Just a few months ago, Qatar Airways changed the currency of its loyalty program, Privilege Club, from QMiles to Avios. The airline joins International Airlines Group carriers Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia and Vueling in using Avios.
Holders of an American Express credit card can now get a nice bonus if they transfer their Membership Rewards to the Privilege Club. If you transfer points with a value of at least 20,000 Avios, the program credits you with a 40% bonus within 45 days after completing the transfer. While AmEx is the most obvious way, there are other financial partners who are eligible for the bonus.
While the promotion officially runs until June 30, 2022, the day the Avios are credited is crucial for the bonus. We advise you to transfer your points about a week before the deadline.
For example, if you initiate the transfer on June 28, but Privilege Club credits the Avios on July 2, you won’t receive the bonus.
If your transfer is worth less than 20,000 Avios, you will still get a 20% bonus. The value of the transaction is the main condition for the bonus: If you do a transaction worth 15,000 Avios twice, both will be rewarded with a 20% bonus. If you instead do one transaction worth 30,000 Avios, you will get the 40% reward.
You also need to be aware that different countries have different exchange rates for Avios. In some countries, you can’t transfer your American Express Membership Reward Points to Avios at all. Here is Qatar Airways official chart for participating countries and MR Points/Avios exchange rates:
So people in Austria and Germany need to transfer 25,005 MR Points (=20,004 Avios) to get the 40% bonus. Holders of a Swedish AmEx need to transfer at least 220,011 MR Points (= 20,001 Avios) in order to get 40% instead of 20% bonus Avios.
Aside of AmEx, there are other bank partners whose loyalty program currency can be converted to Avios with the bonus. You can find a comprehensive list here.
As the table shows you, holders of an American or Canadian AmEx cannot transfer their MR Points to Avios. They can still get the 40% bonus Avios through other Qatar Airways partners like Citibank.
Sweet Spots
Since frequent flyer programs devalue their currencies at any time and without any warnings, it only makes sense to transfer points if you want to use them immediately. This is why we present you with some options to redeem them:
- With Qatar Airways Privilege Club:
- Qatar Business Class Europe – Doha: 34,000 Avios
- Qatar Business Class Europe – Doha – Maldives: 65,000 Avios
- Qatar Business Class Europe – Doha – Thailand: 75,000 Avios
- Qatar Business Class Europe – Doha – Australia: 90,000 Avios
You have to add approx. €300 taxes & surcharges to the Avios price. You can look up prices for Privilege Club award flights here. Furthermore, you have to log in to your account to check availabilities.
- With British Airways Executive Club:1
- BA Economy Class Milan – London for 4,750 Avios + €23 oneway
- BA Business Class Geneva – London for 9,250 Avios + €26 oneway
- With Iberia Plus:1
- Iberia Business Class Madrid – Boston / New York / Chicago for 34,000 Avios + approx. €120 oneway
1 – If the transfer of Privilege Club Avios to the Executive Club and onwards to Iberia Plus is possible.
Cover Picture: © Qatar Airways
Comments (4)
Great information – I am in the USA and neither AMEX nor Qatar knew about the different country eligibility.
I tried this a few days ago and it wasn’t possible. I have a Gold Amex card and have over 20k to transfer but it’s not possible. Any suggestions ?
Thanks in advance.
In which country was your Amex card issued? In the US for example, it’s not possible to transfer Points to Qatar Airways
how many amex miles do I require to get 2 buisnesss class tickets to Goa. I have 240000 miles on account