British Airways removes Qatar ‘R’ business class from tier point and Avios earning

This week saw the launch of the British Airways / Qatar Airways revenue sharing deal on routes from the UK to Doha which I discussed here.

This means that BA and Qatar are effectively operating as one airline on these routes with the revenue being shared out between them, irrespective of carrier used.

Regular Head for Points readers will know that Qatar Airways regularly has incredibly cheap business class sales from Europe which credit to British Airways Executive Club and make requalification for Executive Club status very easy.

One £900 return ticket to Bangkok would get you over 90% of the way to a BA Silver card.

No longer.

It seems that, as part of the revenue sharing deal, British Airways will now refuse to credit heavily discounted Qatar Airways business class tickets to Executive Club.  You will not receive ANY Avios or tier points at all.

They do NOT appear to be giving any leeway for tickets booked before this week.

This is not a mistake, based on various Twitter and call centre conversations reported on Flyertalk.  That said, ‘R’ class flights do still show up in the Avios miles calculator tool.

Oddly, Qatar Airways ‘R’ class DOES still appear as an earning miles and status points in Iberia Plus as at 5am today and, of course, all other oneworld frequent flyer programmes continue to offer credit for ‘R’ class Qatar Airways tickets.

If you have an ‘R’ class Qatar Airways ticket booked, do not panic immediately.  Some clarity on what is happening should emerge over the next couple of days.

If the worst comes to the worst you can credit the flight to a different frequent flyer scheme – possible even Iberia Plus to earn Avios – although that won’t help you earn BA status of course.

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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.