Qatar Airways 25% Transfer Bonus From Citi ThankYou Points, HSBC and 10% Transfer Bonus From Amex

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Qatar is currently offering not one but two different transfer bonuses to reward travelers for transferring bank points to Qatar Airways Privilege Club.

Through November 30, 2023, you'll get a 25% transfer bonus on point transfers from over a dozen banks. U.S.-based travelers can utilize this bonus on transfers from Citi ThankYou Points or HSBC Bank points.

And now through December 3, 2023, U.S.-based American Express cardmembers can transfer Membership Rewards points to Qatar with a 10% transfer bonus.

If maximized, you can use these to book Qatar Qsuite business class from the U.S. for as few as 56k points one-way. Here's what you need to know about these potentially lucrative offers.

Qatar Airways Multi-Bank 25% Transfer Bonus Key Terms

Qatar Airways is offering a 25% transfer bonus now through November 30, 2023, from the following 18 banks:

Ahlibank, Ahli United Bank, ahlibank Oman, Cathay United Bank, CBQ, Citibank, CTBC Bank, Doha Bank, Dukhan Bank, Emirates Islamic, HSBC Hong Kong, HSBC Sri Lanka, HSBC USA, Hyundai Card – AMEX, Kasikorn Bank, Kuwait Finance House, Mashreq, Ping An E-wallet, QIIB, QNB.

Most of these banks are located in the Middle East or are limited to members in other countries. For U.S. readers, Citi and HSBC are the only relevant bank partners.

You can generally transfer Citi ThankYou Points to Avios at a 1:1 ratio. During this Qatar transfer bonus, you'll get 25% bonus points credited to your Privilege Club account. You'll notice that this 25% transfer bonus started the day after a 30% transfer bonus ended.

Note that Qatar says it may take 45 days after the end of the campaign (meaning January 14, 2024) for the bonus Avios to be posted to your account. The bonus will likely post much quicker, but just a heads up that it may not.

Qatar Airways 10% Amex Transfer Bonus Key Terms

Now through December 3, 2023, U.S.-based Amex Membership Rewards members can transfer points to Qatar Privilege Club to get a 10% transfer bonus. No enrollment is required. To trigger this bonus, simply transfer at least 1,000 Membership Rewards points — which is the minimum you can transfer anyway. There is no maximum number of bonus Avios that you can get through this promotion.

Note that this transfer bonus is being offered by Qatar directly. So, you won't see this transfer bonus mentioned on the Membership Rewards website.

Because of this, the bonus Avios won't be added until after you submit your transfer. Qatar notes that these bonus Avios may take up to 45 days to post, so you may not want to count on those bonus Avios if you need to book an award soon.

Qatar Avios Program Overview

Avios, the miles used by Qatar Airways, are a worthy investment — especially if you want to fly Qatar Qsuite. Qatar Airways flies to over 150 destinations in nearly 100 countries, including several airports in the U.S. Thus, you likely have plenty of ways to redeem Avios.

Qatar Privilege Club has had quite a turbulent past few years. After devaluing Qmiles in 2018, Qatar Airways lowered its award rates by up to 49% at the end of 2020. The airline also dropped its reward flights fee and improved its Qmiles expiration policy. Then, in February 2022, Qatar Airways adopted Avios as its award points program. However, it does charge per-segment fees on award bookings, and these can add up quickly.

Qatar Airways is part of the Oneworld Alliance, so your Avios can be used to book a flight on 17 partner airlines. This includes a couple of partners that aren't part of the alliance.

Qatar Avios Sweet Spots

Using Avios for award flights is rather straightforward. You'll pay 35,000 Avios to fly in economy from any origin airport in the U.S. to Doha, Qatar. From there, you will need to use another 7,500 to 25,000 Avios to your final destination — depending on the distance. If you prefer to fly business class, the amount of Avios you need is doubled. Qatar doesn't currently operate first class to the U.S., but first-class awards would cost triple the economy fare.

To get 70,000 Avios for a Qsuite award to Doha, you'll only need to transfer 56k Citi ThankYou Points during this 25% transfer bonus or 64k Membership Rewards points during the 10% transfer bonus.

A one-way award from the U.S. to the Maldives costs only 42,500 Avios in economy. It costs 85,000 Avios for Qsuite business class. Factoring in the 25% transfer bonus, you'd only need to transfer 34,000 Citi points for economy or 68k Citi points or 78k Amex points for Qsuite business class to the Maldives.

Award flights from the U.S. to Bangkok, Thailand cost 47,500 Avios in economy or 95,000 Avios in Qsuite. That would require a transfer of 38k Citi points or 44k Amex points for economy — or 76k Citi points or 87k Amex points for Qsuite business class.

The most expensive award we can find is to fly all the way from the U.S. to New Zealand. This costs a total of 60,000 Avios (48k Citi points / 55k Amex points) in economy or 120,000 Avios (96k Citi points / 110k Amex points) in business class. For these ultra-long-haul flights, you may do better using Cathay Pacific Asia Miles instead, where awards top out at 90k miles for business class.

Or stick within the Middle East — such as a short trip beyond Doha to Dubai — for a total of 37,500 Avios in economy or 75,000 Avios in business class from the U.S. That's 30k or 60k Citi points or 35k or 69k Amex points, respectively):

Qatar Airways Avios Expiration Policy

Your Qatar Airways Avios expire if you don't have accrual or redemption activity on your account for 36 months. Thankfully, there are a variety of ways that you can earn and redeem Avios to extend your points and validity.

If you have Qatar Avios expiring soon, taking advantage of this transfer bonus will help extend your Avios. And remember to set up your Qatar Airways Privilege Club account in AwardWallet to get alerts about balance changes and expiring Avios.

You also can move Avios between your accounts at Qatar, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and British Airways freely and instantly. This can help you avoid expiration and help you redeem with the optimal partner when you're ready to book an award flight.

Our Take

Building up your Qatar Airways Avios balance is certainly not a bad idea, especially if you're planning some long-haul flights to the Middle East or beyond. You also can use your Avios for any Oneworld Alliance partner — and the Qatar partner award chart is now much better than before.

The 25% transfer bonus from Citi (or other eligible partners) to Qatar Airways is a nice perk. However, make sure to factor in the potential delay in receiving the bonus Avios. If it actually takes 45 days for the bonus Avios to post, it makes it hard to book anything near-term.

Remember that the Qatar Airways multi-bank transfer bonus ends November 30, 2023 and the Amex transfer bonus ends December 3, 2023, so be sure to transfer by then if interested.

AwardWallet Tip of The Day

Did you know that you have a personal referral link in your AwardWallet profile? If you invite people to AwardWallet using your referral link, you will receive an AwardWallet upgrade coupon for every five members you invite. Also, if these users upgrade to AwardWallet Plus, we will credit your AwardWallet account with AwardWallet Bonus points, which can be redeemed for points and miles in your program of choice. We spend roughly 50% of the revenue we receive from those referrals to purchase those miles for you. All of this can be tracked via the Invite to AwardWallet widget in the left navigation bar on your Accounts page.
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