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Qatar Airways increases its shareholding in IAG, parent of British Airways

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Qatar Airways has announced that it has increased its shareholding in IAG (International Consolidated Airlines Group), the parent company of British Airways, from 21.4% to 25.1%.

This is more significant than it sounds, because it gives Qatar Airways a veto over any major decisions (‘special resolutions’ in City parlance) which would require 75% of the shares to vote in favour.

Qatar Airways increases its shareholding in IAG

Non-EU investors are limited to a 49% shareholding in total under EU aviation rules, and IAG does at times restrict purchases of shares by non-EU groups in order to remain under this limit.

As IAG is legally a Spanish company this position will not change under any UK / EU  trade deal.


How to earn Avios points from UK credit cards

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 BA Amex American Express card

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 BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

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:

Nectar American Express

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

American Express Platinum card Amex

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 card

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.)

Comments (160)

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

  • John says:

    Hi Rob.
    Many thanks for the heads up on the 1 day Qatar offer.
    Just booked to return to Cape Town later this year, via Copenhagen.
    At £3140 for two in Business, it is a bargain. Furthermore their Business class is amongst the very best. And, this will assist retaining our BA status! So “wins” all round!
    Keep up the good work, it is very much appreciated.

  • Harry T says:

    Very specific OT;
    Been looking at World of Hyatt loyalty program. I’ve noticed their tie in with Small Luxury Hotels of the World, where you can earn points and elite night credits in Hyatt for staying at SLH. If I booked a SLH through American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts and put my Hyatt number in, would I still get the points and night credit, or would I have to book directly with Hyatt?

    • Rob says:

      Needs to be direct I think. Note that rates booked via the Hyatt site tend to be higher than booking direct, although adjust for free breakfast etc. FHR is likely to be the best route overall although Hyatt has 3000 bonus points on SLH bookings until March IIRC.

  • Jon Arnold says:

    Has anyone received the special offer email from Qatar today; £1600 return to Seychelles in BUSINESS…..but do a search and see what you get…..it’s very sneaky….pretty much ‘click bait’ – this offer involves mixed cabin; Business LHR-DOH and then economy (overnight!) DOH-SEZ. So beware. It’s not only this route, see : https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/qatar-airways-privilege-club/2010038-qr-what-dirty-trick.html

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.