Qatar Airways has announced a revamp to their luxury travel program. Members of the Privilege Club will now be able to redeem points for flights, or have them transferred into avios and redeemed with low fuel surcharges.
Qatar Airways will use Avios as their reward currency, as I predicted a month ago. British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus all have those miles. Qatar owns a quarter of IAG, the airline’s parent business.
This change has now occurred. Qatar’s QMiles have been replaced with Avios (everyone keeps their same mileage balances). So far, this has been a clear win for consumers.
For example, you may transfer Avios between Qatar Airways and British Airways (or Iberia). This allows you to earn British Airways Executive Club points and transfer them to a Qatar Airways account, or vice versa. It also allows you to choose which program to redeem your points with depending on who has the best seats at the greatest price.
When it was originally revealed that this would happen, I advised you to join up your whole family for Qatar Airways frequent flyer accounts, which come with a signup bonus, since in the worst-case scenario, those points transfer to British Airways, which also offers family accounts, and those registration bonuses may be used to book an award flight. That turned out to be really sound advise!
Qatar Airways Becomes More Relevant – And Flexible – For Members in the United States and Europe
Now that Qatar Airways has adopted Avios as its official currency,
- Qatar Airways has maintained its own award price structure. As a result, you can obtain amazing business class fares from the United States to Doha and beyond; for example, New York to Doha is 70,000 miles, while Doha to the Maldives is 85,000 miles.
- Avios may be transferred from one program to another at a 1:1 ratio. So, if one program’s reward rates are greater than the other, transfer your miles. Transfer to Iberia for Iberia flights if you wish to redeem transatlantic tickets with cheap mileage costs and fees. Transfer to British Airways if you want a cheap coach short-distance one-way trip.
- This significantly increases the ease with which Qatari points may be earned. The majority of American consumers had only received them as a result of Qatar flights or as a transfer from Citibank ThankYou Rewards. Avios may now be earned via Avios partners (such as British Airways, shopping portals, and so forth) and transferred to Qatar. As a result, earning Qatari points has become simpler.
Credit: Qatar Airways, QSuites Business Class
Qatar Airways Award Availability Has Improved
This isn’t just Qatar Airways adopting the currency of the airline group in which it owns the majority stake. It’s part of a larger effort to boost the value and use of its frequent flyer program.
At this point, the most noticeable enhancement is a new “Minimum Commitment” for award availability, comparable to British Airways. The program currently guarantees that each flight will provide at least 2 premium award tickets and at least 5 coach award seats — the precise number may vary depending on the aircraft type. Of course, for flights that aren’t projected to sell out, more award inventory will be offered.
This is big for Qatar, which has a reputation for releasing award tickets in waves, generally far in the future, but with little consistency in when they do so.
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Using Avios Doesn’t Mean You Have To Use BA Pricing
With extraordinarily pricey long-haul premium cabin rewards, Qatar Airways is not following BA-style award pricing. It will also maintain control over its income and expenses (the ‘bank’) under the program.
The Qatar bank, not Avios, is responsible for issuing currency inside Privilege Club. It’s not an Avios or IAG issue; it’s a Qatar liability. As a consequence, it continues to pay for redemptions and is compensated when program members convert their points to Privilege Club Avios. They choose their own accrual and redemption rates, as well as their own tax and fee regulations.
Fuel Surcharges That Aren’t Too Expensive
If there is a drawback, it is that Qatar will levy a carrier-imposed premium on redemptions on its own flights. This helps to fund the program’s enhanced generosity and earning possibilities. Thankfully, the costs aren’t as high as you would think from British Airways. There is a fee for each flight segment as follows:
- Long-distance economy: $70
- US$140 for long-haul business
- US$35 for short-haul economy
- US$70 for a short haul company.
In business class, a trip from Los Angeles to Doha to Dubai would cost $210 more each way.
The goal is to make Qatar Airways’ loyalty program as good as the airline itself.
Qatar Airways is a high-quality airline to travel, having one of the top business class offerings in the world (alongside, for example, ANA’s new business class). It has a terrific ground experience in Doha, where it is based. (Their first-class lounge is architecturally my favorite in the world, despite some strange restrictions.)
In the past, their loyalty program didn’t match the airline’s. They want to alter this, and with this change and the ability for members to arbitrage substantially more value, they will acquire increased prominence outside of their home market.
Members of the United States may now transfer points to Qatar more simply. Points from Chase, American Express, and Capital One are all transferred to British Airways, which is now based in Qatar. Similarly, Citi points transfer to Qatar, implying that British Airways (and, by extension, Iberia) are transfer partners.
According to a spokeswoman, the company is not depreciating its mileage redemption cost while giving “minimal obligations and greater redemption access.” I was expecting the other shoe to drop, since this will be a more costly program for Qatar to give, but they feel the modifications would “expand both [Qatar and BA] programs in a symbiotic manner – BA will be more present in the East, and Qatar will be more present in Europe and North America.” They’ll be able to “grab a substantially greater slice of the pie for both firms” as a consequence.
Akbar Al Baker, the CEO of Qatar Airways, says,
We want to thank our passengers who have supported us and kept us flying as we emerge out of the most challenging two years in the business by using this opportunity to reward them in a meaningful manner. By adopting Avios, we are maximizing our members’ options to earn and spend rewards all around the world, anticipating their needs following this trying time. This is a reflection of our commitment to provide the finest experiences for our members, as well as our quest to improve our loyalty program. We’re excited to keep expanding our customer perks and finding new methods to provide our members the opportunity to earn Avios.
This also improves the British Airways Executive Club.
Members of British Airways will benefit from this adjustment in two ways.
- You may transfer your BA Avios to Qatar to take advantage of their redemption rates, or you can merge any’stray’ Avios from the Privilege Club program into your Executive Club account. There will be more points, greater flexibility, and less breakage as a result of this.
- Because BA is aware that Qatar provides cheaper redemption costs on their own flights via their program, they are not forcing members to go through the hoops of transferring points to Qatar (which they would have to pay Qatar for) and are instead giving lower redemption prices on Qatar awards.
Last week, a one-way Los Angeles – Doha award in business class on Qatar would have cost 127,500 Avios and $497.85. They now charge 70,000 Avios and $101 in the same way as Qatar’s Privilege Club does.
Qatar Airways has launched a new booking promotion.
Booking a cash and Avios award before March 31, 2022 for travel through October 31, 2022 with promo code QRAVIOS on Qatar Airways’ website or mobile app will earn you 10,000 bonus Avios in premium cabins and 5000 bonus Avios in economy.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a fee for Qatar Privilege Club?
A: You will be charged a membership fee for the first year. After that, it is then free to continue to use.
What are the benefits of Privilege Club in Qatar Airways?
A: The Privilege Club in Qatar Airways is a service that gives passengers access to special perks such as priority boarding, extra baggage allowance and complimentary food.
Can I transfer Avios to Qatar?
A: Your Avios can be redeemed for flights on Qantas and British Airways, but you cannot transfer them to Qatar.
