How to link your Qatar and BA accountsOpening up a whole new world of Avios usage
Avios is now the official airline mile currency of Qatar (along with Iberia, Aer Lingus and more recently Finnair). That means you can earn Avios on Qatar flights, but more importantly, you can easily move Avios from your BA account into your Qatar Privilege Club account.
That leads to a host of options for using your Avios. It's not always the most efficient way to use miles as you can't use a BA Companion Voucher with Qatar.
However, Qatar does have better options to fly via regional airports. In the UK they fly from Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh as well as Gatwick and Heathrow in London.
Having the final long haul leg of a trip returning me to my local airport does improve the experience.
The airlines also have different levels of reward availability. For one particular trip later this year there were no return flights on BA using Avios.
The solution was to connect with Qatar via Doha, and then get a flight back to Manchester. They had availability at a reasonable mileage cost (and a very reasonable level of taxes and charges).
How to link your Qatar and BA accounts
Firstly you'll need both a British Airways Executive Club account and a Qatar Privilege Club account. If you don't have the latter, then you can sign up here.
Qatar sometimes runs promotions where you can get some Avios for free on signing up. If you click the link above they have an offer running until the end of December 2024 where you get 3,000 or 5,000 Avios once you've completed your first flight in economy or business class.
Once you've signed up, head to their dedicated Avios page and click the "Link my accounts" button.
The next page you see will ask you to enter your personal information. The details you enter must match what you have on your BA account, in particular your first and last names and your date of birth.
Once completed it will give you a button to click which takes you back to BA. Sign in using your Executive Club login details.
Once that step is complete, you'll now be able to see your total Avios balance. This is a combination of the Avios in your BA and Qatar accounts, but it also helpfully gives you that breakdown on the page.
The recent transactions it lists will be related to just Qatar. It will not include any
How to move miles between your BA and Qatar accounts
If you want to book a Qatar flight (or a Qatar Experience) then it's easy and quick. On the Avios homepage on Qatar there's a "Combine your Avios" box.
Simply enter the amount of Avios that you want to transfer, then select whether you want to move from BA to Qatar, or in reverse. The form defaults to moving from the Executive Club to the Privilege Club.
You can move any number of Avios between accounts, there is no lower limit. I've just moved a single Avios and it was transferred instantly.
Once you click the "Move my Avios" button it will ask you to log in to your BA account. When that's completed the transfer will take place, and you'll be returned to the Avios homepage on Qatar.
Important points about linking your accounts
- You can unlink your accounts at any time, if you so wanted to.
- Linking your accounts will share data between BA and Qatar
- Transfering points is immediate.
And some more useful notes
- If you have a BA (2-4-1) Companion Voucher then you cannot use this when redeeming for Qatar flights.
- Qatar have a more dynamic approach to the number of Avios you need for a flight. If availability is limited, they can give you the chance to book a seat but at a much increased rate of Avios.
