Qatar Airways Privilege Membership affords the best variety of award seats for Qatar Airways flights amongst all loyalty applications.
Since Qsuites enterprise class is such a aggressive product, discovering an award seat on the lowest “Saver” charge can show to be fairly troublesome, irrespective of which program you e book from.
Nonetheless, Qatar Airways Privilege Membership additionally options “Flexi” awards, which supply entry to extra seats in change for a better quantity of factors.
What Are Qatar Airways Privilege Membership Flexi Awards?
Within the Qatar Airways Privilege Membership loyalty program, one distinctive characteristic obtainable to members is Flexi awards.
With Flexi pricing, you get entry to a better variety of award seats, albeit at twice the price of the “Saver” off-peak award worth.
It’s price noting that that is completely different than dynamic pricing, for the reason that value is all the time fastened at twice the quantity of a normal, off-peak award seat, and doesn’t in any other case fluctuate.
While you seek for an award flight on the Qatar Airways web site, you could discover the phrase Flexi within the search outcomes. This denotes that the worth you see is twice that of the usual, off-peak “Saver” charge.
If you happen to don’t see Flexi above the search outcomes, then that you just’re paying the decrease “Saver” charge, which is a superb deal.
For instance, a “Saver” award for a one-way flight from Montreal to Doha prices 70,000 Avios on off-peak dates in Qsuites enterprise class.
Nonetheless, the Flexi worth for a similar flight is 140,000 Avios.
You may additionally see Flexi pricing displayed on a inexperienced flag with “Q2” written on it. Flexi tends to seem extra typically on the Qatar Airways web site, and the Q2 banner tends to seem on the app; nonetheless, it could additionally seem on the web site.
In both occasion, they each confer with the identical factor.
Flexi pricing is simply obtainable for flights with Qatar Airways in financial system, enterprise class, and First Class booked by Qatar Airways Privilege Membership.
You gained’t discover Flexi pricing for Qatar Airways flights booked with different loyalty applications, nor will you discover Flexi pricing for different airways booked by Qatar Airways Privilege Membership.
Qatar Airways makes use of peak and off-peak pricing to its loyalty program, with flights priced greater throughout peak dates on “Saver” charges.
Flexi costs aren’t affected by this distinction, and also you’ll pay the identical Flexi worth whether or not you e book a peak or an off-peak date.
Are Qatar Airways Privilege Membership Flexi Awards a Good Deal?
Ideally, there would all the time be ample award availability on all routes on the “Saver” degree. Sadly, this simply isn’t actuality.
As a substitute, Flexi pricing affords entry to a better stock of award seats, albeit at a better value.
On the one hand, gaining access to extra award seats that may be booked with factors is all the time higher than not having any seats obtainable by any means.
Moreover, since Flexi costs are fastened, they aren’t topic to the identical fluctuation in costs that you just’ll discover with applications that use dynamic pricing. On this regard, pricing remains to be predictable, so long as you will discover an award seat.
Compared to the money charges for Qatar Airways flights, you’ll be able to nonetheless wind up getting return in worth along with your factors on Flexi awards.
For instance, a round-trip flight from Montreal to Doha in Qatar Airways Qsuites enterprise class may cost a little round $7,200 (CAD).
On the “Saver” degree, those self same flights would worth out at 140,000 Avios, plus taxes and costs. After accounting for the money element of the award reserving, you’d have netted a price of round 4.5 cents per Avios (CAD), which is great.
With a Flexi award, those self same flights would worth out at 280,000 Avios, plus the identical quantity of taxes and costs. On this scenario, and after accounting for the money element, you’d nonetheless have come out with a price of round 2.4 cents per Avios (CAD).
We worth Avios at 2 cents per level (CAD), and even with Flexi awards, you’re nonetheless in a position to redeem factors at greater than our goal valuation.
Whereas it’s not practically nearly as good as what you’d get on the “Saver” degree, your factors are nonetheless punching above their weight, particularly when in comparison with the money fare.
Leverage Switch Bonuses
Needless to say there are sometimes switch bonuses to each Qatar Airways Privilege Membership and The British Airways Membership.
Since you’ll be able to freely switch Avios between accounts, you might leverage a switch bonus promotion to both, after which transfer them round from throughout the Avios ecosystem for a Qatar Airways redemption.
If you happen to’re in a position to take advantage of a switch bonus, which normally ends in 30–50% bonus Avios, you then’d be taking a few of the sting out of Flexi pricing.
For instance, a one-way flight from Seattle to Doha in Qsuites enterprise class prices 140,000 Avios with Flexi pricing.
A 30% switch bonus would successfully cut back the variety of factors required all the way down to 107,700 factors. Equally, a 40% switch bonus would convey the efficient value all the way down to 100,000 factors, and a 50% switch bonus would decrease it even additional to 93,400 factors.
At these values, it’s not a wholly unreasonable worth to pay for one of many world’s finest enterprise class merchandise.
Helpful for A number of Seats
It’s additionally price noting that reserving Qatar Airways Flexi awards will be the solely technique to safe award seats for a bigger group on the identical flight.
If there are greater than two individuals travelling collectively, it may be moderately onerous, if not inconceivable, to search out a number of “Saver” award seats with Qatar Airways. That is particularly the case on routes to or from North America.
By combining Flexi awards with “Saver” awards, you’d have a significantly better likelihood of flying collectively, maybe even within the Qsuites Quad.
Conclusion
Qatar Airways affords Flexi awards by its Privilege Membership loyalty program.
In change for a better stock of award seats, Flexi awards are twice the price of the “Saver” off-peak awards.
Whereas it’s all the time a greater deal to e book award seats on the “Saver” degree, it’s not all the time doable, particularly on widespread routes.
Flexi rewards provide you with a greater likelihood of scoring a seat in one of many world’s finest enterprise class merchandise; nonetheless, it’ll simply come at a steeper worth.
By transferring factors throughout a switch bonus occasion, you’ll be able to successfully cut back the variety of factors required, which additionally takes a little bit of the sting out of Flexi pricing.
