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Update 11/13/2024: My Qatar Privilege Club account was still locked more than four weeks after providing the required documentation. So, I called Qatar Airways, and an agent unlocked our accounts manually. He confirms that other affected members need to do the same to get their account unlocked.
If you're like me, my wife, and several of my fellow AwardWallet colleagues, you're receiving an error if you try to log into your Qatar Privilege Club account. Based on conversations with Qatar support reps, Qatar has flagged a significant number of accounts for “security” reasons.
Qatar isn't contacting members to let them know their account is locked. So, you may only notice this error when logging into your account to take advantage of one of Qatar's award chart sweet spots.
I'll save you a call, hold time, and transfers. Here's how to unlock your Qatar Privilege Club account.
How To Check If Your Qatar Privilege Club Account is Locked
To check if your Qatar Privilege Club account is locked, simply try logging in. If you receive the following error, you have one of the affected accounts:
If you click the “reach out to us” link in the error message above, Qatar will direct you to its “Contact Us” page. There, you can find Qatar's local phone number or chat with an agent.
However, chatting with an agent isn't actually an option for those of us in this situation, as Qatar prompts you to log into your account before you can chat. So, that leaves calling to speak with an agent.
When I called, the first agent couldn't provide any information. Instead, she transferred me to a Privilege Club agent. This agent couldn't unlock my account — no matter how much personal information I provided. Instead, she gave me the following instructions.
How To Request Qatar Unlocks Your Qatar Privilege Club Account
The Qatar Privilege Club agent instructed me — and anyone in my situation — to send an email to this email address: pfcdoh@qatarairways.com.qa with my Privilege Club membership number in the subject line and attach a copy of both my passport and driver's license (or other government-issued identification) to the email.
Even when calling an airline's official number, I'm still wary about emailing any personal information to an email address simply provided over the phone. So, I checked to confirm this is the email address that Qatar's official support account provides on Twitter and Redditors report successfully using this email address to unlock their account. Also, Qatar notes this email suffix (@qr.qatarairways.com) is the official domain for Qatar emails.
Still, if you feel uncomfortable, it's worth calling Qatar yourself to confirm that this is the email address to use.
I followed this advice to the letter. Around 11 hours later, I received an email confirming receipt of my message:
More than four weeks later, my Qatar account was still locked. So, I called Qatar Airways back and spoke with another Privilege Club agent. He found the emails that my wife and I had sent a month earlier and unlocked our accounts in a matter of minutes.
This agent confirmed that calling back after you provide your documentation is a key step — although this was left out of the initial instructions.
Bottom Line
Qatar seems to have locked many Privilege Club accounts for “security” reasons. Many of us on the AwardWallet Blog team are affected by this, so we wanted to share the steps on how to unlock your account — in case you're one of the seemingly many affected.
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