Today Qatar formerly launched its Avios program with QMiles being converted 1:1 into Avios. In this article, I will have a look at a few of the price points for redeeming Avios and how to get started.
In this post:
Getting started
Firstly, you can go to this Qatar page and log into your Qatar Privilege Club account and link the account to your British Airways account. You will then see all your Avios in one place which is great! I find the Qatar interface very easy to use.
From this page, you can find all the links for managing your account.
If you want to move Avios from one account to another you can do this instantly.
You can also link your British Airways and Qatar Airways accounts on the “Combine my Avios” tab on the British Airways website as well.
If you want to know how many Avios you will earn or need to redeem, there is a handy calculator for Qatar Privilege Club here.
Redeeming Avios on Qatar flights through the BA Executive Club
Traditionally, Qatar flights were an expensive option on BA Avios as they were priced per leg. This meant since every route except Doha involves a change of flight in Doha, that prices were expensive in terms of Avios. However, it appears that British Airways have now changed the pricing making Qatar flights a great deal.
You can’t see Qatar flight availability on Expert Flyer or SeatSpy, so ba.com is generally the best way to find availability but it’s still a bit tedious as you can only see a week at a time.
To book Qatar flights on BA Avios, just search like you would normally but make sure you don’t have any BA vouchers selected. Qatar flights should show automatically as an option if they are available. They now also have the opportunity to pay more cash and less Avios. This is generally poorer value than the standard option.
If you were to fly BA you would be charged 150,000 off-peak and 180,000 peak as well as £759 in taxes and charges.
For London to Doha, flying with Qatar is cheaper than BA via Gatwick now.
This is for Gatwick to Doha with BA:
Here is the price for Qatar from Heathrow:
Let’s have a look at a few other examples (one way unless stated):
- Seychelles – London 65000 Avios + £ 171.90
- New York – Doha 70,000 Avios + $97.35
- Heathrow to Perth (or any other Australian airport) return 180,000 + £591.26 (BA 250,000-300,000). This is a fantastic deal.
There are two other points to note. If you are flying on Qatar, it could make more sense to book through Qatar as the taxes and charges can be lower for redemptions. So I would definitely compare both options. You can also buy a cash ticket and reduce the price with Avios, the same as you can on BA flights.
As with cash flights, it is also worth looking at starting your trip outside the UK as this can reduce the taxes and charges dramatically. You can see that from the above examples. Good places to consider are all the usual ex-EU suspects such as Dublin, Paris, Amsterdam and Stockholm.
There also seems to be more reward flights available for Qatar flights than BA on most routes.
Redeeming Avios on British Airways flights through Qatar Privilege Club
Generally, I would recommend using Qatar flights unless it’s a route that they don’t fly such as the UK to the US. Redeeming BA flights on Qatar are likely to be cheaper in terms of taxes and charges. However, it’s a gigantic pain in the backside. There is no way to automatically redeem online. You have to fill in a form where it does not tell you how much you will have to pay in cash, only the Avios. It also takes them up to 48 hours to process. So I would definitely not risk this is if it is a route where seats are in short supply. Or if you wanted something last minute.
Let’s hope that with the adoption of Avios and links with BA, they may allow you to do this online eventually.
I have tried to request a flight, so let’s see what happens….
Upgrading your Qatar Flights
This now means you can upgrade flights on Qatar using Avios through the Privilege Club. You can upgrade from Economy to Business Class and Business to First Class. In cases where Business Class does not operate on the flight, you can upgrade from Economy to First Class. Unlike BA, you can’t book and upgrade at the same time online. You need to book and then go to the upgrade page.
However, it does have more flexibility to upgrade as you can upgrade into lots of different fare buckets. The higher the fare class, the higher the Avios charge. I really like this system as it offers the chance to upgrade more easily, even if it may cost a bit more on busy flights.
Here is an example of the cost from London to Doha return:
If you were to upgrade your BA flight on ba.com with Avios, you would have to buy a premium economy ticket to upgrade to business class. This would cost substantially more than an economy ticket usually. So it will be worth comparing the cash cost and the Avios cost rather than just the Avios costs since there is no direct comparison with Qatar not having Premium Economy.
You can now also redeem your Qmiles or Qcredits at the airport for an upgrade to Business or First Class on Qatar Airways, when you fly out of Doha, or selected airports which includes London Heathrow. You will also be able to claim an upgrade for a guest.
You can find more information on upgrading your Qatar flights on this page.
Earning Avios on Qatar’s partner airlines
The adoption of Avios also means you will be able to earn and redeem Avios on some new airlines. Obviously this means you would need to add your Privilege Club number to the booking, not BA Executive Club.
Here are Qatar’s partner airlines:
- Bangkok Airways
- JetBlue
- Latam Airlines
- MEA
- Oman Air
- RwandAir
Have you found some good deals or sweet spots in the Qatar Avios scheme to share with TLFL readers? Let us know in the comments below.
