Qatar Airways occasionally puts on promotions for buying points with its buy, gift, or transfer Avios feature.
While buying points speculatively might not be the best idea, promotions such as this can be useful for topping up your account for an upcoming redemption or strategically scoring premium cabins at a bargain compared to the cash price.
With the latest promotion, Qatar Airways is selling Avios with a 50% bonus, which can be a great way to score a flight on the renowned Qsuites product at a steep discount.
Buy Qatar Airways Avios with a 50% Bonus
From now until 11:59pm GMT on April 7, 2024, Qatar Airways is offering up to a 50% bonus on purchased Avios.
This time, you’ll receive a different bonus depending on how many Avios you buy, structured as follows:
- 3,000–15,000 Avios: 20% bonus
- 16,000–30,000 Avios: 30% bonus
- 31,000+ Avios: 50% bonus
Normally, Qatar Airways sells points at a base price that ranges from 2.3–2.8 cents per point (USD), depending on how many Avios you buy. As is the case with purchased British Airways Avios, the price lowers as you buy more points, but flattens out after around 25,000 points.
If you were to take advantage of the 50% bonus promotion, you’re reducing the acquisition cost to just 1.53 cents per point (USD) on the low end.
It’s worth noting that you need to have at least 1,000 Avios in your Qatar Airways Privilege Club account before you’re eligible for any of the buy, gift, or transfer points features on offer.
We value Qatar Airways Avios at 1.5 cents per point (USD). Therefore, the cost of acquisition through this promotion at the lowest rate is just above our target valuation, but not by much at all.
Looking back at previous offers, a 50% bonus is on par with the best price we’ve seen in the past year or so. Plus, Qatar Airways recently lowered the base price of purchased Avios, and the price now works out to be lower than what was available during previous 50% bonus promotions.
Keep in mind that you can also transfer Avios from British Airways Executive Club to Qatar Airways Privilege Club at a 1:1 ratio. British Airways tends to put on more promotions than Qatar Airways, but if you’re a really big fan of the Oneworld alliance, you can take advantage of promotions from both programs to circumvent annual caps on purchased Avios.
As with all loyalty programs, buying points won’t count towards any Privilege Club qualifications or status.
How many Qatar Airways Avios can you buy?
Qatar Airways Privilege Club members can buy up to 250,000 Avios per calendar year without taking into account any bonus. So, if you were to max out this promotion, you’d end up with 375,000 Avios for $5,750 (USD) with a 50% bonus.
Which credit card should you use to buy Qatar Airways Avios?
As with many loyalty programs, Qatar Airways sells Avios through Points.com. Therefore, you won’t be able to benefit from travel category bonuses on your credit card.
When buying or gifting Avios, it’s recommended that you use a US-issued credit card since the points are sold in US dollars, and there isn’t a way to buy them in Canadian dollars.
This way, you’ll also avoid the 2.5% foreign transaction fee you’d be subject to on most Canadian cards, and with a US address, you’ll also dodge the GST/HST levied on the Canadian side.
You’ll also want to use a credit card that has a high base earning rate, or one on which you’re working to meet the minimum spending requirement.
If you’re limited to Canadian credit cards, you’ll have to pay taxes on the purchase, and the value you get from the 50% bonus is eroded. In this case, you’re probably better off earning Avios in other ways, or at the bare minimum, you should use a card with no foreign transaction fees.
When Should You Buy Avios?
As is the case when purchasing points from any loyalty program, there are a few situations in which buying points can be worth it.
For example, if you’re short by a few Avios for an upcoming booking and have no other way to earn them quickly, then you’ll get a good price by topping up during a promotion.
Just remember that as long as you redeem your points for a flight with a cents per point value that’s higher than your acquisition cost, you’ll wind up in the black.
While it’s technically possible to book flights with other partner oneworld airlines through Qatar Airways Privilege Club, you’re typically better off shipping them over to another flavour of Avios or booking with another program altogether.
By far the best use of Qatar Airways Avios is to book its flagship product, Qatar Airways Qsuites, on a variety of routes.
For example, a one-way flight from Montreal to Doha costs 70,000 Avios.
Purchasing 70,000 Avios with a 50% bonus costs $1,081 (USD). A good deal on round-trip flights in Qsuites costs around $5,000–6,000 (USD), so buying Avios can represent a significant discount to paying cash, as long as you can find award availability.
If you can’t find a more direct flight from North America to Europe with another loyalty program, you can also consider flying via Doha with Qatar Airways. While it’s a bit of a detour, you’re surely going to be comfortable for the entirety of the ride.
For example, you can fly from Seattle to Istanbul via Doha for 85,000 Avios.
If you’d like to combine an epic flight from North America in Qsuites with another leg in Qatar Airways First Class from Doha to Bangkok, you’d need 95,000 Avios, which would cost just $1,495 (USD) with a 50% bonus.
By booking Qsuites through the airline’s own program, you’ll also have a more favourable rate compared to booking through British Airways Executive Club, and you can also benefit from booking farther in advance with access to more dates.
Other Ways to Earn Qatar Airways Avios
Before jumping on this bonus, it’s important to note that Avios are easy to come by in other ways. Most of the time, earning Qatar Airways Avios by other means is much less costly, although it might involve a bit more legwork than simply making a purchase online.
Transfer from British Airways
While Qatar Airways’s loyalty program isn’t a transfer partner with many points currencies, it’s important to note that British Airways Avios can be earned in a wide variety of ways in Canada and the United States.
One of the unique features of the Avios ecosystem is that you can instantly transfer Avios from one “flavour” to another online.
For example, if you have a number of points parked in your British Airways Executive Club account, you can move them instantly to Qatar Airways Privilege Club to top up your account for a redemption.
Keep in mind that there are frequent transfer bonuses to British Airways Executive Club from many transferable points currencies. This way, you can capitalize on a transfer bonus to British Airways Executive Club, and then move the points to Qatar Airways Privilege Club at a 1:1 ratio, effectively earning you a transfer bonus on your Qatar Airways Avios.
Canadian Credit Cards
In an extension to the above, British Airways Avios are easy to earn in Canada without delving into US credit cards.
For example, American Express Membership Rewards can be transferred to British Airways Executive Club at a 1:1 ratio, and sometimes Amex will put on 30% transfer bonuses for your Avios to stretch even further.
American Express Cards for Avios Redemptions
| Credit Card | Best Offer | Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
70,000 MR points $250 annual fee |
70,000 MR points | $1,676 |
Apply Now |
|
120,000 MR points $799 annual fee |
120,000 MR points | $1,574 |
Apply Now |
|
75,000 MR points $199 annual fee |
75,000 MR points | $1,561 |
Apply Now |
|
Up to 77,000 MR points $99 annual fee |
Up to 77,000 MR points | $1,419 |
Apply Now |
|
100,000 MR points $799 annual fee |
100,000 MR points | $1,361 |
Apply Now |
|
15,000 MR points $156 annual fee |
15,000 MR points | $372 |
Apply Now |
RBC Avion points can also be transferred to British Airways Executive Club at a 1:1 ratio. There are pretty regular transfer bonuses of 30%, but we’ve seen them go as high as 50%.
Also in the RBC ecosystem, the RBC® British Airways Visa Infinite† allows you to earn British Airways Avios through its welcome bonus and through daily spending.
RBC Credit Cards for Avios Redemptions
| Credit Card | Best Offer | Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Up to 55,000 RBC Avion points† $120 annual fee |
Up to 55,000 RBC Avion points† | $1,080 |
Apply Now |
|
Up to 55,000 RBC Avion points† $120 annual fee |
Up to 55,000 RBC Avion points† | $1,080 |
Apply Now |
|
60,000 Avios† $165 annual fee |
60,000 Avios† | $899 |
Apply Now |
|
55,000 RBC Avion points† $399 annual fee |
55,000 RBC Avion points† | $826 |
Apply Now |
|
35,000 RBC Avion points $175 annual fee |
35,000 RBC Avion points | $700 |
Apply Now |
|
35,000 RBC Avion points $120 annual fee |
35,000 RBC Avion points | $580 |
Apply Now |
Outside of the above options, Marriott Bonvoy points, Amex US MR points, and Chase Ultimate Rewards can all be transferred to British Airways Executive Club; however, since all three of these currencies have more favourable uses, transferring them to British Airways isn’t always the best use case.
Consider Waiting for an Iberia Avios Promotion Instead
Spain-based Iberia Airlines is also a Oneworld partner, with Avios that can be transferred to other flavours at a 1:1 ratio.
Iberia also has frequent sales on purchased points, with bonuses of up to 50%.
The main reason to buy Iberia Avios over British Airways Avios or Qatar Airways Avios is that pricing through Iberia is based on which website you’re on rather than the country in which your account is registered. This means that Canadians can take advantage of lower pricing, which is normally only available to Europeans.
Previous Promotions
As you decide whether or not this promotion is a good opportunity for you to score Qsuites on the cheap, here’s a look back at Qatar Airways’s past bonuses on purchasing Avios:
Conclusion
Qatar Airways is currently offering a 50% bonus on purchased Avios. If you have your eye on a flight in Qsuites, buying points can give you a steep discount over paying cash.
Since British Airways Avios are pretty accessible through many transfer partners and can be transferred to Qatar Airways Avios instantly at a 1:1 ratio, there isn’t a huge value proposition to buying Avios without an immediate need. However, if you have a specific use in mind, now is as good a time as any to buy points and score a flight at a bargain.
If you’re interested in taking advantage of the promotion, you’ll need to act quickly, because the deal is only live until 11:59pm GMT on April 7, 2024.
