Qatar Privilege Club Pro: New subscription service for Avios and Qpoints

Qatar Airways has launched Privilege Club Pro, a new subscription service that awards members with additional Avios and Qpoints on a monthly basis. 

Members can receive up to  240,000 Avios and 60 Qpoints per year with the highest-tier plan, but given the commitment that the airline is asking for, I’m rather disappointed that the pricing isn’t more competitive.

What is Qatar Airways Privilege Club Pro?

Qatar Privilege Club Pro offers four membership tiers, with prices ranging from US$50 to US$350 a month (or US$500 to US$3,500 with an annual plan, which gives two months for free for a saving of 17%).

Do note that if you choose the monthly plan, a minimum 3-month commitment is required. You will only be allowed to cancel after this period is up. Also, buying the annual plan does not give you the entire year’s allotment of Avios or Qpoints upfront. You will still receive these on a monthly basis. 

The cost per Avios ranges from 1.46 to 2 US cents, depending on the plan you choose.

I wouldn’t say the pricing is particularly compelling, since the ad-hoc sales that Qatar runs several times each year reduce the cost to a similar range. For instance, the three most recent sales have offered a 50-70% bonus on purchases, reducing the cost per Avios to 1.35 to 1.53 US cents— all cheaper than the monthly subscription plans. 

What’s more, the “drip feed” model poses its own problems too. Since your Avios arrive on a monthly basis, you might not have a sufficient balance to make a redemption when award seats pop up. I should also point out that Qatar Privilege Club has a history of unannounced devaluations, which makes holding Avios for the long term even more risky.

Moreover, Citi PayAll users can indirectly purchase Avios at a cost of just 1.44 cents (1.1 US cents) with the current tax payment promotion. Even outside of promotions, a Citi Prestige Cardholder would be paying 2 cents (1.56 US cents) per Avios, with no commitment necessary.

A maximum of 240,000 Avios can be purchased via subscription plans per calendar year. Avios earned from subscription plans do not count towards the annual limit of 250,000 Avios that applies to ad-hoc purchases.

Since Qatar is effectively asking members to commit to buying Avios every month, I really feel they should be offering a better price than their ad-hoc sales. Otherwise, why lock yourself in?

What about the Qpoints?

If you subscribe to the Ultimate tier, you’ll receive 5 Qpoints a month, on top of the Avios allotment.

Qpoints are Qatar’s status credits, and the table below shows the number of Qpoints required to earn and retain status.

In addition to the above requirements, you must have earned 20% of your Qpoints (or flown at least four sectors within 12 months or eight sectors within 12 months) on Qatar Airways marketed or operated flights.

As you can see, 60 Qpoints a year won’t get you very far, so unless you’re just shy of qualification or requalification (and don’t have the time nor inclination to do a status run), this shouldn’t be a big factor in your decision to subscribe.

What card should I use?

Qatar Privilege Club Pro subscriptions are processed by Points.com in USD, and should code as MCC 7399 (Business Services Not Elsewhere Classified).

Here’s the best cards to maximise the miles earned on your purchase:

Card	Earn Rate	Remarks
Citi Rewards Card Apply	4 mpd Capped	Cap of S$1K per s. month
DCS Imperium Card Apply	4 mpd No cap	Min. S$4K FCY spend per c. month, otherwise 2.4 mpd
UOB Visa Signature Apply	4 mpd Capped	Min S$1K, max S$2K FCY spend per s. month
StanChart Beyond Card Apply	3-4 mpd No cap	3 mpd for regular, 3.5 mpd for PB, 4 mpd for PP
Maybank World Mastercard Apply	3.2 mpd No cap	Min. S$4K per c. month. Earn 2.8 mpd with min. S$800 per c. month
Maybank Visa Infinite Apply	3.2 mpd No cap	Min. S$4K per c. month, no cap, otherwise 2 mpd
StanChart Visa Infinite Apply	3 mpd No cap	Min S$2K per s. month, no cap, otherwise 1 mpd
Maybank Horizon Visa Signature Apply	2.8 mpd No cap	Min S$800 per c. month, no cap, otherwise 1.2 mpd
BOC Elite Miles Card Apply	2.8 mpd No cap
S. Month= Statement Month | C. Month= Calendar Month

Conclusion

Qatar Airways’ new Privilege Club Pro subscription plan allows members to receive Avios each month (and Qpoints, if you choose the most expensive plan), but the pricing doesn’t strike me as very attractive. 

I think this would be much more compelling if they copied what LifeMiles did and offered members a waiver of certain change or cancellation fees for award tickets (or even an exemption from their junky “award segment fees!”).

Will you subscribe to a Privilege Club Pro plan?