Will Avios redemptions to Dubai on Qatar Airways restart?

You will probably have seen in the national media that Qatar has reached an agreement with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates to end the three year blockade of Doha.

I will focus on the aviation benefits of the detente rather than the political elements.

Qatar Airways will now be allowed to fly over Saudi Arabia again. As the only country sharing a land border with Qatar, the removal of flying rights meant that many Qatar Airways routes involved a lenghty detour. The detour involved flying over Iran – for a substantial fee – which ironically strengthened the regime that Saudi Arabia and the UAE wanted to weaken.

More practically, we should soon see Qatar Airways resuming flights to the UAE and the other countries involved.

It will reopen a route to Abu Dhabi on Avios, as British Airways has now dropped the route, as well as increasing Avios options to Dubai. We may even see the Doha to Ras Al Khaimah route coming back, which I reviewed a few years ago.

It will be especially useful to readers outside London who may find a Qatar Airways redemption to the UAE more convenient than flying British Airways with a connection in Heathrow.

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.)