How to save up to 80% on one of the best Business Class seats in the air
Qatar Airways just made a structural change that can play into your favor. The airline joined the British Airways currency system, Avios which also means you can now access Qatar flights via Amex points transfer partner British Airways, in a special way.
This is welcome news because Qatar has many travelers’ favorite Business Class seat, the beloved Qsuite. And this new partnership opens up more affordable options to book that seat by saving big on taxes — specifically, more than $1,000 that Qatar charges in taxes.
It’s All About the Taxes
Normally, we tell you that we love British Airways miles for nonstop short-haul flights but not for long-haul flights because they charge so much in taxes for those.
But thanks to this new partnership, high-tax BA is now offering low taxes for flights booked on otherwise high-tax Qatar flights. Yes, you read that right. BA now charges low taxes for partner Qatar’s flights to Doha and beyond from 13 U.S. gateways, which generally run about $245.
But my guess is that this won’t last very long.
Why for a Limited Time the Home Run
Is Now a Grand Slam
This deal gets even better when you take advantage of Amex offering a 40% mileage bonus for point transfers to BA Avios. That means you can get that Qatar Qsuite seat for just 100,000 miles round-trip — for a ticket that can easily cost up to $13,500 — while Amex/BA runs the transfer bonus through May 15.
Points collectors who were locked out of one of the world’s top Business Class seats to 119 destinations are now literally sitting pretty.
No Amex Points?
No problem. As you’ll see below, by purchasing 100,000 Amex points at 2.5¢ each for $2,500, plus taxes of about $245, you can save up to $10,755. Let’s look at the savings potential:
[table_opt id="6566" style="gray-header" header_rows="1" width="default" alignment="thcenter" heading="thcenter" rows="tdcenter" responsive="no" /]
No Chase or Capital One Points?
How Anyone Can Buy American Miles
and Save Up to $10,735 On Qsuites
What if you didn’t want to spend $7,309 to $13,500, and don’t have hundreds of thousands of points?
You could be lounging back with a pretty good deal through American Airlines using 140,000 AAdvantage miles if you have them, and about $245 for taxes. If you don’t have the miles, you can buy them from American for as low as 1.8¢ when on sale, amounting to a great value at $2,520 as you can see here:
[table_opt id="6567" style="gray-header" header_rows="1" width="default" alignment="thcenter" heading="thcenter" rows="tdcenter" responsive="no" /]
Comparing Buy-Miles Options: Alaska, American, and Amex/British Airways
American and Amex/BA aren’t the only Qatar miles partners that offer great savings. Alaska does too. The chart below compares buying miles with these three partners on Qatar’s Boston-Doha route and the savings you would score. Check ‘em out, they’re big.
[table_opt id="6568" style="gray-header" header_rows="1" width="default" alignment="thcenter" heading="thcenter" rows="tdcenter" responsive="no" /]
Qsuite: The World’s Best Business Class?
Many say so. Although the sliding doors make me feel a bit claustrophobic and boxed in, closing them is optional. Either way, Qatar Airways’ Qsuite, is, I repeat, sweet.
The seat is 21.5 inches wide and reclines to a fully lie-flat bed 79 inches long. The center quad section on some aircraft are set close together and can conveniently become a double bed for couples or families traveling together, or an ideal place for socializing or business meetings.
Where to find flights with Qsuites:
[table_opt id="6565" style="gray-header" header_rows="1" width="narrow" alignment="thcenter" heading="thcenter" rows="tdcenter" responsive="no" /]
Although these aircraft move around and flight numbers may change, here’s the trick to finding the Qsuite:
- All A350-1000s have Qsuites.
- The A350-900 can be tricky as both layouts have nine rows in Business Class. The Qsuite aircraft has row 2 D/G/J while the non-Qsuite configuration has row 2 A/E/K.
- B777-200 aircraft with 11 rows in Business Class have Qsuites.
- B777-300 aircraft with 11 rows in Business Class have Qsuites.
- B787-800s do NOT have Qsuites.
Qsuite Seat Availability
Oh, and availability is plentiful. Check out FCF’s Opportunity Treasure Map here:
[table_opt id="6563" style="gray-header" header_rows="2" width="default" alignment="thcenter" heading="thcenter" rows="tdcenter" responsive="no" /]
Remember: These deals won’t last, plus big opportunities are getting harder to come by in general with demand skyrocketing. In other words, he who hesitates on premium travel deals will pay through the nose, or fly in a lower class of comfort.