{"id":234369,"date":"2025-11-11T10:00:54","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T10:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/?p=234369\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T14:27:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T14:27:37","slug":"qatar-airways-seat-selection-fees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/news\/airlines\/qatar-airways-seat-selection-fees\/","title":{"rendered":"Qatar Airways Charging for Seat Selection on Business Class Awards \u2014 Here\u2019s How to Avoid Paying"},"content":{"rendered":"

Qatar Airways has made a recent change to how seat selection works for business class bookings. And by change, I mean flyers are now being asked to open up their wallets. Effective immediately, reports suggest that there\u2019s a new fee to select seats on Qatar Airways award flights \u2014 even its famed Qsuites.<\/p>\n

Here's what to know and how to avoid paying these fees.<\/p>\n

Qatar Airways Now Charging for Seat Selection on Award Flights<\/span><\/h2>\n

If you're going to splurge and book business class with points and miles, you'd think you'd at least get to pick your seat without paying extra for it. Unfortunately, that's no longer the case on Qatar Airways, unless you meet one of the conditions that let you avoid these fees entirely, which we'll go over shortly.<\/p>\n

In short, Qatar Airways now tries to charge passengers for every business class seat they select. For example, on a mock booking from Montreal (YUL) to Doha (DOH), Qatar Airways charges $109 just for the privilege of picking a seat in its Qsuite cabin. And these fees seemingly vary by route and distance.<\/p>\n

Even worse, the fee is nonrefundable if your travel plans change.<\/p>\n

\"Qatar
Credit: Qatar Airways<\/em><\/enter><\/figure>\n

This applies only to the \u201cSaver\u201d award fare bucket. The higher-priced \u201cFlexi\u201d awards remain exempt from seat selection fees. Qatar has also limited the number of \u201cSaver\u201d awards available to book with Avios. Aside from the occasional large award release, Qsuite \u201cSaver\u201d awards have become harder to find and now come with an added seat fee.<\/p>\n

Without a shortcut to waived seat fees, travelers will have to wait until check-in (at 24 hours before departure) to choose their seats. That can be a problem for couples or groups hoping to sit together or secure the middle Qsuites that are side by side.<\/p>\n

Speaking of those shortcuts…<\/p>\n

Related: Airline Award Ticket Change and Cancellation Policies<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

How to Avoid Seat Selection Charges on Qatar Airways Award Flights<\/span><\/h2>\n

Luckily, there are a few ways to avoid paying these seat fees. First, Qatar Privilege Club elite members will pay less. Burgundy and Silver members receive a discount on seat fees, while Gold and Platinum members have the fee waived altogether.<\/p>\n

More relevantly, Oneworld elites (those with Sapphire or Emerald status \u2014 but not Ruby) can also choose seats at no cost. Several Oneworld airlines offer elite tiers that qualify for free seat selection on Qatar. Here are a few examples:<\/p>\n