GUIDE: In Depth Look at the Qatar Privilege Club Loyalty Programme

Qatar Airways is widely regarded as one of the best airlines in the world. It has a fantastic track record, exceptional service and luxurious cabins. The Qatar Privilege Club is one of the top loyalty programmes in the Oneworld alliance. Not only does it have excellent perks and redemption options, but it also uses Avios.

With the news of British Airways moving to a spend-based tier point system, there’s been considerable debate about switching to Star Alliance or SkyTeam or remaining loyal to Oneworld.

You can read our comparison of the three airline alliances here

This article details the essential things you need to know about the Qatar Privilege loyalty programme. This is part of our series covering the most popular airline loyalty programmes and alliances.

Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways is the national carrier of the state of Qatar. It is based at Hamad International Airport in Doha and operates flights to more than 169 destinations. From the UK, you can fly from London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh.

Qatar Airways offers a fantastic Business Class product. Our airline reviews page has plenty of Qatar Airways flight reviews.

The airline also operates a modern fleet:

Qatar Privilege Club: The Qatar Airways Frequent Flyer Programme

Qatar Privilege Club Loyalty Programme members can earn points (Qpoints) by flying with Qatar Airways or partner airlines. Points can be redeemed for award flights with Qatar Airways or partners, cabin upgrades, car rentals, hotel rooms and more.

Unlike the new ‘British Airways Club’, Qatar Airways Privilege Club has a distance-based earning system. The scheme is one of the best to choose if you fly East, especially if you want to switch to a programme that uses Avios.

How to Join 

The Qatar Airways Privilege Club is free to join. Just head to the website and sign up. You will then get a frequent flyer number. Add this to your booking next time you fly with Qatar or partner airlines to earn miles and loyalty programme status.

There are often sign-up offers available.

Join the Qatar Privilege Club here

Earning Status with the Qatar Airways Privilege Club: Qpoints

It’s important that you know the difference between Qpoints and Qatar Airways Avios.

Qpoints are used to earn loyalty programme status. The more Qpoints you earn, the higher your membership level.

Qatar Airways Avios are the Qatar air miles and can be used for redemptions. Avios is also the currency used by BA, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and Finnair.

The number of Qpoints you earn will depend on your ticket class, membership tier and flight distance. You will earn  Qpoints and Qatar Airways Avios for your flight.

Here are the four tiers of the Qatar Privilege Club and the number of Qpoints you need to earn and maintain your status:

You can check how many Qpoints and Avios you will earn for your next flight using the “My Calculator” feature on the Qatar Airways website. 

Here’s how many Qpoints you would earn for a  single trip from London Heathrow to Doha:

Qatar has so many fare types that things can get complicated! The calculator is an easy tool to determine how many flights you’ll need based on your usual fare type to move up to the next tier of the Qatar Privilege Club.

Example

Based on several flights from LHR to DOH, you would need to take just three one-way First Elite flights to go from Burgundy to Silver. This would require 15 one-way trips on Economy Light fares.

To reach Gold, you would then need to take another 3 one-way flights in First or 15 on Economy Light (within the same 12-month rolling period).

For Platinum status, you would need to fly 60 times one way in Economy Light or 12 times in First.

Fewer flights are required the following year to maintain your status!

Qatar Privilege Club Tiers

The more Qpoints you earn, the higher your status in the loyalty programme will be. When you sign up, you’ll have Burgundy status. If you earn enough Qpoints, you’ll progress to Silver, Gold, and then Platinum status.

From the Silver tier onwards, you have Oneworld elite benefits. You must earn enough Qpoints in 12 months, not a calendar year, to move up a tier. This is considered your renewal date.

The requirement to requalify for your status is slightly lower. A good feature is that if you are short a few points, you can purchase them once every 36 months for $25 per point (approx. £20.30).

Here are the purchase details:

Another important point is that 20% of your Qpoints must be earned on Qatar Airways-operated flights, or you must travel on at least four segments with them in 12 months or eight sectors in 24 months.

Qatar Privilege Club Burgundy

The Burgundy tier is the base level of the Qatar Airways Privilege Club programme, offering several benefits.

Upon enrolment, you can earn and redeem Privilege Club Avios for rewards while earning Qpoints to work towards higher status tiers.

You will benefit from:

• 100% mileage per family member on all flights eligible for earning Avios
• 100% mileage per family member on non-air partner transactions
• Flexi awards: Get an award seat on Qatar Airways during high-demand periods in exchange for double Avios when you book online.
• 10% off seat selection
• Shop & pay with Avios at Qatar Duty-Free and Member Service Centre
• Priority on waiting lists
• Exclusive member-only offers (there are always plenty)

Qatar Privilege Club Silver 

To earn Silver status, you must earn 150 Qpoints within a rolling 12-month period. Silver status has a large range of perks.

As well as the Burgundy benefits, you will benefit from:

• 25% tier bonus on flights marketed and operated by Qatar Airways that are eligible for earning Avios.
• You can use the priority check-in counters at Doha and access Qatar Airways Business Class check-in desks elsewhere.
• Travel Coordinator: Nominatine up to two coordinators to manage your account and liaise on your behalf.
• Priority boarding
• Save 20% on seat selection
• 15kg extra baggage allowance or one piece (depending on your route).
• Enjoy lounge access at Hamad International Airport. View the Silver lounge here. 
• Two guest passes per year, allowing friends and family to join you in the lounge at Hamad International Airport.

Silver status also equates to Oneworld Ruby status, which has additional benefits when you fly with all Oneworld member airlines and input your Qatar Privilege Club membership number.

To maintain your status, you must earn 135 Qpoints within 12 months or 270 Qpoints within 24 months.

Qatar Privilege Club Gold 

To achieve Gold status, you must earn 300 Qpoints within a rolling 12-month period. Gold status comes with an impressive range of perks

In addition to the Burgundy and Silver benefits, you will also get:

• 75% tier bonus on eligible flights on Qatar Airways
• 40 Qcredits to redeem for upgrades, excess baggage and more.
• Seat selection for you + guests. 
• Access to seats located at the front section of the Economy Class cabin when booked at least 72 hours prior to departure.
• 20kg extra baggage allowance or one piece (depending on your route). 
• Al Maha ‘meet and assist’ service for you and 1 guest. 10% off additional services
• Enjoy lounge access at select airports worldwide regardless of your class of travel. You can also bring 1 guest. Your status matches Oneworld Sapphire, so you can use Oneworld Business lounges worldwide. You can view the Gold lounges here.
• Four guest passes per year to invite additional friends to join you in the lounge at Hamad International Airport.
• 5% off every holiday package purchased through the Qatar Airways Holidays
• 5% Discount on online redemptions
• Award fee waivers
• Redeem your award ticket with better award seat availability.
• Preferential rate to Shop and Pay with Avios
• Guaranteed seat in Economy
• Priority baggage handling
• Access to priority service at contact centres

Qcredits are valid for 24 months as long as you retain your tier. 

To maintain your Gold status, you need to earn 270 Qpoints within 12 months or 540 Qpoints within 24 months.

Qatar Privilege Club Platinum 

Platinum status is the pinnacle of Qatar Airways Privilege Club, offering unmatched luxury and exclusivity.

To achieve Platinum, you must earn 600 Qpoints within a rolling 12-month period.

As well as the Burgundy, Silver and Gold benefits, you can also enjoy:

• 100% tier bonus on eligible flights by Qatar Airways
• Priority check-in. Access to Oneworld’s First Class check-in counters globally.
• 20% off duty free at Al Hamad Airport
• 25kg extra baggage allowance, or two pieces (depending on your route). 
• Access to Oneworld First lounges across the world. View the lounges you can access at Al Hamad airport here.
• Access to the Al Safwa First Class lounge with up to two guests when travelling in Business or First.
• 5 single-use guest passes for eligible Al Hamad lounges.
• 60 Qcredits to redeem for upgrades, excess baggage and much more
• Al Maha ‘meet and assist’ service for you and two guests 
• No Avios expiry

To maintain Platinum status, you must earn 540 Qpoints within 12 months or 1,080 Qpoints within 24 months.

You can view the full range of benefits and terms here.

Earning Miles with the Qatar Privilege Club

The main way to earn miles with Qatar Airways (Avios) is to book a cash flight with Qatar Airways. The number of miles you earn will depend on your cabin class, distance flown, and Qatar Privilege status.

You can also book a cash flight with Qatar Airways partners. The mileage rate for each partner varies.

Miles Expiry

Qatar Avios are valid for three years. Your Avios will never expire if you collect, spend, buy or gift at least one Avios every 36 months. If there is no activity in 36 months, your Avios will expire as of the Avios expiry date.

If you’re a Platinum member, your miles will never expire as long as you maintain your status.

The Oneworld Alliance

Qatar Airways has been a Oneworld member since 2013. Each Qatar Airways Privilege Club tier equates to one of the Oneworld membership levels.

Here is how Qatar Airways matches up to Oneworld:

Here are the benefits of each Oneworld tier:

As well as your Qatar tier, you can benefit from the benefits of each Oneworld level across all Oneworld member airlines.

Here are the Oneworld member airlines and how airline status matches up with Oneworld:

Moving Avios Across Oneworld Partners

One of the main benefits of the Qatar Privilege Programme is that it uses Avios. You can transfer Avios across all airlines that use Avios, including Aer Lingus, British Airways, Finnair, and Iberia.

If you plan to move to the Qatar Privilege Programme from British Airways, you can easily transfer your Avios between accounts at a 1:1 ratio. This feature can also combine Avios earned through multiple reward programmes for redemption.

Here’s how to transfer Avios from British Airways to Qatar:

Combine your Avios here.

You can also transfer your Avios into the currency of other Oneworld reward programmes and plenty of other things such as Accor ALL points.

Qatar Airways Partners

Qatar Airways has lots of partner airlines outside of the Oneworld alliance. You can also earn Avios and spend when flying with:

• Bangkok Airways 

• JetBlue Airways 

• LATAM Airlines

• Middle East Airlines

• Oman Air

• RwandAir

• S7 Airlines

Terms and conditions vary as to which airlines you can earn and spend Avios with. This depends on things like fare type. You can read more about the Qatar Airways partners here

Cancellations and Changes

Award flights can be cancelled up to 3 hours before departure. A fee per passenger may apply depending on the time of the change or cancellation and your tier. Fees depend on how close to your flight the changes are being made. Read more about this here.

Cancellation fees for cash fares depend on your membership level and the fare booked.

Qatar Family

You can link up to 9 family members to your Qatar Airways Privilege Club account. To be a family member, the person must be a spouse, children over two or your parents.

Each family member will have their own membership card, and the miles they earn will be deposited into the same account. It’s an easy way to manage earnings, and you can also share some Elite status privileges.

It’s worth noting that only the account holder can book award tickets using points from the family account, and you can’t book an award flight for anyone under two years old in Business or First.

Stopovers

Qatar Airways has an amazing stopover programme. Whether you want to take a break between two long flights or see Doha, the stopover programme offers great value.

To be eligible for the stopover, you must have a transit time of 12-96 hours. Prices vary depending on how many nights you opt for (1-2) but range from $14 for 1 night (standard 4* package) to $348 for 4 nights (5* luxury package with breakfast).

You can read more about it here.

If you have a shorter layover, you can book transit experiences via the Qatar Airways website.

How to Spend Your Qatar Airways Avios

Redemption Flights

Miles can be used to redeem flights with Qatar Airways or Oneworld partners.

It’s worth noting that fares are often more favourable when redeeming with Qatar Airways.

Examples

• If you’re looking at off-peak times, expect to pay around 37,500 Avios in Economy and 75,000 in Business for a one-way flight to Singapore.
• If booking a flight to Sydney, expect to pay 45,000 for Economy or 90,000 for Business.
• For a direct flight to Doha, you’re looking at 21,500 for Economy and 43,000 for Business.

Prices can be 20% higher during peak times, and taxes should also be considered.

You can use My Reward Seat Finder to find redemption options for your dates.

Cabin Upgrades

Upgrades can be made online up to 2 hours before departure or at the check-in desk up to 1 hour before departure. Purchasing a cabin upgrade using Avios is usually about the same amount as a redemption flight. You’re better off booking a redemption flight than upgrading your cabin.

Here are the cabin upgrade costs:

• Award upgrades from Economy Class to First Class only apply when Business Class is unavailable.
• When a trip includes two flights, each operated between two different regions, the total will be the sum of the Avios needed for both flights.
• You can pay with Avios + cash when booking up to 14 days before travel.

Other Ways to Spend Avios

There are a range of other ways to spend Avios. One of the main non-flight redemptions is hotel stays,  but keep in mind it’s always best to use your miles for upgrades or flight redemptions. Hotels often yield less value per point.

You can also bid on various experiences, from concerts to events, or spend your Avios duty-free.

Cash Plus Avios

You can combine cash and Avios to book an award flight. This feature starts at 1,250 Avios, making it a great option if you don’t have enough Avios to pay for the flight cost.

There’s also a good book now pay later feature. You can book your flight and return within a set time to pay and confirm your booking.

You can read more about combining Avios and cash here

Other Ways to Earn Qatar Airways Avios

Shopping

You can link your card and earn Avios from a wide range of purchases. However, most of the shops are based in Qatar.

You can also use the Lifestyle Rewards portal to earn Avios for online shopping, which is similar to the BA shopping portal. There are plenty of international brands.

Partner Hotel Stays

You can also earn Avios booking hotels via the Lifestyle Portal.

If you’re eligible, you can match your Accor/Qatar status via the Qatar Airways site:

Car Hire

Qatar Airways also has a range of car hire partners:

• Avis
• Budget
• Europcar
• Hertz
• Rentalscars.com
• Salik Rent a Car Company
• Sixt

You can read more about Qatar Airways car hire partners here

Qatar Airways Holidays

Qatar Airways Holidays has expanded its operations globally, covering over 200,000 hotels and 10,000 tours and activities across the GCC, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas.

If you’re travelling from the UK, only Asia Pacific and GCC holidays make sense, as you will need a layover in Qatar. Destinations include Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, UAE, Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Credit Cards and Bank Accounts

Like many other airline loyalty programmes, you can transfer points from a range of UK credit cards and bank accounts to Qatar Airways Avios:

Some of them include:

• Revolut – 1 Qatar Avios = 1 RevPoint
• American Express  – 1 point = 1 Qatar Avios

Remember, you can also opt for an Avios earning credit card like the Barclays Avios Rewards card and then transfer your Avios from British Airways to Qatar.

Miles Purchases

It’s only worth purchasing Avios if it can save you money on the cash fare. Qatar often has some good points purchase sales. We’ve seen sales giving a 60% bonus. The maximum number of Avios you can purchase in a year is 250,000 (not including bonuses).

Student Club

If you’re eligible or know someone who is, the Qatar Student Club is a great option. You must be 18-30 and studying for a degree. Read more about eligibility here. Once part of the Student Club, you will benefit from:

Final Words

The Qatar Privilege Club is one of the best loyalty programmes in the world. If you want to stick with Oneworld and switch loyalty programmes, Qatar is one of the best options if you fly East regularly.

If you hold Oneworld status, you will also enjoy many benefits when flying with Qatar.

Will the Qatar Privilege Club become your main loyalty programme, or is it already your go-to for earning Avios? Let us know in the comments below: