Tag Archives for qatar airways.
It’s been some time since there have been generous offers just to sign up for a frequent flyer program, essentially to start a permission marketing relationship. Maybe 16 years ago United Airlines was giving out 1000 miles to new members referred by an existing member, and rewarding the member that referred them to. But usually new member bonuses have required some kind of activity – proof of a customer’s value to the airline – before being triggered.
There’s a long history of loyalty programs targeting people while they’re young, hoping to build a lifetime relationship with a customer. And some of those ideas are resurfacing today.
Seeing more efforts along these lines is a sign that loyalty matters again. When planes were full airlines didn’t have to work as hard building relationships with customers or marketing to fill empty seats. That’s all changed, and we’re beginning to see a renaissance of the frequent flyer program. Hopefully that spirit lasts even once we’re back to normal times and traveling again.
Qatar has one of the best business class product in the world in its ‘QSuites’. These are revolutionary suites with doors and movable partitions that allow two and even four passengers to travel together in their own space. Right now there’s fantastic award availability booking for late summer and fall 2021 for Qatar’s QSuites product – out of several U.S. cities – with four business class seats available.
A new study purports to show 59 Covid-19 cases ‘linked’ to a single flight, but that’s somewhat misleading.
Inflight transmission seems to be rare, it certainly isn’t impossible, and someone with a high viral load and lots of shedding may overcome the best precautions. The virus might spread at security, in a lounge, at the gate area, or simply transiting the terminal. It could spread on the jetway as well. Flying is safe, but not totally safe. In many ways, just like going to the grocery store.
Right now there are some great opportunities to use your miles for the whole family on Qatar Airways QSuites from San Francisco to travel to the Mideast, Africa, or region around India as well as to travel on the new Qantas Chicago – Brisbane flight. Space is generally available throughout 2021, and by the second half of the year we could be past the current unpleasantness.
The International Court of Justice just ruled that the air blockade of Qatar by Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (but primarily by the UAE and Saudi Arabia) is illegal, by determining that the U.N.’s International Civil Aviation Organization – which already found it illegal – has jurisdiction.
Australian Jessican Tam reports that when she cancelled a Qatar Airways roundtrip business class ticket from Jakarta to London, and they accidentally refunded AU$28,179,789.36 – or about $19.7 million at today’s exchange rates. She’s even shared a screen shot of her bank balance.
Qatar Airways has a really interesting status match opportunity. I flag this because mid- and top-tier elite members of Qatar Airways Privilege Club do not just get American Airlines Admirals Club access even on domestic itineraries, they receive access to American’s Flagship lounges, too (once those re-open of course).
The insane Qatar Airways airfare deal is one of the most generous I’ve ever seen, at least where there hasn’t been a mistake. You can book the cheapest flight you can find from the U.S. and then change the city you fly from and change where you fly to – just pick somewhere within 5000 miles of your originally booked destination.
Qatar Airways has two new restrictions – which is actually a good thing, it shows the basic policy is working as intended and this is not a mistake.
You can fly Qatar Airways business class – one of the best products in the world – from any city they serve in the U.S. to nearly anywhere in Europe, Asia, or Africa for less than $1650 roundtrip. Lots of readers are having success with this. Here’s how it works.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
