Update: It appears Qatar has partially rolled back these surcharge increases.

Update 2: Qatar shares,

Qatar Airways Privilege Club sincerely apologises for any inconvenience our valued members may have faced during the rollout of our revised reward fees policy earlier today. The reward fees that were displayed for booking Qatar Airways award flights were higher than intended. The issue has since been resolved and the correct reward fees, as per the revised policy, are now being reflected and applied for all Qatar Airways award flight bookings.

Qatar Airways Privilege Club has transitioned our reward fees policy for redeeming Qatar Airways award flights from a sector-based model to a distance-based structure, effective today. Reward fees have decreased up to 15% or remained unchanged for several of our most popular short and medium-haul routes while others have increased representative of the distance travelled.

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Qatar Airways has significantly increased the surcharges on award redemptions using Avios points, creating a substantial impact on travelers looking to redeem their points for flights. While the number of Avios points required for these flights remains unchanged, the fees associated with these bookings have escalated dramatically.

Anyone notice a new “redemption fee” of $1,000 from @qatarairways when booking Qsuites? First time I’m seeing this ridiculousness. @garyleff @OneMileataTime @thriftytraveler pic.twitter.com/FgtKqmlVwI

— Juan G. Ruiz (@doubledutydaddy) September 14, 2024

Qatar Airways has quietly implemented a new pricing structure for fuel surcharges, now rebranded as “booking fees.” This change was introduced without prior notice. For example, a business class flight from Phuket (HKT) to Dallas (DFW) via Doha (DOH) that previously required 95,000 Avios plus $265 in fees now incurs approximately $600 in fees.

The new fee structure is not immediately visible on Qatar Airways’ website. The current search interface hides the surcharges until you have enough Avios in your account to book the award. This lack of transparency is creating confusion and frustration, as travelers are unable to view the exact costs before committing to the transfer of points. In contrast, the British Airways website shows these fees upfront.

It appears that you can expect order of magnitude $100 per segment for coach and $200 per long haul segment for business class, per person, nearly tripling previous charges. However the fees appear to be based on a zone, with longer flights incurring higher costs.

There’s also confusion about whether there’s been a change to refund policies.

• Some Qatar agents have indicated that the fees are nonrefundable
  
• While there are customer reports of successful refunds

American Express and Citi both transfer to Qatar Airways. Chase, American Express, Capital One and Bilt transfer to British Airways, and BA’s Avios can be transferred to Qatar or redeemed directly for Qatar flights.

This sudden hike in fees substantially devalues Qatar Airways’ award redemptions. Previously, redeeming Avios for Qatar’s premium cabins was considered a sweet spot due to attractive redemption rates and competitive surcharges. Unfortunately, American AAdvantage no longer has access to nearly as much Qatar Airways long haul inventory as Privilege Club or other Avios programs making these changes tougher to avoid.