[Expired] Buy Qatar Airways Avios With an 80% Bonus [Ends September 10]

Update:The offer mentioned below has expired and is no longer available.

Purchasing miles can be a good way to top up your balance for a redemption, though it doesn’t always make sense.

When they’re on sale, buying miles can also allow you to score an award flight at a discounted rate. While we don’t always recommend doing so, there are cases where this can make sense.

Qatar Airways is out with its newest promotion for purchasing Avios, which will give you an 80% bonus on purchased miles.

Let’s check out the promotion details and whether it’s worth taking advantage.

Qatar Airways Buy Avios Promotion

Qatar Airways’ promotion allows you to get up to an 80% bonus when purchasing at least 5,000 Avios. There are other details of which you’ll want to be aware:

• Members must have at least 1,000 Avios in their account to purchase Avios.
• Promotion valid on Avios purchased through September 10, 2023
• Members can buy, gift, or transfer 250,000 Avios per calendar year

Is It Worth It?

If you max out this promotion, you’ll be purchasing a total of 250,000 Avios (+200,000 bonus Avios) for $7,000. This comes out to a purchase rate of 1.56 cents per point.

This is more expensive than our valuation of 1.25 cents per point, so it’s not necessarily a great deal.

However, there are certain situations in which buying Avios like this can be a good deal, especially since they’re interchangeable with British Airways Avios, Aer Lingus Avios, and Iberia Avios.

Take, for example, this one-way Qatar Airways flight from Doha (DOH) to Male (MLE) in business class, which will cost $2,005:

Qatar’s own website doesn’t show saver-level award availability for either of these flights. Instead, you’ll pay 70,000 Avios one-way for this 5-hour flight.

However, Qatar Airways flights are also available on British Airways, and their availability isn’t the same. Here’s that 1:30 a.m. flight on BA’s site:

As you can see, you’ll pay just 35,000 miles + $108 for the flight by booking through British Airways.

Because Avios are interchangeable, you can buy 36,000 Avios through Qatar Airways for $580, transfer them over to BA, and book your flight for a total out-of-pocket cost of $687.

That’s almost a third of the cash price you’d otherwise pay! In this case, you’re also redeeming your Avios at a rate of 5.27 cents each, which is way more than you’re paying to purchase them.

Final Thoughts

It’s not always a good idea to purchase points, even when they’re on sale. However, there are some situations where it can make sense, especially if you’re able to leverage partnerships to reduce your costs. If you’re interested in purchasing Qatar Airways Avios with an 80% bonus, you’ll want to do so before September 10, 2023, when the promotion expires.