Great deal: Qatar Business Class, Prague to Shanghai, for £885 return with 560 BA tier points

Qatar Airways has launched an excellent sale fare between Prague and Shanghai.

(Qatar Airways has a history of launching random sale fares.  My guess is that they find two routes which are under performing, put in a cheap fare between the two via Doha and then let people like Head for Points readers snap them up.)

You need to book this via the Qatar Airways website here.

The fare will come out at 26,040 CZK which is £885.

The easiest way to find dates is to select ‘Premium Only’ on the initial booking page, which drops all the economy results.  You are looking for dates with an outbound fare of 14,000-ish CZK and an inbound fare of 12,000-ish CZK.

The fare is valid for outbound travel until 31st March 2018.

A minimum 7 night stay is required.

You can only fly out Tuesday to Friday and you won’t find the fare available on every day.  I had no problem finding suitable dates though.

What aircraft do I fly?

OK, it isn’t the best Qatar Airways has.

The outbound is a short-haul A320.  You should get this premium seat, which is fine for a six hour flight:

From Doha to Shanghai it is a Boeing 777.   You might get the new Qsuite but the odds are that you will get the old-style seat, which is still fully flat.  It is a good seat for a couple as you can sit side by side.

I reviewed the old Qatar Airways Boeing 777 business class product here.

How many British Airways tier points do I earn?

560 tier points.   Each flight (Prague-Doha, Doha-Shanghai) is 140 tier points.

That is almost enough (600) for a British Airways Executive Club Silver card, although remember that you also need to have flown 4 BA cash one-way flights in your membership year before you are promoted.

You will also earn a huge chunk of Avios back too!

Do I need a visa for Shanghai?

Yes, if you only intend to stay in Shanghai.

No, I think, if you intend to spend less than 144 hours in Shanghai before travelling somewhere else (not in China, not back home).  You can get a transit visa on arrival as long as you can prove you have an onward flight.  We got one of these in Beijing this summer.

Do get separate advice on this.  I am not sure if holding a return ticket back to Doha – which would NOT be eligible for a transit visa – invalidates you from a transit visa even if you have a nested ticket for, say, Shanghai to Tokyo booked.

Conclusion

If you are looking for an interesting spot for a winter holiday – and possibly a short break in Prague on the way – then this is an excellent fare.  The fact that you will effectively get a British Airways Silver card as well (just about) is the icing on the cake.

The Qatar Airways website is here if you want to have a look around.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel 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

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company 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

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)