Qatar Airways offering 20% transfer bonus for credit card points

Qatar Airways has launched a 20% transfer bonus on rewards points conversions, which runs from now till 2 November 2021. 

Qatar Airways Transfer Bonus

This might actually be an interesting opportunity given Qatar Privilege Club’s reversal of its 2018 award chart devaluation, and the lack of fuel surcharges on Qatar Airways awards redeemed with Qmiles. 

Qmiles 20% transfer bonus

From 3 October to 2 November 2021, Qmiles transfers from any partner bank will receive a 20% bonus, with no cap on the maximum bonus that can be earned.

Here’s the steps to follow:

• Log in to the rewards account that you have with your bank.
• Choose to convert your reward points into Qmiles with Qatar Airways Privilege Club.
• Enjoy 20% bonus Qmiles credited to your Privilege Club account.

While there’s technically two transfer partners available in Singapore (Citibank & Standard Chartered), only Citibank is worth your time. Standard Chartered’s transfer ratio is so abysmal, even a 20% bonus won’t save it.

10,000 Citi Miles	⇒	10,000 Qmiles 12,000 Qmiles
25,000 TY Points		10,000 Qmiles 12,000 Qmiles

3,500 SC Rewards	⇒	1,000 Qmiles 1,200 Qmiles

The regular number of Qmiles will be credited first, with the 20% bonus awarded within 30-60 days. 

Remember: the bonus will only be triggered if your conversion is finished by 2 November 2021. While Citibank transfers should be completed within a few working days, I’m less certain about the timeline for Standard Chartered points (not that you should be transferring them, mind). If in doubt, give yourself at least a week of lead time, preferably two.  

The T&C of this transfer bonus can be found below:

What can you redeem with Qatar Qmiles?

Qatar Airways does not have an award chart, so you’ll 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. 

After Qatar’s reversal of its 2018 devaluation, here’s an idea of how much Business Class redemptions cost for one-way travel on Qatar Airways out of Singapore. 

As you can see, a 20% transfer bonus makes Qatar Privilege Club rather attractive, especially given Qatar’s wide route network and the fact that there’s no fuel surcharges when redeeming Qmiles for Qatar Airways operated flights (Asia Miles levies them on Cathay Pacific flights).

62,500 miles to Europe or 79,167 miles to the USA sounds good to me. 

Qatar Qmiles do not expire so long as you earn or redeem at least one mile within a three year period.

How does a transit in Qatar affect my travel plans?

Singapore now considers an individual’s 14-day travel history (versus 21 days prior to 7 October 2021) when determining SHN restrictions. This means that so long as you only fly Qatar Airways on the outbound leg and stay overseas for >14 days, the transit in Doha has no bearing on your return to Singapore.

However, flying Qatar Airways on the inbound leg will automatically land you in Category IV, the most restrictive category there is. You’re looking at a 10-day SHN in a hotel, with no opt-out provision even for the fully vaccinated. 

So if you’re looking to redeem a Qatar Airways award, you might want to do it on the outbound leg only. 

Conclusion

Qatar Airway’s 20% Qmiles transfer bonus is certainly worth considering, though you probably don’t want to hold those miles for too long- Qatar has conducted unannounced devaluations in the past. If you plan to transfer, make sure you have a specific redemption in mind and book it ASAP. 

Here’s hoping there’ll be a chance to visit Qatar’s phenomenal Premium Lounge in Changi Airport soon…

Review: Qatar Airways Premium Lounge Singapore

(HT: Freedom)