Up to 30% bonus for Avios conversions to Qatar Airways & British Airways

Qatar Airways has launched a new bonus for loyalty point conversions to Avios. 

From now till 15 November 2022, Qatar Privilege Club members will earn up to a 30% bonus on all transfers, with no cap on the maximum bonus that can be earned. Since Avios can be transferred between Qatar Airways and British Airways at a 1:1 ratio with no fees, this is effectively a transfer bonus for British Airways as well. 

As a reminder, we saw a 40% bonus as recently as June 2022, although a 30% bonus is pretty solid in and of itself. 

Qatar Privilege Club 30% transfer bonus

Offer Details

From 1-15 November 2022, Qatar Privilege Club members will earn up to a 30% bonus when converting loyalty points from eligible partners. 

• Convert ≤30,000 Avios: 20% bonus
• Convert 30,001 or more Avios: 30% bonus

No registration is required, and there is no cap on the maximum bonus that can be earned. Just remember that your points conversion must be completed by 15 November 2022 to be eligible for the bonus; there’s some lead time involved, 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 20% bonus on Bank B’s conversion (5,000 Avios), not a 30% bonus on the total amount.

The regular number of Avios will credit initially, with the bonus component credited by 15 December 2022.

Qatar Airways will also send you a promo code valid for 10%/12% off Qatar Airways flights when you convert 30,000 or less/ 30,001 and more Avios during this campaign. This can be used on any Qatar Airways-operated flight worldwide within the specified booking and travel period. 

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

Which programmes are participating?

The following banks and loyalty programmes 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), and even a 30% bonus can’t salvage that!

10,000 Citi Miles	⇒ (S$26.75 fee)	10,000 Avios 13,000 Avios
25,000 ThankYou Points		10,000 Avios 13,000 Avios
3,500 SC Rewards Points	⇒ (S$26.75 fee)	1,000 Avios 1,300 Avios
With minimum transfer of 30,001 Avios

Alternatively, you could also transfer points from Accor Live Limitless, Shangri-La Circle or World of Hyatt, though I wouldn’t advise this as your points are better saved for hotel rooms. 

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.

A 30% transfer bonus would help assuage some of those compunctions, but only if you have a plan to burn them immediately. I certainly wouldn’t let them sit around collecting dust.

As a reminder, here’s how much it’d cost to fly from Singapore to the following destinations via Qatar Airways.

Award rates between Singapore and Europe are extremely competitive, with Qatar Privilege Club requiring just 70,000 Avios compared to KrisFlyer’s 103,500 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

At the risk of stating the obvious, you’ll need to transfer points to Qatar Airways in order to enjoy the bonus, then onwards to British Airways. If you convert them directly to British Airways, there will be no bonus. 

Conclusion

Qatar Airways is offering a 30% bonus for members who transfer at least 30,001 Avios by 15 November 2022. 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. 

(HT: Suitesmile)