Great Card If
- You regularly fly with Qatar Airways.
- You want a card that will grant you instant elite status with Privilege Club and help you requalify faster.
Don’t Get If
- You rarely fly with Qatar Airways.
- You want a card that earns transferable rewards and offers premium perks not related to Qatar Airways.
Qatar Airways Infinite Card: Is It Worth It?
Given the large $499 annual fee of the Qatar Airways Infinite card, whether or not it will be worth it to you will come down to how often you fly with Qatar Airways and how much you value the various card benefits.
For instance, benefits like complimentary Privilege Club Gold elite status will undoubtedly be valuable if you fly with Qatar Airways frequently, with perks such as lounge access, a 75% tier bonus, an extra baggage allowance, preferred seats, and 40 QCredits for upgrades. That said, the card only offers Privilege Club Gold status for your first year of card membership. After that, you’ll need to qualify organically by spending on your card and flying with Qatar Airways.
The Qatar Airways Infinite card is most worth it for travelers who are already traveling with the airline quite frequently and want to use the card to help them earn more Avios and qualify for a higher level of elite status more easily than they otherwise would have been able to.
Qatar Airways Infinite Card Top Benefits and Perks
Here are the benefits you can expect from the Qatar Airways Infinite card to help offset its large annual fee:
- Fast track elite status: Earn 2 Qpoints for every 1,500 Avios you earn using your card for daily purchases. This only applies to Avios earned from card spending, and not Avios earned from other activities, such as flying.
- Complimentary Privilege Club Gold status: For your first year of card membership, you’ll receive automatic Privilege Club Gold status, which includes:
- 75% bonus Avios on eligible flights
- Priority standby
- Priority check-in and boarding
- Preferred seating
- 20-kilogram (44-pound) extra baggage allowance
- 40 QCredits to redeem for upgrades, excess baggage, and more
- Lounge access
- Al Maha meet and assist service
- Discount on online redemptions
- Oneworld Sapphire status, which offers perks like business class lounge access, priority check-in, priority boarding, preferred seating, and extra baggage allowance with other Oneworld carriers
- No foreign transaction fees: Use your card for international travel to earn more Avios without additional fees.
- Auto rental collision damage waiver: Receive coverage toward accidental damage or theft of your rental car when you decline the rental company’s policy and pay with your Qatar Airways Infinite card.
- Extended warranty protection extends the warranty on eligible items purchased with the card by 1 additional year on warranties of 3 years or less.
- Purchase security: When you use your card for eligible purchases, your items can be replaced, repaired, or reimbursed if the items are stolen or damaged within 90 days from the date of purchase.
- Return protection: You can get return protection if you are dissatisfied with your item within 90 days of purchase, and the merchant will not accept the return.
- Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection: Receive elite status with benefits like complimentary breakfast daily, an upgrade when available, and a special amenity unique to each property at select hotels around the world.
- Lost luggage reimbursement: Receive up to $3,000 in coverage if your luggage or its contents are lost or damaged in transit.
- Trip cancellation and interruption insurance: Receive up to $2,000 in coverage toward nonrefundable travel expenses when your trip is cancelled or cut short for a covered reason.
Best Ways To Earn and Redeem Avios
Using your card is a great way to earn more Qatar Airways Privilege Club Avios, with its bonus categories of 5x Avios on Qatar Airways purchases, 3x Avios on dining, and 1x Avios on all other purchases. However, you should also keep in mind that Qatar is a transfer partner of many major transferable programs, including American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Miles, and Citi ThankYou Rewards.
When redeeming Qatar Airways Privilege Club Avios, there are great sweet spots within the program, like 70,000 Avios for a one-way between the U.S. and Doha in Qsuite. You can also transfer your Qatar Avios at a 1:1 rate to other Avios programs, including Aer Lingus AerClub, The British Airways Club, Finnair Plus, and Club Iberia Plus.
Alternative Cards to the Qatar Airways Infinite Card
If you’re looking for a premium card with transferable rewards, the Capital One Venture X card might be a better fit. It earns 10x miles on hotels and rental cars purchased through Capital One Travel, 5x miles on flights and vacation rentals purchased through Capital One Travel, and an uncapped 2x miles on all other purchases.
Not only does it have a lower annual fee than the Qatar Airways Infinite card, but it also offers excellent perks like a $300 annual travel credit on bookings made through Capital One Travel, unlimited access to more than 1,300 airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass lounges, 10,000 bonus miles awarded on your account anniversary each year, a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit, and access to the Capital One transfer partners, which includes Qatar Airways at a 1:1 rate.
Qatar Airways Privilege Club Visa Signature Credit Card
If you’re a committed loyalist to Qatar Airways but aren’t sold on the large annual fee of the Qatar Airways Infinite card, you could opt for the Qatar Airways Visa Signature card instead.
It has a much lower annual fee of $99, but still earns 4x Avios on Qatar Airways purchases, 2x Avios on dining, and 1x Avios on all other purchases.
While the benefits aren’t as good as the premium version of the card, it still offers 2 Qpoints for every 2,000 Avios you earn using your card, no foreign transaction fees, keeps your points from expiring, and comes with Privilege Club Silver status your first year of card membership, which offers perks including a 25% tier bonus on flights, priority boarding, 20% off seat selection, and an extra baggage allowance.
