How to maximise your Avios with Qatar Airways

This week saw a seismic shift in the airline loyalty landscape, with Qatar Airways adopting Avios frequent flyer points – the same as used by British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus and others – as its ‘rewards currency’.

Avios is arguably the world’s most flexible and powerful type of airline points, and it brings new opportunities for Qatar Airways guests travelling across the airline’s extensive network of almost 150 destinations worldwide.

This includes more than 30 destinations in Australia as part of Qatar Airways’ new codeshare partnership with Virgin Australia.

And with Qatar Airways flying to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, there’s every reason for Australians to sign up to the airline’s Qatar Airways Privilege Club loyalty program and experience the world-class Qatar Airways difference.

Earn a 10,000 Avios bonus with Cash+Avios

To get things started, make a Cash+Avios booking with Qatar Airways by March 31, 2022 online at QatarAirways.com (or via the Qatar Airways mobile app), enter the special promo code ETQRAVIOS and you’ll be rewarded with a generous 10,000 Avios bonus in business or first class, or a 5,000 Avios bonus in economy class.

Although your flight must be booked by March 31, the travel period extends to October 31, 2022 – so there's plenty of time to plan for your trip.

And since this is effectively a cash ticket, those bonus Avios come on top of the standard serve of Avios you’ll receive for your flight.

Enjoy a 10,000 Avios bonus when you make a Cash+Avios booking with Qatar Airways.

What if you don’t have any Avios to begin with? Rest easy: new members of the Qatar Airways Privilege Club receive an instant 2,500 Avios bonus (detailed below) – and that's all you need for Qatar Airways’ Cash+Avios booking, as they start with as few as 1,250 Avios.

Of course, the more Avios you put up, the less the cash difference and the better the ‘overall’ rate in terms of Avios value.

Thankfully, if you’re a member of the British Airways Executive Club loyalty program and are sitting on a stack of Avios from BA or partner airline flights, you can also transfer Avios from your BAEC account to your QRPC account.

With no fee, no minimum transfer amount and no balance limitations, this is ideal for keeping all your Avios in one place or moving them to whichever airline you need to redeem them on.

Join Qatar Airways Privilege Club and earn up to a 7,500 Avios bonus

If you’re not already a member of the Qatar Airways Privilege Club loyalty program, right now is the best time to join – because you’ll immediately receive a special ‘welcome gift’ of 2,500 Avios when you sign up by March 31, 2022 using the enrolment promo code FLYQR3.

On top of that, take your first Qatar Airways flight by September 30, 2022 to earn an additional 5,000 bonus Avios for your inaugural journey as a QRPC member.

How to earn Avios with Qatar Airways

Add your QRPC membership number to any Qatar Airways booking and you’ll begin to really rake in the Avios.

For a business class return trip between Sydney and London (a route that from June 1 will see Qatar Airways’ superlative A380 superjumbo), even at Qatar Airways Privilege Club’s entry-level Burgundy tier you’ll earn anywhere from 16,406 Avios to 49,216 Avios depending on the type of business class fare you choose.

And as you climb the Qatar Airways Privilege Club status ladder, even more Avios will fly into your account.

The same Sydney-London business class trip as a QRPC Gold member delivers anywhere from 32,812 Avios on the Business Lite fare (that’s already twice as many Avios than under Burgundy membership) to 60,154 Avios on the most flexible Business Elite fare.

When you hit QRPC Platinum, the same trip boosts your balance by 38,280 Avios to 65, 622 Avios.

Looking at another popular Australia-UK route of Perth to Manchester, your return business class flight with Qatar Airways lands anywhere from 13,742 Avios to 36, 648 Avios.

 And once again, the higher your QRPC status the higher your Avios earn on every Qatar Airways flight.

How to earn Avios on Qantas flights

You can also collect Avios when flying with other members of the Oneworld alliance, including Qantas – just nominate Qatar Airways Privilege Club as the frequent flyer account on your booking and enter your membership number.

(Qatar Airways Avios will be earned only on international Qantas flights, with the exception of domestic Qantas flights connecting with and booked on the same ticket as an international Qantas flight.)

How to earn Avios with Qatar Airways partners

In addition to other airlines, many hotel and car hire firms are Qatar Airways partners, so you can also earn Avios on the ground.

That roster includes Accor, Hilton Hotels (including Conrad and DoubleTree properties), Hyatt and Shangri-La; and on the car rental front, Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt.