Student? Get BA Bronze equivalent status (Qatar Silver) on graduation with Qatar Student Club

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, 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 even some lounge access benefits as a Qatar Silver member. In Doha, you can access the Qatar Airways Silver Lounge and in London you can access the Qatar Frequent Flyer Lounge.

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.

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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.