Qatar Airways Privilege Club

What the Privilege Club is

How the frequent flyer program works when earning

Avios depend on distance and booking class. The base Avios of a flight are the distance flown times the percentage that applies to the booking class. On flights with Qatar Airways and with partner airlines, the Avios depend on the booking class of the marketing airline and on your own status.

The tier bonus on Qatar Airways flights follows the distance actually flown and is credited only after the flight. For Switzerland, Germany and Austria we found no sourced earning path through cards or partners, so we state nothing there.

Redeeming Avios

The program’s calculator shows the Avios amounts for award flights, upgrades and extra baggage on Qatar Airways. On partner airlines the Avios price follows the total flight distance of the itinerary.

If no regular award seat is available, a Flexi Award may be possible, which costs double the Avios. With Avios plus cash, the Avios must cover at least 50 percent of the award’s value. Privilege Deals are discounted award flights: on chosen Qatar Airways flights, routes and dates the Avios price is lower.

Taxes, surcharges and fees

Avios do not pay the whole price. On all award tickets and upgrades the member pays taxes, duties, surcharges and passenger service charges. A booking fee in the form of carrier-imposed charges is added and falls due at issuance. Its size depends on the flight origin, destination and cabin. Taxes and carrier-imposed fees together start from USD 30.

A Qpoint can be bought for USD 25, only on the website and in the app. We convert nothing and therefore list no fee in CHF or EUR. We also give no Avios value in cents, because no sourced basis exists.

Avios expiry

The whole Avios balance expires when there is no account activity for 36 consecutive months. Every earn or spend extends the validity of the whole balance by another 36 months. Whoever holds Platinum at the time of expiry loses no Avios. Expired Avios can be revalidated within one year for a non-refundable fee.

Qpoints run out much sooner. Each one counts for twelve months from crediting and expires automatically on the 365th day after earning.

Status tiers at a glance

Moving up to the higher tiers takes Qpoints. Silver needs 150 Qpoints within 12 months, Gold 300 and Platinum 600. On top of that, 20 percent of the Qpoints at least must come from flights sold and flown by Qatar Airways, or you need four or more such flights in the same 12 months.

Until December 18, 2026 lower upgrade thresholds apply temporarily: 135 Qpoints for Silver, 270 for Gold and 540 for Platinum, and from December 19, 2026 again 150, 300 and 600.

To retain a tier you need either the Qpoints of the last 12 months or double that number from the last 24 months before the renewal date: 270 for Silver, 540 for Gold and 1,080 for Platinum. Until December 18, 2026 the 12-month threshold is temporarily 110 Qpoints for Silver, 225 for Gold and 450 for Platinum, after that 135, 270 and 540 apply again. A retained tier is valid for twelve months each time.

If you do not retain a tier, you drop one level, provided you collected or spent Avios in the 24 months before. Without such activity you land on Burgundy.

Burgundy

Burgundy is the base tier. We list only its seat discount here: members save 10 percent on seat selection. We state nothing on qualification, lounge, baggage, priority, bonus or guests, and we do not name further benefits of this tier.

Silver

Silver matches oneworld Ruby and includes lounge access. Add 15 kg or one piece of extra baggage, depending on the route, plus priority check-in and priority boarding. We have not checked which lounges exactly apply.

The tier bonus is 25 percent on Avios-eligible flights sold and flown by Qatar Airways. Seat selection costs up to 20 percent less, and each year brings two guest passes for the lounge at Hamad International Airport in Doha. We have no sourced statement on upgrades.

Gold

Gold matches oneworld Sapphire. The tier includes lounge access, plus 20 kg or one piece of extra baggage, depending on the route. Priority check-in and priority boarding apply here as well.

The tier bonus rises to 75 percent. Gold brings 40 Qcredits that can be redeemed for upgrades and excess baggage, among other things and four guest passes per year for the lounge in Doha.

Platinum

Platinum matches oneworld Emerald. In Doha you use the lounge with two guests, and you also get Business Class lounges at some airports whatever cabin you booked. You get 25 kg or two pieces of extra baggage, depending on the route, and check in at the First or Business Class counter at airports outside Doha.

The tier bonus is 100 percent. Add 60 Qcredits for upgrades, excess baggage and more and five guest passes per year for the lounge in Doha.

Departing from Switzerland, Germany and Austria

The Privilege Club can be used from all three countries, as long as you can reach a Qatar Airways departure airport. From Switzerland the airline flies from Zurich (ZRH) and Geneva (GVA) to Doha (DOH). In Germany these are Frankfurt (FRA), Munich (MUC), Berlin (BER) and Düsseldorf (DUS). From Austria the airline flies from Vienna (VIE) to Doha.

The routes only show where you find Qatar Airways flights. Whether and how many Avios partner airlines earn from these airports, we have not checked.

Who the Privilege Club is not for

Privilege Club as an alternative to Miles & More

Whether the Privilege Club suits you better than another frequent flyer program in Switzerland depends on where you depart and which airlines you use. If you look for alternatives to Miles & More, compare it with Miles & More and with the British Airways Executive Club. There is no best miles program in general, it depends on your own flying. All programs are listed in the program archive, and how we check our statements is described on the Methodology page.