Qatar Privilege Club devalues Bangkok Airways awards by up to 83%

One of Qatar Airways Privilege Club’s best redemption opportunities is for Bangkok Airways flights, which start from just 6,000 Avios with no fuel surcharges.

This can be especially lucrative on routes like Singapore to Koh Samui, where commercial airfares are often disproportionately expensive due to Bangkok Airways’ stranglehold on the airport (which they own, in fact!).

Unfortunately, Qatar Privilege Club made a quiet devaluation of Bangkok Airways redemptions sometime in the past week, which has led to increases of up to 83% on certain routes.

Qatar Privilege Club devalues Bangkok Airways redemptions

At some point within the last week, Qatar Privilege Club quietly increased the cost of Bangkok Airways redemptions across the board.

For example, one-way awards from Singapore to Koh Samui in Economy and Business Class used to cost 6,000 and 12,500 Avios respectively. This has now been increased to 11,000 and 20,000 Avios — or up to 83%, though to be fair, the absolute increase is still small.

Likewise, one-way awards from Bangkok to Koh Samui in Economy and Business Class used to cost 6,000 and 12,500 Avios respectively. This has now been increased to 8,500 and 14,000 Avios.

I did a quick check of some other routes — all of which offer Economy only — and found similar increases:

• Bangkok to Chiang Mai has increased from 6,000 Avios to 11,000 Avios
• Bangkok to Phuket has increased from 6,000 Avios to 11,000 Avios
• Koh Samui to Chiang Mai has increased from 6,000 Avios to 11,000 Avios
• Koh Samui to Phuket has increased from 6,000 Avios to 7,000 Avios
• Koh Samui to Krabi has increased from 6,000 Avios to 7,000 Avios

It’s probably safe to say that the devaluation applies across the entire Bangkok Airways network, though I don’t have the before prices for every route.

No notice was provided of these changes, but again, there’s no reason to expect any. Qatar Privilege Club does not have award charts, so the cost of an award is “whatever we say it is!”

For what it’s worth, Qatar Privilege Club continues to absorb the fuel surcharges on Bangkok Airways flights, so the only cash you’ll pay on redemptions are the Singapore or Thailand airport charges.

Therefore, even with this devaluation, Qatar Privilege Club may still be the best programme to redeem Bangkok Airways awards.

What about other partners?

If it’s any consolation, this does not appear to be a programme-wide devaluation. I’ve checked some short and medium-haul sweet spots on other partners, and the prices remain unchanged — for now, anyway.

For example, you can still book one-way Business Class awards between Singapore and Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific for 22,000 Avios + S$65.20, significantly cheaper than the 27,000 Asia Miles + S$113.40 you’d pay if you booked through Asia Miles. 

Qatar Privilege Club has the added advantage of absorbing fuel surcharges on Cathay Pacific redemptions (which have spiked in recent months, even if they’re gradually coming down now).

How does this compare to Scoot?

Bangkok Airways’ main competition on the Koh Samui route comes from Scoot, which resumed services to the island in May 2024.

Awards on this route cost 10,500 KrisFlyer miles each way, which are now very close in price to the 11,000 Avios charged by Qatar Privilege Club.

Even so, I’d still consider Bangkok Airways to be the superior redemption, given that redemptions include a 20kg checked bag and complimentary meals — even alcoholic beverages! You can also cancel your ticket up to three hours before departure for a US$25 fee.

On the other hand, Scoot awards do not include checked baggage (only a 10kg hand-carry) or meals, and are strictly non-refundable.

Qatar Privilege Club recently added new redemption restrictions

Since we’re talking about devaluations, it’s worth a reminder that Qatar Privilege Club recently imposed a huge new restriction on redeeming awards for third parties.

Previously, members could redeem awards for anyone they liked — all you needed was their name, passport number and date of birth. Now, award bookings are restricted to a list of pre-approved individuals under the My List and Family & Friends feature.

My List and Family & Friends have a maximum capacity of four and six individuals respectively, which means that each Privilege Club member can now redeem miles for a maximum of 10 people.

That should be more than enough for most members, but the problem isn’t so much the quantity — it’s the restrictions on being able to add people to these lists in the first place!

Before you can add anyone to My List or Family & Friends, your Qatar Privilege Club account must satisfy two conditions:

• It must be at least 30 days old, and
• You must have credited at least one flight on Qatar Airways or any partner airline, or made one co-brand credit card transaction

Until then, you’re effectively locked out of the My List and Family & Friends feature!

Qatar Privilege Club now restricts who you can redeem Avios for

Conclusion

Bangkok Airways awards have historically been one of the bright spots of Qatar Privilege Club, but a quiet devaluation in the past week has significantly increased their price.

In the cold light of day, 11,000 Avios with no fuel surcharges can still be a good value redemption between Singapore and Koh Samui, though it’s no doubt painful to know that the same award would have cost just 6,000 Avios before. 

Moreover, I would still lean towards redeeming Bangkok Airways flights over Scoot, given the latter does not include checked baggage or meals, and is strictly non-refundable.

(HT: XP Tan) (Cover photo: Plane’s Portrait Aviation Media)