Qatar Airways may not be the biggest airline in the world, but it does fly to 170 destinations in over 80 countries. Plus, the airline won "World’s Best Airline" in 2021, 2022, and 2022, while its signature airport, Hamad International Airport, won “Best Airport in the Middle East for 10 years in a row.
If you’re a frequent flyer to the region, it makes sense to check out Qatar Airway’s rewards program, the Privilege Club. Membership is free and each qualifying flight earns you Avios points and Qpoints to put towards free flights and perks.
Key Takeaways
- Privilege Club is the loyalty program of Qatar Airways.
- Members earn Avios points on travel with Qatar Airways, British Airways, and Oneworld Alliance partners, which they can redeem for flights, vacation packages, and more.
- Avios points are worth an average of 4 cents CAD each.
- Collecting Qpoints leads to 4 elite membership tiers, each providing exclusive benefits and perks.
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What is the Qatar Airways Privilege Club?
Privilege Club is the rewards program offered by Qatar Airways.
As a member, you can earn Avios points for flying or booking qualified travel aboard Qatar Airways, British Airways, and other Oneworld Alliance airlines. You’ll also accumulate loyalty status points, or Qpoints, which count toward elite membership status. The more Qpoints you earn, the more benefits you get.
Signing up online is free and easy. Plus, Qatar Airways often runs promotions for bonus points when you join. For instance, you can now earn 3,000 or 5,000 bonus Avios after signing up and taking your first Qatar Airways flight as a member.
Overview
Currency: Avios points
Redemption categories: Avios + Cash, Convert Points, Experiences, Flights, Shopping, Vacation Packages
Pros:
- 170+ destinations in 80+ countries in the Qatar Airways network
- 16 partner airlines awarding Avios points
- 6 ways to spend points
- 5 ways to earn points
- 4 membership tiers with exclusive perks and benefits
- Points worth up to 11 cents CAD each
- Free membership
- Points can be bought, gifted, pooled, and transferred
Privilege Club cons:
- Points worth as little as 0.94 cents CAD each
- No co-branded credit cards available in Canada
- Limited earning opportunities for Canadians
- No clear base earn rate for flights
- Points expire after 3 years of inactivity
Privilege Club membership tiers
The Privilege Club has 4 membership tiers, with new members starting at the Burgundy level. All Privilege Club members can:
- Book high-demand award seats for double the Avios points online (Flexi Awards)
- Earn Avios points on flights and non-air travel with partners
- Pool and earn Avios points with family members
To advance your membership further, you’ll need to collect Qpoints on flights with Qatar Airways and Oneworld Alliance airlines. Depending on your airline, destination, and travel class, you’ll collect about 5 – 100+ Qpoints per flight. You can also get 1 Qpoint per $100 USD spent at Qatar Duty Free or on flight + hotel packages on Qatar Airways Holidays.
To qualify for (or retain) membership status, you must collect a certain amount of Qpoints within a single year. Additionally, 20% of your Qpoints must come from flights operated by Qatar Airways, and you must take at least 4 flights with Qatar Airways within a year (or 8 within 2 years).
Here’s what you can look forward to at the upper echelons of the Privilege Club:
| Burgundy | Silver | Gold | Platinum | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qpoints required to qualify | 0 | 150 | 300 | 600 |
| Qpoints required to retain status (within 1 year / within 2 years) | 0 | 135 / 270 | 270 / 540 | 540 / 1,080 |
| Priority standby | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Seat selection discount | 10% | 20% | 100% + guest | 100% + guest |
| Qatar Duty Free discount | 10% | 15% | 15% | 20% |
| Bonus Avios points per mile flown | ❌ | 0.25 | 0.75 | 1 |
| Complimentary passes to Hamad International Lounge | ❌ | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| Extra bag(s) allowed | ❌ | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Lounge access | ❌ | Self | Self + 1 guest | Self + 2 guests |
| Tier status and benefits on Oneworld flights | ❌ | Ruby | Sapphire | Emerald |
| 5% off Qatar Airways Holidays packages | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Priority boarding and check-in, plus travel coordinator services | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Qcredits (see below) | ❌ | ❌ | 40 | 60 |
| 10% off and complimentary Al Maha services for member + 1 guest (see below) | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Priority baggage handling and customer service | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Avios points never expire | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Personalized baggage tags | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
Qcredits are special points that you can exchange for baggage fees, flight upgrades, lounge access, and more. If you spend them on baggage, they’re worth about $5.25 CAD each.
Al Maha is the name of Qatar Airway’s premium meet-and-assist airport services. Gold and Platinum members receive complimentary meet-and-greet services at Hamad International Airport, plus a 10% discount if they decide to upgrade to a premium package.
Privilege Club Family Programme
Qatar Airways’ Family Programme deserves a special mention because it’s unique among frequent flyer programs.
Members can nominate up to 9 family members to become family members, after which every point earned by any member is collected in the main member’s account. The best part is flight and non-air-travel partner bookings earn Avios points per family member, not just the main member or total amount spent.
The only thing Privilege Club family members can’t contribute to the main member’s account are Qpoints.
How much are Avios points worth?
If Avios points seem familiar, it’s because the British Airways Club uses the same currency. In fact, you can link your Privilege and British Airways Club accounts to earn and redeem Avios points on both airlines.
It also means you have many more earning and redemption options for Avios. For the sake of brevity, we’ll focus solely on how Privilege Club members can redeem Avios for an average value of 4 cents per point (CPP).
Value of reward in CAD / Cost of reward in points x 100 = Value in Cents Per Point (CPP)
There are 6 ways for Privilege Club members to spend Avios points, providing a value of 0.94 – 4 CPP:
| Redemption option | Categories | Value* |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | * Classic Awards * Flexi Awards * Partner flights * Qatar Airways flight upgrades | 4 CPP |
| Convert points | * ALL - Accor Live Limitless * Al Meera * British Airways * Marriott Bonvoy | 2.5 CPP |
| Vacation packages | * Airport transfers * Flight + hotel * Formula 1 * Hotels * Tours * Qatar stopovers | 2 CPP |
| Avios + Cash | * Extra baggage fees * Flights * Vacation packages | 1 CPP |
| Shopping | * Oryx Galleria * Qatar Duty Free | 0.94 CPP |
| Experiences | * Bid * Buy | N/A |
How to earn Avios
The Privilege Club doesn’t offer as many earning opportunities as other rewards programs – especially for Canadians. There are just 4 options:
- Book flights
- Book with partners
- Boost, buy, convert, or transfer points
- Shop with partners
- Use a Qatar Airways Privilege Club credit card
If there’s a way to get around these restrictions, we’ll let you know. For now, let’s explore how to top up your Privilege Club account.
Book flights
You can earn Avios for flying with Qatar Airways and partner airlines, but it’s not always clear how much. What we do know is your Avios earnings are based on your airline, distance flown, and flight class – not to mention your membership tier.
(Miles flown x flight class bonus) + (miles flown x membership bonus) + (miles flown per family member x main member’s membership bonus) = Avios points earned
Fortunately, the Privilege Club provides a handy Avios calculator on its website, where you can enter the details of your next flight to see how many Avios and Qpoints you’ll earn.
As a rough guide, expect to collect:
- 0.25 – 1 Avios point per mile flown in Economy
- 0.75 – 2 Avios points per mile flown in Business
- 3 Avios points per mile flown in First
If you were, say, a Silver member flying 500 miles with 3 family members in Economy Comfort, you would each collect 500 Avios points. Because you’re a Silver member, you’d collect an additional 0.75 Avios points per mile flown for each person for a grand total of 1,875 points.
Mind you, this earning rate only applies to Qatar Airways. Every airline partnered with the Privilege Club uses different Avios and Qpoints earning rates:
| Airline | Points per mile flown | Earn Qpoints | Oneworld Alliance | Privilege Club bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 0 – 2.5 | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, SriLankan Airlines | 0 – 1.75 | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| LATAM, Virgin Australia | 0 – 2 | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Airlink, Bangkok Airways, JetBlue, MEA, Oman Air, RwandAir, S7 Airlines | 0 – 2 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
We also have to highlight Qatar Executive, the private jet charter branch of Qatar Airways. Privilege Club members earn 4 points per $1 USD spent on private flights and can also pool points with family members.
Perk alert! All Oneworld Alliance airlines provide special travel benefits based on your Privilege Club tier.
Book with partners
When you book a hotel, rental car, or vacation package with a Privilege Club partner, you’ll earn Avios even faster. There are 17 companies and thousands of locations around the world where you can top up your account balance.
| Partner(s) | Earn rate* | Promotions |
|---|---|---|
| Qatar Airways Holidays | * 2 points per 5 QAR, SAR, or AED spent * 2 points per 1 KWD, OMR or BHD spent * 1 point per $1 USD spent | * 5% off with Privilege Club Silver, Gold, and Platinum status * Earn 1 Qpoint per $100 USD spent |
| AVIS, Budget | 2 points per $1 USD spent | * 1 – 3 bonus points per $1 USD spent with Privilege Club status |
| Europcar | 500 points per rental | * Up to 500 bonus points per rental with Privilege Club status |
| Hertz | 250 – 500 points per rental | * Up to 10% off with Privilege Club status * Complimentary Hertz Gold Plus Rewards status with Privilege Club Gold or Platinum |
| Rentalcars.com | 3 points per $1 USD spent | |
| Salik | 1 point per 5 QAR spent | * Up to 25% off with Privilege Club status |
| Sixt | 500 points per rental | * Up to 15% off with Privilege Club status |
| Accor | Up to 1 point per 1 EUR spent | * Complimentary ALL Silver or Gold status with Privilege Club Gold or Platinum status |
| Booking.com | 3 points per $1 USD spent | |
| Dusit Doha Hotel, Dusit Hotel & Suites, and Steigenberger Hotel Doha | 1 point per 4 QAR spent | |
| Hyatt | 500 points per stay | |
| Kaligo | Up to 10,000 points per night | |
| Marriott Bonvoy | Up to 2 points per $1 USD spent | |
| Rocketmiles | 1,000 – 10,000 points per night | |
| Rotana | 250 – 500 points per stay | |
| Shangri-La Circle | 500 points per stay |
Note: You can’t earn Avios points on money spent on taxes and fees.
Boost, buy, convert, gift, or transfer points
If you’re short on Avios, Qatar Airways gives you 4 ways to change money into extra points:
- Boost: Multiply any points collected within the last 90 days on trips, purchases, and flights by up to 6 times with a one-time payment.
- Buy: Purchase 1,000 – 250,000 Avios in one year for about $0.03 USD each, plus applicable fees and taxes.
- Gift: Purchase and gift 1,000 – 250,000 Avios in one year for about $0.03 USD each, plus applicable fees and taxes.
- Transfer: Transfer 1,000 – 250,000 Avios in one year to other members by paying $0.015 USD per point, plus applicable fees and taxes.
Spending money on Avios reduces their value so we don’t recommend buying or boosting points unless there’s a promotion available. Instead, you can always top up your account for free by converting points from other rewards programs:
| Rewards program | Minimum points required | Conversion ratio (other points to Avios) |
|---|---|---|
| Accor Live Limitless (ALL) | 2,000 | 2:1 |
| Air Miles | 48,000 | 8:1 |
| Hilton Honors | 10,000 | 10:1 |
| Hyatt | 5,000 | 5:2 |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 3,000 | 3:1 |
| Shangri-La Circle | 1,000 | 1:1 |
Shop with partners
Over 120 stores and restaurants award Avios points, but not all are available to Canadians. For example, you can only earn Avios at Nespresso, Bugatti, and Samsonite if you visit their locations in Qatar.
Qatar Duty Free in Hamad International Airport awards 1 point per 5 QAR spent on everything except alcohol, electronics, tobacco, raffle tickets, certain cosmetics, and 4 stores: Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Fendi, and Gucci.
For more choice, create a British Airways Club account and visit the British Avios online shopping portal. You can earn up to 50 Avios per £1 spent on bookings and products that can be delivered internationally – just make sure to check the terms and conditions before you buy.
By linking your British Airways and Privilege Club accounts, you can freely transfer all the Avios you earned from shopping into your Qatar Airways account.
Use a Qatar Airways Privilege Club credit card
There are 2 official Qatar Airways Privilege Club Visa credit cards offering up to 5 Avios points per $1 USD spent, neither of which are available in Canada. However, we have a workaround for you: an American Express credit card.
Canadian cardholders can convert Amex Membership Rewards and RBC Avion points to British Airways Club Avios starting at just 1,000 points. Link your British Airways and Privilege Club accounts together, and voilà – you’ve got 5 more ways to earn points.
| Credit card | Rewards | Current offer | Annual fee | Apply |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Express Cobalt Card | * 5 points per $1 spent on eligible groceries and restaurants * 3 points per $1 spent on eligible streaming services * 2 points per $1 spent on eligible gas, transit, and ride share purchases * 1 point per $1 spent on foreign currency purchases * 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases | Up to 15,000 bonus points (terms) | $155.88 | Apply |
| American Express Gold Rewards Card | * 2 points for every $1 spent on gas, groceries, drugstores, and travel * 1 point for every $1 spent on all other purchases |  $125 GeniusCash + Up to 60,000 bonus points (terms) | $250 | Apply |
| American Express Green Card | * 1 point per $1 spent on all purchases | 10,000 bonus points (terms) | $0 | Apply |
| RBC Avion Visa Infinite | * 1.25 points per $1 spent on travel * 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases | $100 GeniusCash + 55,000 bonus points (terms) | $120 | Apply |
| RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege | * 1.25 points per $1 spent on all purchases | Up to 70,000 bonus points (terms) | $399 | Apply |
How to redeem Avios points
Avios points take their value from what you spend them on, making your choice of rewards all-important. The 6 redemption options are:
- Avios + Cash
- Convert Points
- Experiences
- Flights
- Shopping
- Vacation Packages
But just because you can redeem your Avios for something doesn’t mean you should. Read on for a detailed explanation of how to redeem your points and tips for maximizing value, from best to worst.
Flights
Average value: 4 CPP
Categories: Classic Awards, Flexi Awards, Partner flights, and Qatar Airways flight upgrades
Best option: A one-way, nonstop flight in Business Class from Toronto (YYZ) to London (LHR) aboard British Airways for $10,225 or 80,000 Avios + $1,015.73 CAD (11.5 CPP)
Although Qatar Airways doesn’t publish a flight award chart (not for its own flights, anyway) you can estimate how many Avios it’ll take to fly using the QCalculator. If you’re having trouble finding a reward seat, use My Reward Seat Finder first.
After calculating the values of a handful of flights between Qatar Airways’ main hub, Doha (DOH), and the most popular destinations around the world, we found the following:
- Classic Awards are worth an average of 4 CPP. Classic Awards are pre-selected reward seats paid entirely in Avios, aside from a small cash fee starting at $30 USD.
- Flexi Awards are worth an average of 1.75 CPP. Flexi Awards let you book any seat on any Qatar Airways flight at any time, but they cost twice as much Avios as Classic Awards.
- Partner flights are worth an average of 3.5 CPP. Finding partner flights on the Qatar Airways website is difficult, and although we found a great deal on a BA flight to London, we don’t think it represents the typical offerings.
- Upgrades on Qatar Airways flights are worth an average of 4 CPP. The cost to upgrade from Economy to First or Business Class ranges from 4,000 – 147,000 points online and 12,000 – 252,000 points at the airport.
Because Qatar Airways’ website only lets you book reward flights up to 6 months in advance, our numbers represent the value of off-peak flights. You could get about 20% less value from your points if you fly on peak travel dates.
On the Qatar Airways website, any flight without a green "Off-peak" label is considered a “Peak” fare.
Convert points
Average value: 2.5 CPP
Categories: ALL - Accor Live Limitless, Al Meera, British Airways, Marriott Bonvoy
Best option: Transfer at least 1,000 Avios to your British Airways Club account and redeem them on BA flights (2.5 CPP)
Just as you can convert other points to Avios, you can transform Avios into other points. Log into the Qatar Airways website, navigate to your dashboard, click "Spend My Avios," and scroll down to find the conversion page.
Your best option is to transfer at least 1,000 Avios to your British Airways Club account for free. Avios spent on BA flights are worth an average of 2.5 CPP each. You can also transform 1,000 Avios into 500 Marriott Bonvoy points (valued at 0.97 CPP) or 3,250 Avios into 5,000 Meera Rewards points.
Vacation packages
Average value: 2 CPP
Categories: Airport transfers, Flight + hotel, Formula 1, Hotels, Tours, Qatar stopovers
Whenever you book an airport transfer, vacation package, hotel, tour, or anything else through the Qatar Airways Holidays website, you’ll have the option to pay for it with Avios. If you’re a Formula 1 fan, be warned: you’ll probably have to depart from a major US city to use these deals.
In fact, the few values we calculated belonged to a trio of promotional 4-night vacations from Madrid (MAD) to Doha (DOH). They were worth an average of 2 CPP, but you’ll probably get less value from hotels and activities.
Avios + Cash
Average value: 1 CPP
Categories: Extra baggage fees, Flights, Vacation packages
If you don’t have enough Avios to completely cover the cost of a Classic or Flexi Award or a partner flight, you can pay for your ticket with a combination of Avios + Cash. The same goes for Qatar Airways Holidays packages, which require a minimum of 2,000 Avios for a discount.
Unfortunately, reward flights and part payments aren’t created equal. Spending your Avios on a flight, holiday, or baggage discount sinks their value to an average of 1 CPP.
Shopping
Value: 0.94 CPP
Categories: Oryx Galleria, Qatar Duty Free
You can only Pay with Avios at the Oryx Galleria and Qatar Duty Free in Hamad International Airport in Doha. Although your points are only worth about 0.94 CPP, Privilege Club members get a special discount. Take 10% off if you have Burgundy status, 15% off for Silver and Gold, and 20% off for Platinum, bringing your points to a maximum value of 1.02 CPP.
To get started, download the Qatar Airways app and present your membership card and boarding pass at the checkout. Note that you can only redeem up to 500,000 points per day, and some stores – such as Pandora, Starbucks, and Costa Coffee – don’t accept Avios.
Experiences
Categories: Bid, Buy
Using the Privilege Club Collection website, members can redeem Avios on Formula 1 packages, concerts, sporting events, and one-of-a-kind memorabilia. You might have the option to buy some experiences outright, but part of the fun is participating in the auction for these incredible events.
To get your money’s worth, we recommend treating Avios points like cash. Assume 5,000 Avios = $100 CAD and you’ll give yourself 2 CPP regardless of the item’s actual value.
How to get the most out of your Avios points
Qatar Airways’ Privilege Club doesn’t offer as many earning and redemption opportunities as other frequent flier programs – especially for Canadians. To maximize your Avios:
- Book airport transfers, car rentals, hotels, vacations, and tours through Qatar Airways Holidays whenever possible
- Book flights with partner airlines and provide your Privilege Club membership number during checkout
- Convert your Amex or RBC rewards points to Avios using the British Airways Club, then transfer them to your Privilege Club account
- Convert your ALL, Hilton Honors, and Marriott Bonvoy points to Avios whenever possible
- Fly Qatar Airways whenever possible
- Link your British Airways and Privilege Club accounts and use our tips to maximize Avios on the British side
- Maintain your Privilege Club status once you reach Silver, Gold, or Platinum for maximum earnings
- Nominate and pool points with family members
- Redeem your points on Classic Award flights in Business Class on off-peak dates
- Avoid Avios + Cash payments and Flexi Awards flights
- Avoid booking Classic Award flights in Economy and/or on peak travel dates
Although Qatar Airways generally backs Avios points with good value, redeeming said points on flights and upgrades can be frustrating. The Privilege Club program is best suited for Canadians who frequently travel to the Middle East or have family members willing to collect points on their behalf.
FAQ
Is Qatar Airways Privilege Club free?
Anyone can join the Qatar Airways Privilege Club online and begin earning Avios points for free.
What do you get with Qatar Privilege Club?
Privilege Club membership grants the ability to collect and redeem Avios on Qatar Airways flights, partner flights, Qatar Duty-Free shopping, and more.
Does Qatar Airways give free lounge access?
Silver, Gold, and Platinum Privilege Club members enjoy free lounge access at Hamad International Airport. Gold members can bring 1 guest into the lounge for free, while Platinum members can bring up to 2.
How do I get Silver Privilege Club on Qatar Airways?
You must earn 150 Qpoints within a calendar year to reach Silver Privilege Club status. If you already have Silver status, you can maintain it by earning 135 Qpoints within 12 months or 270 within 24 months.
Do you get complimentary drinks on Qatar Airways?
Qatar Airways flights serve complimentary coffee, tea, soda, juice, or alcohol.
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