Making more seats available for Avios bookings
It’s a problem that every Avios collector faces: plenty of points, but no flights to use them on. Qatar has a solution for travellers who are points-rich but options-poor. As you may have guessed, it means using more points than you normally would.
Qatar and Avios
Early in 2022, Qatar switched its frequent flyer currency to Avios. At the time of writing, it’s one of seven airlines that use Avios, and you can move your points between them at will.
That opened up a significant number of flight options, and for UK travellers, it meant that Qatar’s extensive route map was bookable. You can book using the BA website, the Qatar site, or the app directly.
If you’re flying East, then Qatar is a great option. They have excellent connections in the Middle East, Far East, Africa and India. Their business class is stronger than BA, they are ahead of other airlines with their Starlink rollout, and they even have a rare First Class, albeit on their tiny A380 fleet and a few aircraft they bought from Cathay Pacific.
Less BA, more Qatar
Qatar has become our preferred choice for using Avios. Last year, we flew just two reward flights with BA. Next year, we have zero booked. Qatar is better for us as they fly out from our home airport (Manchester) and the BA service there has been degrading over time despite the move to the new T2 at MAN.
We’ve also been reducing our flights to the US, where BA is particularly strong. Flights to the Far East are better served by Qatar, and their lounges at Doha are significantly better than BA’s at Heathrow. It should be said that BA are going to be upgrading its First Suites in 2026 and refurbishing all of its LHR lounges.
The age-old points problem
There simply aren’t enough seats available to allow everyone to book their ideal flights. This is not a Qatar, BA or even an Avios issue. However, it has become more noticeable over the last few years, and that’s partly down to the proliferation of points-earning credit cards and other methods of earning Avios. The scheme has become a victim of its own success.
Airlines are trying to find new ways to keep people happy. British Airways has a limited number of Avios Only flights, which allow any seat on the aircraft to be booked using points. Qatar has an even better solution….
What are Qatar Flexi Awards?
You can get access to more reward seats if you are willing to spend more points. This isn’t a complex scheme to understand, or even to use.
When you search for reward flights with Qatar, you will be shown two different types of reward seats:
- Regular (Classic) reward seats that use the standard Avios price
- Flexi Award seat, visible at double the number of Avios.
When you carry out a flight search, you’ll see a small “Flexi” note underneath any flights that are utilising this feature. You can see this in the screenshot below.
Flexi Awards cost double the number of Avios. If a Classic (regular) reward seat is priced at 100,000 Avios, then a Flexi Award seat will be 200,000.
How do you book Flexi Award seats?
The great thing about this Qatar feature is that you don’t need to do anything differently. You carry out a standard flight search, and the results will include the classic (lower Avios) seats alongside the Flexi Award options. The booking process after that remains the same.
The only downside is that you’re going to burn through more points. It could easily turn an achievable flight into one that is simply not possible.
What are the rules
The rules around Flexi Awards are quite simple:
- The airline chooses when Flexi Awards will be possible on a flight
- They are only usable on Qatar flights, i.e. Qatar planes, not codeshares.
- Flexi Award seats are not eligible for cabin upgrades using points.
Flexi Awards can appear across all cabins, so they’re usable on Economy through to First Class.
Which flights or seats will be Flexi vs Classic?
Unlike British Airways’ Peak and Off-Peak avios pricing, there are no set parameters on what would make a seat bookable using classic rewards or Flexi.
The decision will be dynamic and based upon a number of factors. Popularity of the route and flight, and commercial factors, will play a part. You can see a pattern in the searches. I looked at a flight from London (any airport) to Qatar’s home airport of Doha. The only option available on Classic Rewards is a flight from Gatwick on a 787.
That flight is from a more leisure-focused airport, the plane has one of the older seat types, and it does not have the new Starlink wifi. It is a poorer product, from an airport where the plane load will be lower.
Qatar has four other flight options from London that day, all from Heathrow and every one of those options has the newer Q-suite. Two of those are Starlink-enabled.
Looking at Manchester flights to Doha, there are four on one day in July. One has the Q-suite, but all of them can be booked using Classic rewards. If I switch those dates to February, a much better date to visit Doha if you’re travelling there on holiday, there are no Classic reward options.
Should you utilise Flexi Awards?
Do you really want a particular flight, and do you have enough points? If so, it’s an option that allows you to secure your ideal seat.
There may be alternative dates or routes that allow you to travel using far fewer Avios. It is always worth considering alternatives, because even if you are points-rich, you might want to keep some back for your next flight.
We have been quite relaxed about using Flexi-Awards. I have just booked a reward flight from the Far East to Manchester, but it was a one-way flight and we really wanted to take that route. We had enough points, and it was ideal for us.
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