There’s good news for Qatar Airways Privilege Club members.
The airline has dropped the price of many partner awards to be in line with the British Airways Avios currency, as Mainly Miles first reported.
This is especially great news for those with Citi ThankYou Rewards points from cards like the Citi Premier® Card (see rates and fees), which transfer to Qatar Airways at a 1:1 ratio.
Here’s what you need to know.
Qatar’s new partner award chart
Last year, Qatar Airways adopted the Avios point currency, allowing Qatar Privilege Club members to freely transfer their Avios to British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus, Aer Lingus AerClub and Vueling Club.
After adopting the Avios currency, however, Qatar Airways didn’t adjust partner award pricing to align with British Airways — until now.
Here’s the new award chart for all Privilege Club partner redemptions. These rates apply to award flights on Bangkok Airways, LATAM, Middle East Airlines, RwandAir, Virgin Australia and all Oneworld carriers:
| Distance (miles) | Economy class (Avios) | Premium economy (Avios) | Business class (Avios) | First class (Avios) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-650. | 6,000. | 9,000. | 12,500. | 24,000. |
| 651-1,151. | 9,000. | 12,500 | 16,500. | 33,000. |
| 1,152-2,000. | 11,000. | 16,500. | 22,000. | 44,000. |
| 2,001-3,000. | 13,000. | 25,250. | 38,750. | 51,500. |
| 3,001-4,000. | 20,750. | 41,250. | 62,000. | 82,500. |
| 4,001-5,500. | 25,750. | 51,500. | 77,250. | 103,000. |
| 5,501-6,500. | 31,000. | 62,000. | 92,750. | 123,750. |
| 6,501-7,000. | 36,250. | 72,250. | 108,250. | 144,250. |
| 7,001-plus. | 51,500. | 103,000. | 154,500. | 206,000. |
The new award chart closely resembles British Airways’ partner award chart.
For reference, here are the previous Qatar Privilege Club partner award rates:
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| Distance (miles) | Economy class (Qmiles) | Premium economy (Qmiles) | Business class (Qmiles) | First class (Qmiles) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-500. | 12,500. | 18,750. | 25,000. | 37,500. |
| 501-1,000. | 15,000. | 22,500 | 30,000. | 45,000. |
| 1,001-1,500. | 20,000. | 30,000. | 40,000. | 60,000. |
| 1,501-2,000. | 25,000. | 37,500. | 50,000. | 75,000. |
| 2,001-3,500. | 35,000. | 52,500. | 70,000. | 105,000. |
| 3,501-5,000. | 50,000. | 75,000. | 100,000. | 150,000. |
| 5,001-6,000. | 60,000. | 90,000. | 120,000. | 180,000. |
| 6,001-8,000. | 75,000. | 112,500. | 150,000. | 225,000. |
| 8,001-12,000. | 85,000. | 127,500. | 170,000. | 255,000. |
| 12,001-plus. | 100,000. | 150,000. | 200,000. | 300,000. |
Related: The best websites for searching Oneworld award availability
Qatar partner redemptions remain difficult to book
Unfortunately, this positive change only applies to the partner award rates. It remains challenging to actually ticket these awards. Unless you’re redeeming your Qatar Avios for an American Airlines or a British Airways flight, you won’t be able to book your partner redemption on Qatar’s website.
To redeem your Qatar Avios on another partner flight, you can call Qatar Airways Privilege Club at 800-988-6128. However, its call center is only open during working hours on weekdays.
You can also see flight partner schedules by selecting “book award ticket” from this webpage. Then, you can submit a request to book a partner flight, and a Qatar agent will process your reservation if there’s award space. However, since award space can rapidly change, we don’t recommend this option.
Instead, you can transfer Avios to British Airways, which allows for more partner flights to be booked online.
Bottom line
Qatar Airways has reduced award prices on its partner award chart to be in line with British Airways. This means Privilege Club members generally no longer need to transfer their Avios to British Airways to unlock lower partner rates.
You can also use Qatar Airways Privilege Club to book flights on Bangkok Airways, LATAM, Middle East Airlines, RwandAir and Virgin Australia at reduced award rates; these carriers are not partners of British Airways.
On the downside, booking Qatar’s partner awards remains difficult as there’s no way to lock in award availability instantaneously online. As a reminder, while Qatar Airways doesn’t allow stopovers on its award tickets, you can use the program to book open-jaw award flights.
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