Introducing Qatar

This Middle Eastern carrier is among the world’s most respected airlines for the quality of its product. Its business class is highly-prized, particularly the new Qsuite, on selected flights, which enables four enclosed seats to open into a group facing each other. 

In the UK, Qatar uses Heathrow, Manchester, Edinburgh, and Gatwick. Via its hub in Doha, it has useful connections to Africa, the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific, besides the Middle East. 

Qpoints and Avios

Qatar Airways Privilege Club is the equivalent of The BA Club, it’s where you earn and redeem  Qatar Airways rewards.

Frequent flyers can progress through the tiers of Qatar’s club, gaining perks like lounge access. The tier points that enable you to do this are called Qpoints.

You can also earn loyalty points through the Club to spend on reward flights. Previously, Qatar Airways air miles were known as Qmiles but this year it has swapped the currency to Avios.

How the tiers work

The Privilege Club has four tiers: Burgundy, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. You start automatically in Burgundy.

You receive the Qpoints that enable you to climb the tiers by flying with Qatar Airways or another Oneworld member. The amount you earn will be based on the distance you fly and your class of travel. 

Tier perks

Burgundy benefits include:

• 100% Avios collecting rights on eligible flights per family member and 100% Avios collecting rights per family member with Qatar’s non-air partners.
• 10% off the cost of seat selection. 
• Priority standby for your first choice of seat, so you’re notified if it becomes available. 
• Flexi awards, which let you bag an award seat at peak times by cashing in double the cost in Avios.  
• The option to pay with Avios at Qatar Duty-Free and Oryx Galleria.

In addition to the Burgundy perks, Silver members receive 

• 25% bonus Avios on eligible flights with Qatar Airways.
• Priority check-in
• Priority boarding
• Preferred seats
• Excess baggage allowance
• Lounge access

Silver is the equivalent of Ruby in Oneworld tiers so reciprocal perks such as access to Ruby-level lounges apply. 

In addition to the silver benefits, Gold members receive: 

• 75% bonus Avios on eligible flights taken on Qatar Airways. 
• 40 Qcredits to redeem for upgrades, excess baggage, and other perks.
• Al-Maha 'meet and assist' gold service.

Gold is the equivalent of Sapphire in Oneworld tiers so reciprocal perks including access to Sapphire-level lounges apply. 

In addition to the Gold level perks Platinum members receive:

• 100% bonus Avios on eligible flights by Qatar Airways 
• 60 Qcredits to redeem for upgrades, excess baggage, and more
• No Avios expiry

Platinum is the equivalent of Emerald in Oneworld tiers so reciprocal perks include Emerald-level lounge access. 

See full details here.

How to use Qpoints to climb the tiers

You’ll need 150 Qpoints to reach the Privilege Club’s Silver tier, 300 for Gold, and 600 for Platinum, and will be automatically upgraded as soon as you reach each threshold. 

Your Qpoints reset each year but the number of Qpoints needed to retain your place at each level is a bit lower, for instance, 135 points in a year to retain Silver. 

You can earn Qpoints by flying with both Qatar and other Oneworld members. However, to hit each tier target, you’ll need to have earned at least 20% of your Qpoints as Qatar Airways air miles or to have flown four sectors with the airline within 12 months or eight sectors within 24 months. See the full rules here. 

How to earn Avios in the Privilege Club

Avios from flights and partners companies:

As with British Airways, Qatar Airways Avios can be earned through flying with the airline and its partners (in addition to the Qpoints you earn towards your tier status) and also through Qatar’s hotel, car rental, banking, and retail partners. 

Some of these partners are the same as BA’s but if you’re in both clubs it’s worth checking out the British Airways Avios that are exclusive to the airline so you can make sure you’re earning the most Avios across both loyalty schemes. 

Among airlines outside the Oneworld alliance, Qatar has a separate partnership with Bangkok Airways, JetBlue, MEA, Oman Air, RwandAir, and Virgin Australia. 

Accommodation partners that will give you Avios through Qatar’s Club but not BA’s include Booking.com, trip.com, Centara and Millennium hotels and resorts, Rotana, and various Hilton brands.

You can also earn Avios through Qatar’s tie-ups with Europcar, Hertz, Rentalcars.com, and Sixt as well as some car rental companies that also partner with BA. 

Qatar’s banking and retail partners are less familiar to UK-based Avios collectors or are region-specific but you can check out the full list of partners here.

Pooling Avios with family members:

In a similar way to British Airways Avios, you can pool Qatar Airways Avios through the airline’s Family Programme. This lets you add up to nine close relatives and is particularly handy if you have children who can’t spend Avios but can accrue them through flights. 

Welcome Avios:

If you’re new to the Privilege Club, you could also bag 5,000 bonus Avios thanks to a FIFA World Cup promotion. You’ll need to join by 20 December 2022 using the promotional code on the website and fly with Qatar by 31 March 2023.

How to link your BA and Qatar clubs to combine Avios

To bag the best BA or Qatar reward flights, it pays to link your British Airways Club and Qatar Airways Privilege Club accounts so you can move your Avios between the two. 

Look for the ‘link my accounts’ option where you check your balance on qatarairways.com or find the equivalent page on BA.com. 

Once your club accounts are linked, you’ll be able to select ‘combine Avios’ to put them into one pool.

Pooled Avios can be switched instantly between the clubs to part-pay with Avios for your travel or to bag a reward flight. Just type in the amount you want to transfer. This means you can move fast if one airline offers a better deal or availability than the other on a particular route.

Introducing Qatar

This Middle Eastern carrier is among the world’s most respected airlines for the quality of its product. Its business class is highly-prized, particularly the new Qsuite, on selected flights, which enables four enclosed seats to open into a group facing each other. 

In the UK, Qatar uses Heathrow, Manchester, Edinburgh, and Gatwick. Via its hub in Doha, it has useful connections to Africa, the Indian Ocean, and the Pacific, besides the Middle East. 

Qpoints and Avios

Qatar Airways Privilege Club is the equivalent of The BA Club, it’s where you earn and redeem  Qatar Airways rewards.

Frequent flyers can progress through the tiers of Qatar’s club, gaining perks like lounge access. The tier points that enable you to do this are called Qpoints.

You can also earn loyalty points through the Club to spend on reward flights. Previously, Qatar Airways air miles were known as Qmiles but this year it has swapped the currency to Avios.

How the tiers work

The Privilege Club has four tiers: Burgundy, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. You start automatically in Burgundy.

You receive the Qpoints that enable you to climb the tiers by flying with Qatar Airways or another Oneworld member. The amount you earn will be based on the distance you fly and your class of travel. 

Tier perks

Burgundy benefits include:

• 100% Avios collecting rights on eligible flights per family member and 100% Avios collecting rights per family member with Qatar’s non-air partners.
• 10% off the cost of seat selection. 
• Priority standby for your first choice of seat, so you’re notified if it becomes available. 
• Flexi awards, which let you bag an award seat at peak times by cashing in double the cost in Avios.  
• The option to pay with Avios at Qatar Duty-Free and Oryx Galleria.

In addition to the Burgundy perks, Silver members receive 

• 25% bonus Avios on eligible flights with Qatar Airways.
• Priority check-in
• Priority boarding
• Preferred seats
• Excess baggage allowance
• Lounge access

Silver is the equivalent of Ruby in Oneworld tiers so reciprocal perks such as access to Ruby-level lounges apply. 

In addition to the silver benefits, Gold members receive: 

• 75% bonus Avios on eligible flights taken on Qatar Airways. 
• 40 Qcredits to redeem for upgrades, excess baggage, and other perks.
• Al-Maha 'meet and assist' gold service.

Gold is the equivalent of Sapphire in Oneworld tiers so reciprocal perks including access to Sapphire-level lounges apply. 

In addition to the Gold level perks Platinum members receive:

• 100% bonus Avios on eligible flights by Qatar Airways 
• 60 Qcredits to redeem for upgrades, excess baggage, and more
• No Avios expiry

Platinum is the equivalent of Emerald in Oneworld tiers so reciprocal perks include Emerald-level lounge access. 

See full details here.

How to use Qpoints to climb the tiers

You’ll need 150 Qpoints to reach the Privilege Club’s Silver tier, 300 for Gold, and 600 for Platinum, and will be automatically upgraded as soon as you reach each threshold. 

Your Qpoints reset each year but the number of Qpoints needed to retain your place at each level is a bit lower, for instance, 135 points in a year to retain Silver. 

You can earn Qpoints by flying with both Qatar and other Oneworld members. However, to hit each tier target, you’ll need to have earned at least 20% of your Qpoints as Qatar Airways air miles or to have flown four sectors with the airline within 12 months or eight sectors within 24 months. See the full rules here. 

How to earn Avios in the Privilege Club

Avios from flights and partners companies:

As with British Airways, Qatar Airways Avios can be earned through flying with the airline and its partners (in addition to the Qpoints you earn towards your tier status) and also through Qatar’s hotel, car rental, banking, and retail partners. 

Some of these partners are the same as BA’s but if you’re in both clubs it’s worth checking out the British Airways Avios that are exclusive to the airline so you can make sure you’re earning the most Avios across both loyalty schemes. 

Among airlines outside the Oneworld alliance, Qatar has a separate partnership with Bangkok Airways, JetBlue, MEA, Oman Air, RwandAir, and Virgin Australia. 

Accommodation partners that will give you Avios through Qatar’s Club but not BA’s include Booking.com, trip.com, Centara and Millennium hotels and resorts, Rotana, and various Hilton brands.

You can also earn Avios through Qatar’s tie-ups with Europcar, Hertz, Rentalcars.com, and Sixt as well as some car rental companies that also partner with BA. 

Qatar’s banking and retail partners are less familiar to UK-based Avios collectors or are region-specific but you can check out the full list of partners here.

Pooling Avios with family members:

In a similar way to British Airways Avios, you can pool Qatar Airways Avios through the airline’s Family Programme. This lets you add up to nine close relatives and is particularly handy if you have children who can’t spend Avios but can accrue them through flights. 

Welcome Avios:

If you’re new to the Privilege Club, you could also bag 5,000 bonus Avios thanks to a FIFA World Cup promotion. You’ll need to join by 20 December 2022 using the promotional code on the website and fly with Qatar by 31 March 2023.

How to link your BA and Qatar clubs to combine Avios

To bag the best BA or Qatar reward flights, it pays to link your British Airways Club and Qatar Airways Privilege Club accounts so you can move your Avios between the two. 

Look for the ‘link my accounts’ option where you check your balance on qatarairways.com or find the equivalent page on BA.com. 

Once your club accounts are linked, you’ll be able to select ‘combine Avios’ to put them into one pool.

Pooled Avios can be switched instantly between the clubs to part-pay with Avios for your travel or to bag a reward flight. Just type in the amount you want to transfer. This means you can move fast if one airline offers a better deal or availability than the other on a particular route.