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Qatar Airways is one of the leading airlines in the world and aims to act as a bridge between Europe, the U.S., and Asia from its base in Doha. The airline has a modern fleet and operates some of the best premium cabin products around, including the now legendary Qsuite.
Qatar Airways Privilege Club adopted Avios as its currency in 2022; since then, the airline has realigned several aspects of its program, including its points expiration policy. Let's take a look at how to hang onto your Qatar Avios and when they expire.
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Do Qatar Avios Expire?
According to the terms and conditions, the Qatar Privilege Club Avios expire as follows:
“By default, if a member has no activity for thirty-six (36) consecutive months, then all of that members balance of Avios will expire as of the Avios Expiry Date.”
“For Example:- if a member performs an accrual / redemption activity on 02 January 2021, then if there is no further activity on the account by 01 January 2024 then the Avios will expire as of 02 January 2024 00:01hrs Doha local time (GMT+3)”.”
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Exceptions to the Qatar Avios Expiration Policy
According to Qatar Airways, there is only one exception to the mileage expiration policy. Platinum members will not see their Avios expire as long as they maintain their status. Of course, to retain elite status, the member is likely generating qualifying activity.
Related: A New Look at Qatar Airways Privilege Club as Per Segment Fees Return
Extending or Reinstating Qatar Avios
If you have been unable to use your Avios and they are about to expire, you can extend their validity for a further 12 months, and you can do. You can do this online. Extending Avios for 12 months costs 1.5¢ (USD) per Avios.
Similarly, you can pay to reinstate your Qatar Avios after they expire. This costs 1.5¢ (USD) per Avios, and the reinstated Avios are valid for 12 months from the original expiry date. This means paying to reinstate your Avios several months after they expired won't make sense for most people — unless you're going to redeem them immediately.
How To Prevent Your Qatar Avios From Expiring
There are plenty of ways to earn or redeem Avios to extend their validity:
Earning Avios
- Take a flight with Qatar Airways.
- Credit a flight on a partner airline to the Qatar Airways Privilege Club.
- Rent a car with a partner like Avis, Burdge, Sixt, Europcar, or Hertz.
- Stay with a hotel partner like Hilton, Accor, or sites like Booking.com.
- Transfer points to Avios from Citi ThankYou® or Marriott Bonvoy (more partners discussed below).
- Shop with Qatar partners.
Additionally, Qatar Airways will launch two credit cards in the U.S. at some point in 2024, providing another method for earning Avios.
Redeem Avios
- Redeem your Avios for flights with Qatar or a Oneworld partner.
- Use your Avios for upgrades or excess baggage.
- Pay with Avios at various outlets at Hamad International Airport.
- Gift or transfer Avios to another member.
Bear in mind that Qatar Airways has numerous other partners across a range of services. However, they are mostly based in the Middle East. It's always worth checking the Qatar partners page if you're spending time in the Middle East.
Related: Redeem Your Qatar Avios For Experiences and Events
Boosting Your Qatar Privileges Avios Balance
You have multiple options if you to boost your Qatar Avios balance quickly. Qatar Airways is a transfer partner with every major point currency, either directly or indirectly, through its partners.
However, that is not the end of the story when it comes to Qatar Airways Privilege Club. You can transfer Avios between all of the following programs at no cost:
- Aer Lingus
- British Airways Executive Club
- Iberia Plus
- Qatar Airways Privileges Club
- Finnair (coming later this year)
This means you can transfer flexible points to one of the above programs before sending them to Privilege Club. This makes Qatar a de facto transfer partner with every flexible points currency.
Related: How To Transfer Avios Between Accounts
Use AwardWallet To Track Emirates Skywards Expiration
Even though 36 months is a generous amount of time before your Qatar Avios expire, it is easy to lose track of your Qatar Avios and risk losing them. That's why it pays to use AwardWallet to keep track of your Avios. Once set up, you will receive a timely reminder if you have any Avios due to expire soon.
To add your Qatar Privileges Club account to AwardWallet, log in and link your Qatar Privilege Club account. You're set!
Related: How To Track Your Rewards Using AwardWallet
Our Take
While Qatar Airways has some of the best products in the sky, with its QSuite standing head and shoulders above competitors' business class, the program also has some excellent redemption sweet spots.
Couple that with the fact you won't see Qatar Avios expire for a substantial amount of time and Qatar Airways Privilege Club is one of the strongest loyalty programs around.
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My husband and I both have Avios expiring. If one of us gifts their points to the other does the receiver get the date extended? Or does gifting only get the gifter date extended?
Patty, in theory, it should reset the clock for both of you. But there might be a free workaround: transferring your Avios to your own account at British Airways. This is instant and free, and some readers have said it reset the clock on their expiration (getting the 36 months in their BA account now). Try this and check the new timeline in your account before paying to share Qatar Avios with each other.
How do I know when my qpoints expire? Can I transfer Qpoints to my friends
AwardWallet can help you track your Qatar Avios expiration. Qpoints are only for earning elite status, so you can’t transfer Qpoints to other members.
Just a quick question: is transferring avios from BA or Iberia to QA extends the avios expiration date in any of the programs?
Much thanks!
That’s a good question – and one that’s not clearly spelled out by any of the airlines, as far as we can tell.
Under BA’s buy/gift/share terms, BA confirms that sharing resets the expiration date: “Will sharing Avios reset the 36-month expiry rule? Yes, for both the Sender and the Recipient.” However, that’s when you pay to share. BA doesn’t address transferring points between programs.
Always very interesting information, I don’t think Qmiles is a good frequent flyer program though, far better other OneWorld programs like American Airlines or Iberia.
All,
I have currently the following challenge with Qatar:
1. I earned some Qmiles in April 2017 which based on the old mechanism would have expired on 30.6.2020
2. I transfered some AMEX MR into Qmiles in March 2019
3. I redeemed some Qmiles for a flight in March 2020 which I got refunded due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.
4. As the Qmiles expire before June 2020 I booked immediately a new flight for January 2021
5. Now I need to cancel this flight again and the answer from Qatar is that I will not all Qmiles back as some expired in 30.06.2020. In my view based on the new mechanism as I have added some miles in March 2019, they should not expired before Marchh 2022.
Do I see anything wrong here?
Thanks,
Markus
All,
I think I found the answer myself, however still interesting in your views:
The miles I earned in2017 were expired in Jun 2020 before the new rules apply in August 2020. That means, if I refund my ticket now, the miles are credit back with a date in June as if they have never been spent, so they are lost.
I am in discussion now with Qatar to set my ticket “on hold” and reuse it next year. Possible for 2 years after purchase.
Best,
Markus
I don’t think the programme is very interesting.
In my opinion it’s better to book Qatar flights with some OneWorld partner.
Agree, actually booking QR with my BA Executive Club account.
Honestly I don’t agree. My spouse has a QA membership and I am with AA. She became member one year ago and me, I’m with AA for decades.
With AA the customer loyalty does not get rewarded well; I lost my amazing status already two years after changing jobs and moving abroad. And now she moves up in the status hierarchy much faster. So after a couple of business class flights she also surpassed me?! With less miles earned. And to make it worse; we travel via Doha, we get lounge access, but only because of her OneWorld status with HER QA account, not my AA.
So Gold for instance is not the same between OneWorld airline partners if you translate it to their tiers., At a certain program it could become Sapphire, at another Ruby. You can imagine one is not very happy when confronted with this.
There is something else that bothers me; the fact it’s not possible to move miles between OneWorld accounts. So once you made a choice and you collected some miles, you’re stuck. In fact the AA program makes more sense when you live and fly in the USA. But abroad it might make much more sense to select another airline partner.
36 months is pretty decent time but I think airlines will start fighting for customers with additional benefits.
Qmiles still doesn’t seem to have good value compared to other oneworld programs.
36 months expiration is decent but would like to see QMiles going with no expiration in near future.
I had a few miles expire previously in 2018 after the 3 years expiration cycle. This would have been a good option to extend the life of the miles.
Having miles expire can be thoroughly frustrating. However, with a combination of tracking expiration dates here AND knowing, for each program, how exactly to extend the expiry date with minimal activity, you can avoid them. Thankfully, I would assume AW has an article similar to this, with tips on avoiding expiration, for every program.
We sure try to! If you see one that we don’t, we will work to add it.
Too bad QMiles themselves are not very efficient in terms of redemption rates…
Miles should not expire; Unless they are frequent travelers for work reasons, it is not so common that Qatar is used (although we should, because it is a great airline)
Hopefully, AA will revert back to the 36-month mileage expiration policy if not “no mileage expiration.”
qatar is such a good airline. best i have ever flown and the 36 month expiration is really good. they have great policy
Unless you’re flying regularly to qatar, I doubt many people in the US will be heavy users of their FF program
Exactly, as the earning opportunities are not comprehensive in North America.