Qatar Airways is offering a 50% bonus when you buy or gift Avios points as part of a flash sale over the next few days, giving you the opportunity to top up your balance in this frequent flyer programme from 1.87 US cents per mile (around 2.5 Singapore cents per mile).
Better still, if you have an address in a location Qatar Airways sells its miles to directly, like the UK or Europe, the cost per Avios point comes way down to as little as 1.84 Singapore cents – a much more compelling proposition. Qatar Airways allows you to change your Privilege Club address instantly, and as often as you like, which you may find useful.
You can buy up to 250,000 Avios in the Qatar Privilege Club programme per calendar year, which is 375,000 miles including the bonus if you buy during this promotion for a top-up or even a full redemption in some cases.
That can be a good deal – especially now that you can also transfer these Avios into the British Airways programme, for good value intra-Asia awards, as well as Qatar Airways flights themselves.
One downside about this promotion is that the lowest cost per mile kicks in only at 26,000+ Avios purchased (39,000 Avios including the 50% bonus), so if you just need a small top-up it’s going to be more expensive.
Here’s how the cost of Avios looks under this 50% bonus offer, for a Singapore-based account:
| Miles purchased | Usual Cost per mile |
Promotion Cost per mile |
| 1,000 – 5,000 | 3.70 US ¢ | 2.47 US ¢ (3.28 SG ¢) |
| 6,000 – 10,000 | 3.10 US ¢ | 2.07 US ¢ (2.75 SG ¢) |
| 11,000 – 25,000 | 2.90 US ¢ | 1.93 US ¢ (2.56 SG ¢) |
| 26,000 – 250,000 | 2.80 US ¢ | 1.87 US ¢ (2.48 SG ¢) |
Nothing to write home about here.
However, as alluded to earlier, if you have an address in one of Qatar’s other markets, you can access local pricing when purchasing Avios.
I have a legitimate address in the UK as well as Singapore, so I simply flicked my account address over to that one (an instant process) and voila – I can now buy Avios in GBP at much more attractive rates.
Here’s how the cost of Avios looks under this 50% bonus offer, for a UK-based account:
| Miles purchased | Usual Cost per mile |
Promotion Cost per mile |
| 1,000 – 5,000 | 2.10 GB p | 1.40 GB p (2.34 SG ¢) |
| 6,000 – 10,000 | 1.80 GB p | 1.20 GB p (2.00 SG ¢) |
| 11,000 – 25,000 | 1.70 GB p | 1.13 GB p (1.89 SG ¢) |
| 26,000 – 250,000 | 1.65 GB p | 1.10 GB p (1.84 SG ¢) |
If you too have a UK address you can use, this is clearly a far better option for buying Avios under this promotion. It reflects instantly at the buy Avios portal, once you update the information in ‘Your contact details’ under ‘Edit profile’.
You can amend the postal address on your Qatar Privilege Club at any time, but you can only have one “preferred postal address” at any one time according to the terms and conditions of the programme.
Similarly if you have an address in mainland Europe, like Germany, the cost per mile is 1.27 Euro cents per Avios point (1.85 Singapore cents). Fantastisch!
Deadline: 12th May 2023
This bonus offer ends at 11.59pm on Thursday 11th May 2023 in Qatar, which is 4.59am on Friday 12th May 2023 Singapore Time.
Unless you’re a very early riser, it’s no doubt more sensible to make any purchase you need during this promotion by the end of the day on Thursday 11th May 2023.
Other things to know
- You must have earned at least 1,000 Avios since you first joined the Qatar Privilege Club in order to buy Avios. Your current balance, however, can be less than this.
- These Avios can be earned through flight accrual, credit card points transfer, partner accrual or a transfer from British Airways Avios.
Citi PayAll is an alternative
Citi’s PayAll programme in Singapore is currently running a promotional earn rate on a range of miles-earning cards with 2.2 cents per mile for a 2.2% transaction fee.
This allows you to generate miles at 1 Singapore cent each, which are transferable into Qatar Airways Privilege Club Avios or British Airways Avios, provided you have between S$8,000 and S$120,000 of expenses to make through the portal between now and 20th August 2023.
This obviously works out as a cheaper way to top-up your Avios balance if you are able to participate, compared to this direct purchase promotion, even when buying in GBP.
QRPC award surcharges are back
When it shifted to using the Avios currency, Qatar Airways rather sneakily reintroduced a carrier-imposed booking fee on award redemptions, in addition to the taxes and fees normally payable, and of course in addition to the unchanged Qmiles (now Avios) redemption rates themselves.
Surcharges apply sector-by-sector and are applied at the rates shown below:
- Economy: US$35
- Business & First: US$70
The problem for most of our readers is that the sector-by-sector nature of the additional charge means paying at least twice for a redemption from Singapore (e.g. to Europe) and then twice again on the way back home if you’re also using Avios on Qatar for the return trip.
For a round-trip Business Class award (e.g. SIN-DOH-MAD-DOH-SIN) that’s potentially an additional US$280 (~S$370) cash outlay per person, compared to previous charges.
Very few people are merely going from Singapore to Doha and back, in which case the surcharge would only be applied once for a one-way award and twice for a round-trip.
Business Class to Europe from S$1,288
For our readers based in Singapore, one of the best value redemptions on Qatar Airways is to Europe and back in Business Class.
Here’s an example of how you can use this buy Avios promotion to fly from Singapore to Athens and some other cities in Business Class on Qatar Airways for just 70,000 Avios + S$260 in taxes.
QRPC
Business Class redemptions from Singapore
(one-way)
| Route |  |
 |
|
| QR Avios | Effective Cost (buy Avios bonus) |
KF Miles | |
| Singapore Doha |
50,000 +S$152 |
S$920 +S$152 |
n/a |
| Singapore Athens |
70,000 +S$260 |
S$1,288 +S$260 |
n/a |
| Singapore London |
75,000 +S$260 |
S$1,380 +S$260 |
103,500 +S$52 |
| Singapore New York |
95,000 +S$289 |
S$1,748 +S$289 |
111,500 +S$76* |
* S$109 to S$143 if routing via FRA
As you can see, a purchase of 75,000 Avios in the programme for S$1,380 is enough to get you from Singapore to London via Doha in the Qatar Airways Qsuite Business Class, with around S$260 in additional taxes and fees to pay.
That’s a great deal compared to 103,500 miles + S$52 with KrisFlyer.
While a transit in Doha is inconvenient, do remember that Qatar Airways is serving many cities in Europe and the USA which require a transit anyway when you fly with SIA – like Mykonos, Sofia, Madrid, Boston or Washington.
This is also a way to buy BA Avios
Since Qatar Airways shifted its frequent flyer currency into Avios, the loyalty points of the IAG Group in which the airline has a 25% stake, these frequent flyer points aren’t only good for redeeming only on the airline itself.
You can now easily link your British Airways Avios and Qatar Airways Avios accounts together (see this guide) and make unlimited instant transfers back and forth between the two.
This allows you to tap good value short-haul redemptions on other oneworld carriers at the BA Avios rates, which are far better than the Qatar Avios rates when used to redeem oneworld flights directly.
Here are some examples of how you can make good value redemptions with this deal by buying Qatar Avios in GBP with a 50% bonus, then transferring them free 1:1 into your British Airways Avios account.
BA Avios via QRPC
Business Class redemptions from Singapore
(one-way)
| Route |  |
Using KrisFlyeror  Asia Miles |
|
| BA Avios | Effective Cost (buy Avios bonus) |
||
| Singapore Kuala Lumpur (MH) |
12,500 +S$75 |
S$230 +S$75 |
21,000 +S$52 |
| Singapore Colombo (UL) |
22,000 +S$167 |
S$405 +S$167 |
43,000 +S$52 |
| Singapore Perth (QF) |
38,750 +S$86 |
S$713 +S$86 |
40,500 +S$76 |
| Singapore Sydney (QF) |
62,000 +S$113 |
S$1,141 +S$113 |
68,500 +S$84 |
| Singapore Sydney (BA)* |
50,000 +S$239 |
S$920 +S$239 |
|
| Singapore Tokyo (JL) |
62,000 +S$283 |
S$1,141 +S$283 |
52,000 +S$52 |
| Singapore Helsinki (AY) |
92,750 +S$52 |
S$1,707 +S$52 |
70,000 +S$52 |
| Singapore London (QF) |
108,250 +S$69 |
S$1,992 +S$69 |
103,500 +S$52 |
| Singapore London (BA)* |
87,500 +S$276 |
S$1,610 +S$276 |
|
* Based on off-peak travel dates. BA charges more Avios for travel on its own flights during peak periods.
As you can see you can unlock some attractive effective fares with this buy Avios deal.
Remember that even relatively basic awards like Malaysia Airlines Business Class from Singapore to KL are also your ticket to Qatar Airways’ superb Premium Lounge at Changi Airport, for some pre-flight Champagne and à la carte dining.
Even the excellent 70,000 Asia Miles rate for Finnair’s non-stop Singapore – Helsinki flight, which now has the well-rated new Business Class product, comes in at a decent cost under this deal – S$1,288 for the miles, plus minimal taxes of around S$50.
Another great pick is BA non-stop from Singapore to Sydney in Business Class for the equivalent of less than S$920 when buying Avios (though watch out for BA’s fuel surcharges, which lumber you with another S$240 to contend with!).
BA’s Avios Economy Class pricing for its own flights and those of oneworld partners is also worth looking at here, with the following examples representing great value versus a KrisFlyer Saver Economy or Asia Miles award.
BA Avios via QRPC
Economy Class redemptions from Singapore
(one-way)
| Route | |
UsingKrisFlyer or Asia Miles |
|
| BA Avios | Effective Cost (buy Avios bonus) |
||
| Singapore Kuala Lumpur (MH) |
6,000 +S$75 |
S$110 +S$75 |
8,500 +S$52 |
| Singapore Colombo (UL) |
11,000 +S$167 |
S$202 +S$167 |
20,500 +S$52 |
| Singapore Perth (QF) |
13,000 +S$86 |
S$239 +S$86 |
21,500 +S$76 |
| Singapore Sydney (QF) |
20,000 +S$113 |
S$368 +S$113 |
30,500 +S$84 |
| Singapore Sydney (BA)* |
13,000 +S$239 |
S$239 +S$239 |
|
| Singapore Tokyo (JL) |
20,750 +S$283 |
S$382 +S$283 |
27,000 +S$52 |
| Singapore Helsinki (AY) |
31,000 +S$52 |
S$570 +S$52 |
35,000 +S$52 |
| Singapore London (QF) |
35,000 +S$69 |
S$644 +S$69 |
42,000 +S$52 |
| Singapore London (BA)* |
22,750 +S$276 |
S$419 +S$276 |
|
* Based on off-peak travel dates. BA charges more Avios for travel on its own flights during peak periods.
We’d definitely snag Singapore to Perth in Economy on a daytime A330 flight with the great 2-4-2 configuration – perfect for couples by the window – at 13,000 Avios each way (S$239 to buy, plus S$86 in taxes).
Remember that for sub-26,000 Avios equivalent rates in these examples, we are still assuming you will make a 26,000+ miles total single purchase to pick up the best Avios rate when you buy, in GBP.
The Qsuite is back on Singapore flights
In recent good news, Qatar Airways is once again dedicating only aircraft with its Qsuite Business Class product on all three daily flights between Singapore and Doha.
This marks a welcome return for the carrier’s highly-lauded seats without the added risk of older products in the mix, and yes – the carrier is sticking to it so far!
Buying Avios resets the expiry clock
Since July 2020, Qatar’s Avios work on an activity-based expiry policy, meaning any earning or redemption will ‘reset the clock’ for all Avios in your account – keeping them alive for another 36 months (as with BA Avios).
That means any purchase you make during this campaign will extend your entire stash for three years.
Do note that transfers between Qatar Avios and British Airways Avios do not reset the expiration clock (that would be too easy!).
Is Privilege Club trustworthy?
Here’s perhaps the biggest concern with this deal.
Qatar Airways has previously devalued its Qmiles overnight, without notice, by a whopping 40% (and on some routes by 80%).
That has always led us to recommend that QRPC is not a frequent flyer programme to trust with a large miles balance in your account for too long.
We would only recommend buying miles if you have a specific redemption in mind to book in the near future, even with this bonus on offer.
The ability to combine your Avios 1:1 with your British Airways account does hopefully provide some partial insurance here, since even if Qatar Airways devalues its own awards you should still be able to tap good value Avios redemptions in the region.
Which card to use
If you are going to buy miles in this promotion, and assuming like most of our readers you are based in Singapore, you’ll want to achieve the maximum number of credit card miles for the purchase itself when buying Avios.
The transaction happens in US dollars or the local currency of the market of your account address (the UK seems to work out best!), but in any case it’s not in SGD. Payment is processed by points.com.
You can earn the most extra miles for the purchase transaction by using one of the following Singapore issued credit cards if you can:
| Card | Miles per S$1 | Notes |
 Citi Rewards Visa / MasterCard(see our review) |
4.0 | 4 mpd on all online spend in a statement period, capped at S$1,000 per card. |
 DBS WWMC*(see our review) |
4.0* | 4 mpd on all online spend in a calendar month, capped at S$2,000. |
 UOB Visa Signature(see our review) |
4.0 | 4 mpd on all overseas spend of at least S$1,000 in a statement period, capped at S$2,000. |
 Standard Chartered Visa Infinite(see our review) |
3.0 | For non-SGD spend, provided total card spend (any currency) is S$2,000 or greater in the same statement cycle. |
 UOB PRVI Miles (see our review) |
2.4 | All non-SGD spend. |
 DBS Vantage |
2.3 | All non-SGD spend. |
 OCBC Voyage Visa(see our review) |
2.2 | All non-SGD spend. |
 Citi PremierMiles (see our review) |
2.0 | All non-SGD spend. |
 Citi Prestige (see our review) |
2.0 | All non-SGD spend. |
* Note: Our readers have reported that using the DBS WWMC card via points.com does not automatically award the higher 4 mpd earn rate. You must usually appeal and claim the bonus miles later.
Summary
2.5 Singapore cents per mile is not really a competitive rate to pick up Qatar Airways Avios, even now that the programme has been ‘revalued’, plus it requires a hefty commitment to purchase at least 26,000 miles during this flash sale.
1.8 Singapore cents per mile, however, is a different proposition. To take advantage, you’ll have to switch your Privilege Club account address across to a (completely legitimate) UK or European one, prior to making your purchase. Don’t worry – you can change it back later (we already tested that!).
A purchase of 70,000 miles to achieve a Business Class redemption from Singapore to Athens would come in at a cost of GBP 770 (S$1,287) during this offer – not bad at all in our book.
Remember you can also transfer Citi credit card points at a 2.5:1 ratio (1:1 for PremierMiles cardholders) and Standard Chartered credit card points at a less attractive 3.5:1 ratio, so there is often no particular need for most of our readers to buy Avios, unlike Alaska Miles for example.
Another word of warning – given Qatar’s previous no-notice Privilege Club devaluation, we would only recommend buying Avios if you have a specific redemption in mind to book in the near future. This is not a frequent flyer programme to trust with a large miles balance in your account long-term.
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(Cover Photo: Qatar Airways)