Great deal: Qatar Airways offering up to 40% transfer bonus

Qatar Airways has launched an excellent new transfer bonus for conversions of credit card points to Avios (as a reminder, Qatar Airways ditched Qmiles for Avios back in March), and it’s as generous as any I can ever recall. 

From now till 30 June 2022, Qatar Privilege Club members will earn up to a 40% bonus on all Avios transfers, with no cap on the bonus that can be earned. And even if you (like me) don’t have much faith in Qatar due to shenanigans like unannounced devaluations and quietly bringing back junky award segment fees, you can transfer these into British Airways Avios at a 1:1 ratio.

Qatar Privilege Club 40% transfer bonus

Offer Details

From 1-30 June 2022, Qatar Privilege Club members will earn up to a 40% transfer bonus when they convert credit card points from eligible finance partners. 

• Convert ≤20,000 Avios: 20% bonus
• Convert 20,001 or more Avios: 40% bonus

No registration is required, and there is no cap on the maximum bonus that can be earned.

Just remember that your credit card points conversion must be completed by 30 June 2022 to be eligible for the bonus; there’s some lead time involved with every bank, so don’t leave it till the last minute. 

Bonus Avios will be calculated per transaction and not on the cumulative sum of base Avios converted during the campaign period. For example, if I convert:

• 15,000 Avios from Bank A
• 25,000 Avios from Bank B

I would earn a 20% bonus on Bank A’s conversion (3,000 Avios) and 40% bonus on Bank B’s conversion (10,000 Avios), not a 40% bonus on the total amount.

The regular number of Avios will credit initially, with the bonus component credited within 45 days from the date the base Avios credit. 

The T&C of this offer can be found here. 

Which banks are participating?

The following banks are participating in this offer (Singapore-relevant ones in bold):

In Singapore, both Citibank and Standard Chartered offer transfers to Qatar Privilege Club. However, Standard Chartered offers a rather abysmal ratio for Qatar conversions (3,500 points: 1,000 miles) compared to other frequent flyer programmes like KrisFlyer (2,500 points: 1,000 miles), so all a 40% bonus does is brings you on par with that!

10,000 Citi Miles	⇒ (S$26.75 fee)	10,000 Avios 14,000 Avios
25,000 ThankYou Points		10,000 Avios 14,000 Avios
3,500 SC Rewards Points	⇒ (S$26.75 fee)	1,000 Avios 1,400 Avios
With minimum transfer of 20,000 Avios

Should you transfer points?

I’ve made no secret of my distrust of Qatar Privilege Club. This is a programme that thinks nothing of unannounced devaluations (and to be fair, revaluations too), or quietly adding back junky award segment fees.

And yet a combination of a 40% transfer bonus, award chart sweet spots and the lack of fuel surcharges has a way of removing some of those compunctions. 

To illustrate, here’s how much it’d cost to fly from Singapore to the following destinations:

Award rates between Singapore and Europe are extremely competitive, with Qatar Privilege Club requiring just 70,000 Avios compared to KrisFlyer’s 92,000 miles (not to mention a wider network of destinations).

It’s a bit more marginal for the USA, but keep in mind again that Qatar Airways serves additional destinations that Singapore Airlines does not, such as Boston, Chicago, Miami and Washington DC.

Qatar Privilege Club does not impose fuel surcharges for Qatar Airways awards, which only sweetens the deal. However, you will pay non-refundable award segment fees as follows:

This means a round-trip award redemption from Singapore to Europe would have US$280 of these junk fees tacked on, which can’t be refunded should you cancel the booking!

So there’s certainly value to be had here, but you should confirm that there’s award space available on the dates and routes you want (Qatar’s website normally doesn’t let you search with a zero balance, but there is a workaround).

What’s more, you should ensure that it’s regular award space, and not the more expensive Flexi awards, which cost 2x the price. These are labelled with “Q2” tags; for example, DOH-SIN prices out at 50,000 Avios normally, but 100,000 Avios for a Flexi award.

Finally, you should book awards as soon as Avios come into your account. Qatar Airways is one place I don’t feel confident holding miles!

But even if you have no interest in Qatar Privilege Club, you can convert any Avios earned into British Airways Executive Club at a 1:1 ratio. British Airways has some excellent short-haul sweet spots (even if they’re not as sweet as before). Some examples of itineraries you can book include:

• SIN-KUL for 6,000 miles
• SIN-CMB for 11,000 miles
• SIN-PER for 13,000 miles
• Intra-Europe from 4,750 miles
• Intra-Australia from 6,000 miles

Factor in a 40% bonus, and it only gets better. 

Conclusion

Qatar Airways is offering an excellent 40% bonus for members who transfer at least 20,001 Avios by the end of June. Redemptions to Europe and the USA are already good value on Qatar, and there’s also the option to transfer Avios to British Airways and burn them there instead.

Just be careful when dealing with Qatar Privilege Club, since it’s shown no qualms about  pulling unannounced stunts. 

Here’s hoping there’ll be a chance to visit Qatar’s phenomenal Premium Lounge in Changi Terminal 1 soon! 

Review: Qatar Airways Premium Lounge Singapore