Last month, I wrote about the new Grab x Qatar Airways partnership, which allows for two-way points conversions between GrabRewards and Qatar Privilege Club. Unfortunately, the value wasnโt great in either direction- you were better off keeping your GrabRewards points for Grab services, and Qatar Qmiles for flights.
This month comes a nifty new promotion that may change the equation, thoughโฆ
Earn 2X Qmiles when transferring GrabRewards points
GrabRewards points can now be converted to Qmiles with a 2X bonus; instead of the usual 1,200 points= 100 Qmiles, youโll get 200 Qmiles instead. A maximum of 50 sets can be claimed per user, i.e 60,000 points for 10,000 Qmiles.
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| 1,200 points | โ | 200 Qmiles |
| This bonus only applies in one direction; the usual (poor) rate of 1,000 Qmiles โ 1,000 GrabRewards points still applies. | ||
Itโs not clear how long this offer is valid for; the GrabRewards listing says 1 May 2021 to 30 November 2022, but this almost certainly refers to the partnership duration rather than the promotion itself. If you want to spring for this, sooner rather than later would be the advice.
1 GrabRewards point is worth roughly 0.2 cents (when redeemed for Grab vouchers), so this is equivalent to trading S$2.40 for 200 Qmiles, or buying them at 1.2 cents each. Thatโs not bad actually, considering your redemption options (see next section).
For the sake of comparison, Grab offers transfers to KrisFlyer miles at the following ratios:
- 500 points = 50 KrisFlyer miles
- 1,000 points= 100 KrisFlyer miles
- 5,000 points= 500 KrisFlyer miles
- 10,000 points= 1,000 KrisFlyer miles
- 20,000 points= 2,000 KrisFlyer miles
| โ You might be wondering: why offer five different options if the ratios are all the same? Itโs a matter of convenience- since a maximum of one KrisFlyer miles conversion request can be made at any time, offering larger denominations means less waiting. For example, itโs easier to submit one request for 100 KrisFlyer miles than two requests for 50 KrisFlyer miles (each of which will take three working days to process). |
With the 2X bonus, youโll earn 67% more miles when you opt for Qmiles over KrisFlyer.
Even if you donโt see yourself flying anywhere in the near future, earning or redeeming at least 1 Qmile extends your entire balance for a further three years- this would be a simple way to do it.
What can you redeem with Qatar Privilege Club Qmiles?
Qatar Privilege Club does not have an award chart, so youโll need to use their Qcalculator to find the cost of a given route. Use it like you would a regular flight search- pick the cabin, airline, origin and destination.
The good news is that Qatar Privilege Club recently reversed their 2018 devaluation. Hereโs an idea of how much Business Class redemptions cost for one-way travel on Qatar Airways out of Singapore.
| One-Way Business Class Price | Qmiles |
| Doha | 50,000 |
| Athens/ Bucharest/Kiev/ Sofia/ Thessaloniki | 70,000 |
| Barcelona/ London/ Frankfurt/ Paris/ Zurich | 75,000 |
| Boston/ Dallas/ New York/ Los Angeles/ Sao Paulo | 95,000 |
70,000/75,000 miles to Europe is tasty indeed, considering the fact that Qatar Privilege Club members donโt pay fuel surcharges for redemptions on Qatar Airways operated flights (they will for oneworld partner redemptions, where applicable).
I highly doubt that any of these destinations will be on our radars for a while, but assuming these award rates remain unchanged (which isnโt a given for Qatar Privilege Club), it may be worth looking at when things get a bit more sane. Hereโs hoping thereโll be a chance to visit Qatarโs phenomenal Premium Lounge in Changi again too.
Conclusion
While the most you can transfer is 10,000 Qmiles, this bonus may still be useful those who want to extend their Qmiles balance, or are just shy of the miles required for an award.
It helps that Qatar Privilege Club has improved its redemption rates recently, although given their penchant for unannounced devaluations, I wouldnโt feel safe maintaining a sizeable balance of Qmiles for any extended period of time.
