Qatar Airways offering up to 35% Avios transfer bonus

Qatar Airways has launched a new transfer bonus campaign, which offers up to 35% more Avios for transfers completed by 31 October 2024. This is valid for transfers from 30+ bank and loyalty partners, including Citi and HSBC credit card points, as well as HeyMax’s Max Miles. 

This has the potential to offer some great value redemptions, such as Singapore to Europe in Business Class from the equivalent of just 50,000 miles, or to Koh Samui for the equivalent of just 4,800 miles.

However, it needs to be said that Qatar Privilege Club has not been covering itself in glory of late, with its farcical award surcharge hike and hasty partial retraction reminding us that this is not a frequent flyer programme to be trusted. If you intend to transfer points under this campaign, be sure to burn them immediately.

Qatar Privilege Club offering up to 35% transfer bonus

Offer Details

From 1-31 October 2024, Qatar Privilege Club will award:

• a 25% bonus for transfers from participating bank and loyalty partners
• 10,000 bonus Avios for every 100,000 Avios converted in a single transaction

For example, if you were to transfer the equivalent of 100,000 Avios from participating partners, you would receive a total of 135,000 Avios (100,000 * 1.25 + 10,000), which works out to a 35% bonus overall.

There is no cap on the maximum bonus Avios that can be received, but do note that transfers must be completed by 31 October 2024 to be eligible. 

More than 30 banks and loyalty partners are participating in this campaign; the ones of interest to us in Singapore would be Citi, HSBC and HeyMax.

Whichever one you choose, remember that the bonus is fulfilled by Qatar Airways, so it’s completely normal that you still see the regular rates reflected on the respective transfer portal. 

You can find the full T&Cs of this transfer bonus on the landing page. 

Transfers from Citi

Here’s how many Avios you can expect when transferring Citi Miles or ThankYou Points.

10,000 Citi Miles	10,000 Avios 12,500 Avios
25,000 TY Points	10,000 Avios 12,500 Avios
Additional 10,000 bonus Avios per 100,000 Avios block transferred

Citi Miles and ThankYou Points normally convert into Qatar Avios at the same ratio as KrisFlyer miles, so a bonus of up to 35% bonus could be worth considering if you have immediate use for them.

Transfers usually take 2-3 working days to be processed.

Transfers from HSBC

Here’s how many Avios you can expect when transferring HSBC points. 

35,000 HSBC points	10,000 Avios 12,500 Avios
Additional 10,000 bonus Avios per 100,000 Avios block transferred

Unfortunately, this is poor value even with the bonus because unlike Citi, HSBC does not offer the same rate across all partners.

The base conversion rate is normally 35,000 HSBC points = 10,000 Avios. This is 40% more expensive than other partners like Asia Miles, KrisFlyer and Flying Blue. In fact, even with this transfer bonus, it makes much more sense to convert HSBC points into British Airways Avios at a rate of 25,000 HSBC points = 10,000 Avios, then immediately transfer those Avios to Qatar Privilege Club at a 1:1 ratio! 

Transfers are processed instantly.

Transfer from HeyMax

Here’s how many Avios you can expect when transferring Max Miles.

1,000 Max Miles	1,000 Avios 1,250 Avios
Additional 10,000 bonus Avios per 100,000 Avios block transferred

HeyMax offers the same 1:1 conversion ratio for all its partners, so just like Citi, there could be situations where a bonus of up to 35% would come in handy. 

Transfers are processed instantly.

When will the bonus be credited?

The regular number of Avios will be credited initially.

Officially, the 25% bonus will only be credited by 15 November 2024, in a separate transaction.

However, back in May I did a conversion from Citibank during a 30% transfer bonus, and the base points posted together with the bonus in the same transaction. I’ve seen data points in the MileChat that the same applies this time round. 

What can you redeem with Qatar Privilege Club?

Qatar Privilege Club offers good value redemptions between Singapore and Europe and the USA, at least in terms of miles.

It will cost you 70,000-75,000 miles for a one-way Business Class ticket to Europe, versus 103,500 miles for KrisFlyer, and 95,000 miles for a one-way Business Class ticket to the USA, versus 111,500 miles for KrisFlyer. Factor in a transfer bonus of up to 35%, and those sweet spots get even sweeter. 

While you will need to transit in Doha, keep in mind that Qatar Airways serves many destinations that Singapore Airlines does not such as Boston, Chicago, Miami and Washington DC, so either way you’d be looking at a one-stop itinerary. 

Even if you don’t plan to fly with Qatar Airways, there are some excellent partner redemptions to consider. Qatar Privilege Club partners with Bangkok Airways, which allows you to redeem tickets on the Singapore to Koh Samui route for just 6,000 miles. Commercial tickets on this route are often expensive, so there’s potential for great value here.

Here’s some other examples of sweet spots worth considering (with the operating carrier in brackets):

Qatar Privilege Club caveats

While Qatar Privilege Club does not impose fuel surcharges on Qatar Airways redemptions, it does tack on an award booking fee, payable on top of the standard airport fees and government taxes.

This fee was hiked without notice last month by up to 80% in some cases. 

Keep in mind that this fee applies per segment, so if you’re flying through Doha on a round-trip Business Class ticket, for instance, you’ll pay US$720 in award redemption fees alone. Ouch. 

Fortunately, this fee does not apply to non-Qatar Airways redemptions, so if you plan to fly with Bangkok Airways or one of its other partners, you won’t have to pay it (you will pay whatever fuel surcharges those carriers impose, however).

Conclusion

Qatar Airways has launched a transfer bonus of up to 35% from selected bank and loyalty programmes, including Citi, HSBC and HeyMax in Singapore.

While you can certainly achieve some good value awards through this offer, I need to emphasise again that Qatar Privilege Club is not a programme you can comfortably park miles inside, given their history of unannounced programme changes and devaluations. 

As a reminder, your conversion must be completed by 31 October 2024 to be eligible, so don’t leave it till the last minute- especially if your plan is to convert points from a non-instant programme like Citi.