you Helen and Rob!

    • Nathan says:

      Hi,that is a great price for the Avios but would this £380 be the usual taxes for this redemption or would that be the new increased price?

      Many thanks.

      • BJ says:

        That is the price outboubd from UK before today. Inbound price before today was around £150 depending on arrival airport.

        • Nathan says:

          Ok thank you very much.

          • David Smith says:

            Yes BJ is correct I paid the same for an identical fare a couple of months back. First thing this morning it was showing at £520. After checking from Helen’s post it was back to the original 380 so I booked fairly quickly.

  • BBbetter says:

    When is AY putting up their fees?

  • Richard M says:

    I paid 75K Avios plus 8185 Thai Baht (approx £164) for an inbound Business class ticket on QR FROM BKK to LHR in Feb 2025. Booked on 20 Feb 2024

  • Mark says:

    Flying these days is become nothing short of a chore

  • bobthebuilder says:

    Booked SIN-DOH-LHR last week for two in J. 150k Avios + ~600 SGD (GBP 350).
    Now 150k Avios + ~1200 SGD (GBP 700).

  • Phil Farrelly says:

    I priced Dublin to Sydney return. Economy last week. 90k + cash just under€300. Searching today it’s about €400 cash.

  • Arthur keefe says:

    Qatar has always been my favourite airline and as a regular flyer I benefited from limited upgrades. No longer. For some time the fare differential has just been too large for the non rich! It’s now even less competitive. If money is no object, they are the best. If you are financially normal, go elsewhere.

  • Lumma says:

    2017 when I flew Amsterdam-Doha-Tokyo return for €580 on a cash ticket seems a million years ago…

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

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.