Qatar Airways picks Avios as new rewards currency

Qatar Airways said it will be adopting Avios, a leading loyalty currency, as the reward currency for all members worldwide from late March 2022.

All Privilege Club members will experience a seamless transition into the loyalty programme’s new reward currency, Avios, with their existing Qmiles balances changing automatically to Avios on a 1:1 ratio basis.

Privilege Club members will be provided even greater opportunities to accumulate rewards and leverage exciting new innovations in managing and spending with the change to Avios. In addition, members will retain their well-earned rewards balance and will be able to continue enjoying the redemption opportunities they currently have.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker, stated: “The transition from Qmiles to Avios marks a ground-breaking new era for Privilege Club, enabling our loyal members to participate in the most compelling loyalty network and the largest portfolio of partners in the industry.

“As the World’s Best Airline, Qatar Airways continues to redefine loyalty through the adoption of exciting digital innovations to create unique world-class experiences for our members. We look forward to revealing more details of this exciting change over the coming weeks, as we explore even more ways to reward our valued members both on and off the ground.”

IAG Loyalty owns and manages the Avios currency. CEO of IAG Loyalty, Adam Daniels, said: “Qatar Airways have recognised the power of Avios. By adopting Avios they will be able to offer their customers a wider range of benefits and support their business development ambitions. It’s an exciting step for IAG Loyalty as we extend our leadership in loyalty, increase Avios’ global reach, and build out our partnership strategy even further.”

Avios is the global loyalty currency used by British Airways Executive Club, AerClub, Iberia Plus and Vueling Club, and will soon be the new Qatar Airways Privilege Club currency. Through its existing programmes, Avios can be collected across a wide mix of consumer sectors, including aviation, travel, leisure, shopping and financial services. IAG Loyalty currently partners with over 200 leading global brands such as American Express, Nectar, Avis Budget Group and Marriott. Further information is available at iagloyalty.com.

IAG Loyalty and Qatar Airways are working to introduce new customer benefits from the partnership, as well as more ways to earn and collect Avios around the world in the coming months.

Privilege Club has recently honoured the loyalty of its valued members by extending their tier status. This initiative benefits all Silver, Gold and Platinum members whose tier status is due for renewal between December 2021 and December 2022. The tier validity of these members would be automatically extended to 31 December 2022.

Additionally, the airline’s loyalty programme has launched multiple partnerships over the past year to provide members with increased opportunities of earning Avios. Privilege Club members can earn Avios when flying with Qatar Airways, oneworld airline partners, and other airline partners, as well as with a number of financial and lifestyle partners. Avios can be used towards a range of rewards including award flights, cabin upgrades, extra baggage and much more.

Qatar Airways Privilege Club is the Official Frequent Flyer Programme of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, and has recently commenced the one-year countdown to the highly-anticipated tournament with rewarding opportunities for members.