There was a lot of tinkering with the Qatar Airways Privilege Club yesterday. The eventual news is not great, but the good news is that it is not as bad as it was made out to be at the start of yesterday morning.

Act 1: Qatar Airways Privilege Club raises taxes and charges on Avios Redemptions

The first act, which took place overnight on Saturday (September 14) and Sunday (September 15, 2024), saw Qatar Airways show very high overhead costs on redeeming Avios via Qatar Airways Privilege Club. The change was made in the “Carrier Imposed Fees per Passenger.” Look at the charges asked for yesterday morning for a US—India redemption in Business Class.

Qatar Airways used to apply a segment-wise redemption fee of USD35 for Economy Class tickets and USD70 for Business Class tickets. First Class, when available, was USD 100. This meant a US-India redemption in Business Class would incur a USD 140 surcharge across two flights one way, in addition to whatever other government taxes were charged on the route.

This change happened across the airline, and it turns out it was a mistake, but it was in the intended direction of where the airline wanted to go.

Act 2: Qatar Airways rolls out distance-wise redemption charges

These wild changes were later rolled back and attributed to an airline error or misfiling. However, the airline ultimately intended to increase the charges for redemptions, which they did. While QR used to previously charge the surcharge based on the number of segments flown, they’re now charged based on the distance flown.

As per Qatar Airways, Qatar Airways Privilege Club has transitioned its reward fees policy for redeeming Qatar Airways award flights from a sector-based model to a distance-based structure, effective September 15, 2024. Reward fees have decreased by up to 15% or remained unchanged for several of its most popular short—and medium-haul routes, while others have increased in terms of the distance travelled.

These redemption fees apply when booking through Qatar Airways Privilege Club, British Airways Executive Club, or any other program that passes on surcharges. Programs like American AAdvantage and Alaska Mileage Plan don’t pass on surcharges.

Hence, the impact of this move will only be on the long-haul segments. For instance,

• On Delhi to Doha, the Business Class Redemption surcharge remains at USD 70, while the Economy Class Redemption Surcharge remains at USD 35.
• On Delhi to Kenya, the Business Class Redemption surcharge has increased modestly from USD 140 (USD 70 x 2 segments) to USD 160 per passenger.
• The Business Class Surcharge has increased from USD 70 to USD 200 per passenger on the Doha to Los Angeles route.

Remember, these are just the “surcharges”, not including the government and airport taxes due to be paid, which will be over and above these charges.

Ultimately, the new charges are higher than the old charges, at least in the airline’s premium cabins, but as the world goes, the airline has managed to keep them “reasonable”, so it is all okay, or at least so the internet wisdom thinks. I prefer a notice, but it is what it is.

Bottomline

Qatar Airways has recalibrated fees for redemptions on their Privilege Club loyalty programme, a fee they pocket. The programme has moved from a fixed redemption fee dictated by the travel sector to a format where the airline will charge per the distance flown in a cabin. While the exact “redemption fee” per distance is not yet fully known, this will be higher for long-haul and ultra-long-haul segments. This is in addition to the actual taxes and airport charges payable.

What do you make of the changes to Qatar Airways’ Privilege Club Redemption Charges?

---

Liked our articles and our efforts? Please pay an amount you are comfortable with; an amount you believe is the fair price for the content you have consumed. Please enter an amount in the box below and click on the button to pay; you can use Netbanking, Debit/Credit Cards, UPI, QR codes, or any Wallet to pay. Every contribution helps cover the cost of the content generated for your benefit.

(Important: to receive confirmation and details of your transaction, please enter a valid email address in the pop-up form that will appear after you click the ‘Pay Now’ button. For international transactions, use Paypal to process the transaction.)

We are not putting our articles behind any paywall where you are asked to pay before you read an article. We are asking you to pay after you have read the article if you are satisfied with the quality and our efforts.