Qatar Airways‘ own frequent flyers are part of the Privilege Club program. As a oneworld member carrier, Privilege Club miles can be used for a range of flights across Qatar Airways and partners such as American Airlines, Qantas and Cathay Pacific.
However, given that the Privilege Club program is based in Qatar, points-earning opportunities for Australians are more limited. But it’s still worth considering putting some effort into earning miles if you like to fly Qatar Airways, as the redemption rates are competitive and you also don’t have to pay the airline’s high fuel surcharges – win-win!
You can also now transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to Privilege Club in Australia and New Zealand.
How do I join Qatar Airways Privilege Club?
Signing up for the Privilege Club loyalty program is free. You can sign up using this link.
- Go to the Privilege Club enrolment page
- Create the credentials you’ll use to login
- Enter your name and other personal details
- Click ‘Create an account’ to finalise your registration
How do I earn Avios?
From flying
Avios are the miles you can earn at various partners and then spend for rewards. You can earn Avios on all partner airline and Qatar Airways flights, as well as from over 100 other global non-flight partners. Use the Qcalculator to work out how much you could earn on your next flight.
(On the other hand, Qpoints are awarded to help you upgrade or renew your Privilege Club membership tier. We’ve got more details on that below, when we talk about Privilege Club status).
On Qatar Airways’ own flights, members will earn between 50% to 300% of the actual mileage flown, depending on which cabin and ticket you purchase. The airline also has an ongoing promotion where you’ll earn 2,000 Avios with your first online flight booking and 500 Avios per subsequent booking.
For partner airlines, the earn rate will vary and it’s best to check the partner page directly. For example, you’ll earn 25%-150% of the mileage flown on Qantas, but not on domestic standalone flights.
From credit card reward programs
Australian and New Zealand American Express Membership Rewards members can now transfer their Amex MR points to Qatar Airways Privilege Club! The rate is the standard 2 to 1, which means there are some excellent redemption opportunities, which we cover later on.
You can also transfer points from these points programs to Qatar Airways Privilege Club:
- Commbank Awards: 3.5 points to 1 Avios
- Citi Rewards (Prestige card only): 3 points to 1 Avios
From other credit cards
You could also:
- Earn one Avios for every US$1 spent on booking.com stays worldwide (yes, this would work in Australia).
- Choose Avios as your reward of choice when staying with hotel chains such as Marriott Bonvoy, World of Hyatt and more.
- Hire a car and earn 500 Avios for standard rentals at providers such as Hertz, Budget and Avis
- Earn Avios from selected international credit cards.
Buy Avios
While you can buy up to 250,000 Avios a year, the rates are usually quite expensive. With normal pricing, you can buy 250,000 Avios for A$9,930, which is 3.9 cents per point. We’d recommend waiting for a promo to bring the cost down a bit – keep an eye out on the Point Hacks newsletter for any Privilege Club offers.
Every time you spend or earn an Avios, your balance will be valid for a further 36 months. That’s a pretty generous miles expiry policy for a frequent flyer program, so you can earn with confidence. You can also re-validate your balance for a fee if your Avios happen to expire.
How do I use Avios?
With Qatar Airways
Like any other frequent flyer program, Avios usually give you the best return when used on flights – particularly Qatar Airways’ own. Take this example from Melbourne to Geneva in Qatar Airways Business Class:
- Using Avios: 90,000 Avios + AU$352 one-way
- Using Qantas Points: 159,000 Qantas Points + A$750 one-way
- Using Velocity Points: 139,000 Velocity Points + A$750 one-way
If you were transferring American Express Membership Rewards points to any of those three programs, which use the same 2:1 rate, you’d be best off with Avios.
The below table shows officially how many Avios you would need for Qatar Airways flights from Australia to these popular destinations, excluding airport taxes.
| Qatar Airways one-way travel from Australia* | Economy | Business | First |
| to Doha | 35,000 | 70,000 | 105,000 |
| to Europe via Doha | 45,000 | 90,000 | 135,000 |
| to the US via Doha | 60,000 | 120,000 | 180,000 |
Note: At the moment, availability at the lower ‘Saver’ rate is tight, particularly to and from Europe around the time of the 2024 Olympics in Paris. You may see ‘Flex’ awards which are double the prices in the table.
Those who are Privilege Club Gold or Platinum members enjoy a further 5% off these reward rates. For example, Sydney to Doha in Business Class would drop from 70,000 Avios to 66,500 Avios. If you were transferring American Express Membership Rewards points, you’d only need 133,000 MR points to redeem a one-way Business Class ticket to Doha as a Privilege Club Platinum member!
With partner airlines
In mid-2023, Qatar Airways also improved its partner award chart to better match British Airways Executive Club. There are now some decent sweet spots, though you can also just transfer your Avios to Executive Club and book through there.
| Distance | Economy | Premium Economy | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-650 miles | 6,000 Avios | 9,000 Avios | 12,500 Avios | 24,000 Avios |
| 651-1,151 miles | 9,000 Avios | 12,500 Avios | 16,500 Avios | 33,000 Avios |
| 1,152-2,000 miles | 11,000 Avios | 16,500 Avios | 22,000 Avios | 44,000 Avios |
| 2,001-3,000 miles | 13,000 Avios | 25,250 Avios | 38,750 Avios | 51,500 Avios |
| 3,001-4,000 miles | 20,750 Avios | 41,250 Avios | 62,000 Avios | 82,500 Avios |
| 4,001-5,500 miles | 25,750 Avios | 51,500 Avios | 77,250 Avios | 103,000 Avios |
| 5,501-6,500 miles | 31,000 Avios | 62,000 Avios | 92,750 Avios | 123,750 Avios |
| 6,501-7,000 miles | 36,250 Avios | 72,250 Avios | 108,250 Avios | 144,250 Avios |
| Above 7,001 miles miles | 51,500 Avios | 103,000 Avios | 154,500 Avios | 206,000 Avios |
Take a Melbourne to Perth Qantas flight reward in Business Class: Avios is now more competitive than Qantas Points, though not quite as good as American Airlines AAdvantage miles.
- Qantas Frequent Flyer: 41,500 Qantas Points
- American Airlines AAdvantage: 20,000 AA miles
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club: 22,000 Avios
However, changes to new and existing partner reward bookings can now only be made by manual request online. Qatar Airways recommends you provide two alternate dates in case there is no availability. You also need to submit your requests at least four days before travel. That’s why we still recommend transferring your Avios to Executive Club and booking through there if the airline and reward seat is available.
Qatar Airways’ non-oneworld partner airlines include:
- Bangkok Airways
- JetBlue
- LATAM
- MEA
- Oman Air
- RwandAir
- Virgin Australia
The ‘sweet spots’ on the partner award chart for all those airlines tend to be short and medium-haul journeys under 3,000 miles in Economy, Premium Economy and First, and trips under 2,000 miles in Business.
How do I earn Qatar Airways Privilege Club status?
Qatar Airways Privilege Club has four main status levels: Burgundy, Silver, Gold and Platinum. These tiers are earned with Qpoints, which are awarded on Qatar Airways and some partner airline flights. In addition to the usual qualification or retention levels, you must also have earned 20% of your Qpoints – or flown at least four sectors within 12 months or eight sectors within 24 months – on Qatar Airways marketed or operated flights.
Oneworld elite benefits apply from the Silver tier and higher, although the best perks are found with Gold (oneworld Sapphire) and Platinum tiers (oneworld Emerald).
In July 2023, Qatar Airways teased that its ‘Qcredits’ bonus for Gold and Platinum members would soon be replaced by ‘Keys’. We don’t yet know how Keys will work, but will update this guide when we do.
Privilege Club Burgundy
Achieve/Maintain: Just enrolment in the program
Burgundy is the base Privilege Club membership. You’ll be able to earn and use Privilege Club Avios on rewards, as well as start accumulating Qpoints to upgrade your status.
- 25% mileage per family member on flights eligible to earn Avios
Privilege Club Silver
Achieve: 150 Qpoints within 12 months
Maintain: 135 Qpoints within 12 months or 270 Qpoints within 24 months
Oneworld equivalent: Ruby
Silver members start enjoying a surprisingly large range of perks, such as:
- Priority standby
- Extra 15kg or 1 piece baggage on Qatar Airways flights
- 25% tier bonus on earning Avios on Qatar Airways flights
- 50% mileage per family member on flights eligible to earn Avios
- Priority check-in at Business Class counters (or dedicated counters at Hamad International Airport)
- Priority Boarding
- Business Class lounge access in Doha and select airports (no guests, and excludes Qatar’s Premium Lounges unless you are flying in a premium cabin)
- 2x guest lounge passes at Hamad International Airport
Privilege Club Gold
Achieve: 300 Qpoints within 12 months
Maintain: 270 Qpoints within 12 months or 540 Qpoints within 24 months
Oneworld equivalent: Sapphire
With oneworld Sapphire status in your pocket, you now enjoy Business Class lounge access with one guest and priority airport perks globally when flying with oneworld member airlines. In addition to Silver benefits, you also get:
- Extra 20kg or 1 piece baggage on Qatar Airways flights
- 75% tier bonus on earning Avios on Qatar Airways flights
- 100% mileage per family member on flights eligible to earn Avios
- 40 Qcredits to use on flight upgrades and excess baggage
- Business Class lounge access with one guest (excludes Qatar’s Premium Lounges unless you are flying in a premium cabin)
- 4x guest lounge passes at Hamad International Airport
- Al Maha meet-and-greet services at Hamad International Airport with one guest
- 5% off online reward seat redemptions and with better availability
- Award fee waivers
- Access to preferred seats at the front of Economy
- Priority baggage handling and service through contact centres
Privilege Club Platinum
Achieve: 600 Qpoints within 12 months
Maintain: 540 Qpoints within 12 months or 1,080 Qpoints within 24 months
Oneworld equivalent: Emerald
As the top tier available, Platinum members enjoy the perks of oneworld Emerald including access to First Class lounges of partner airlines where available. There’s also:
- Extra 25kg or 2 pieces baggage on Qatar Airways flights
- 100% tier bonus on earning Avios on Qatar Airways flights
- 60 Qcredits to use on flight upgrades and excess baggage
- First Class lounge access with one guest (excludes Qatar’s Premium Lounges, unless you are also flying Business Class in which case you have access to the Al Safwa First lounge)
- 5x guest lounge passes at Hamad International Airport
- Al Maha meet-and-greet services at Hamad International Airport with two guests
How do I contact Privilege Club?
To get in touch with Qatar Airways Privilege Club about a membership enquiry or flight redemption, try:
- Calling the UK centre at +44 330 024 0127 or the US centre at +1 312 392 3680 – there is no Australian contact number for Privilege Club, unfortunately.
- Sending them a direct message on Twitter or Facebook.
While the call centre might be the quickest way to resolve your issue, try the social media channels if the line is busy or you’re not able to call overseas numbers.
Summing up
Qatar Airways Privilege Club has had its ups and downs in terms of user-friendliness and value, but it’s a decent program overall. Lounge access benefits start from the Silver tier, and members can use Avios for great-value reward flights with no fuel surcharges.
It’s also now much easier to earn Avios in Australia and New Zealand, thanks to American Express Membership Rewards. You can also use hotel programs such as Marriott Bonvoy to transfer points over or wait for Privilege Club to release a sale on buying Avios.
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