Abstract: Rare-earth magnetism in the intermetallic materials YbCu4.2Ni0.8 and Yb0.8Lu0.2Cu4Ni was studied by XRD, magnetization, electrical resistivity and heat capacity measurements. The results from the sample YbCu4.2Ni0.8 include a small amount of the monoclinic superstructure of the cubic AuBe5. Therefore, the formation of a cubic AuBe5 solid solution of YbCu5-xNix is negligible, and consequently, it cannot be used to reach a quantum critical point.