Qatar Airways Privilege Club

Most of the year, Qatar Airways runs promotions that offer travelers one or more incentives to join its Privilege Club program and if you're US-based, the fact that Qatar Airways is a Citi Thank You program transfer partner is another good reason to get signed up if you aren't already. There is, however, a third reason to make sure that you're a Privilege Club member - you get emailed a future flight discount in honor of your birthday.

Qatar Airways has launched a new promotion in which it's offering members of its Privilege Club (which free to join) up to 20% off fares between various European countries and the airline's destinations in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Oceania (this is a similar promotion to one that appeared back in March).

Qatar Airways has launched a new version of the bonus Avios promotion which we saw running in May, and this time around there are a few key differences that you should keep in mind. Usually, this offer is for a 30% bonus and is restricted to banking currencies only. This time around there's a 25% bonus on offer, ALL (Accor's loyalty program) and Shangri-La Circle are included, and Qatar Airways is throwing in an extra bonus for every 100,000 Avios created in one move.

Oman Air is set to join the oneworld alliance towards the end of the year at which point all of the airline's Business Class and Economy Class awards should become bookable with oneworld currencies like AAdvantage miles and Avios, but not before. So why are some long-haul Oman Air awards now seemingly bookable with Avios?

Following on from the Americas promotion we wrote about yesterday, it looks like Qatar Airways is also running a European promotion which, although less rewarding than the Americas promotion, could still give travelers invested in the Privilege Club program and nice boost towards earning or retaining elite status.

Historically, most people outside of the US didn't really have much use for JetBlue. It was an airline focused mainly on the northeast of the United States and aside from a few routes to Mexico and the Caribbean from the East Coast, it didn't have an international presence. Today, the airline's routes are still mostly centered around the northeast of the US, but because it now also operates flights across the Atlantic, it has found a broader audience.

Marriott Bonvoy and a few other programs have been giving allowing members to spend their points/miles on experiences (tickets to concerts, sporting events, etc...) for some time, and now Qatar Airways has joined in with the unveiling of its 'Privilege Club Collection'.

An important change that took place in the miles and points world earlier this year had the knock-on effect of making Citi's ThankYou points a little more valuable and it's that knock-on effect that I'll discuss in this article.

Last month, Qatar Airways announced that its Privilege Club frequent flyer program would be replacing Qmiles with Avios as its currency and as of today, that transition appears to be complete. As importantly, not only do flights credited to the Privilege Club now earn Avios but flyers with British Airways Executive Club and Privilege Club accounts can now link those accounts and move Avios between them.

In an announcement that's nothing short of stunning, Qatar Airways has confirmed that it will be adopting Avios as the currency for its Privilege Club loyalty program from late next month. Qmiles are going to be history and going forward, Privilege Club program members will earn the same currency as members of the British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus, and Aer Club.

Earlier this year, Qatar Airways and JetBlue announced that their "strategic partnership"  would be expanding with the airlines codesharing on more routes and with reciprocal loyalty program benefits on the way for Privilege Club and TrueBlue members. As of yesterday, one of those reciprocal benefits was finally delivered with JetBlue and Qatar Airways flyers now able to earn points/miles on both airlines.

It was only last November when we saw Qatar Airways first introduce its version of an unbundled Business Class fare which no longer offered free seat selection or lounge access as part of its benefits package. Now, less than a year later, Qatar Airways is overhauling its Business Class fare structure once again and the latest changes could spell the end of the line for those of us accustomed to earning valuable elite status by booking the best deals that Qatar Airways offers.

Qatar Airways has announced that, with immediate effect, Platinum-tier Privilege Club members may access the Al Safwa First Class lounge in Doha free of charge when traveling in Business Class.

I've always considered Qatar Airways to be the better of the 3 big Middle Eastern carriers - less "bling" than Emirates, less  penny-pinching than Etihad and offering a better Business Class product than both. But now the airline has gone and done something that cheapens the brand and, frankly, doesn't make much sense.