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Qatar Airways’ Privilege Club loyalty programme extends a helping hand to members who have had their travel pattern changed due to the COVID-19 virus. Members whose status is due to expire before January 31, 2021 can now have their status extended by up to six months.

Qatar Airways loyalty programme, Privilege Club, is now launching measures to safeguard members whose travel patterns have changed due to the coronavirus COVID-19. Members with elite status in the programme will be allowed to retain their status for up to six extra months. How long the extra period will be depends on when your status was due to expire.

“As a result of the current situation regarding coronavirus, which has led to travel restrictions and flight reductions worldwide, many of our Privilege Club members have not travelled as frequently as they usually would“, says Qatar Airways Chief Commercial Officer, Mr. Simon Talling-Smith.

“Such restrictions are outside of our control as an airline, but we do not want our members to lose their hard-earned membership tier status as a result. That is why we are honouring the loyalty our members have shown us by offering to extend their tier membership and retain their current benefits. Offers will be personalised to each member to ensure that they receive the benefit options most relevant to them.

While we understand that some members may need or wish to change their travel plans, we want to assure them that when they do travel with Qatar Airways, they can travel with confidence. Our fleet is one of the cleanest in the skies, and we have introduced new policies to provide all customers with maximum flexibility to suit their travel plans.”

Retroactive

How much the period is extended is based on when it was ordinarily due to expire. For example, members whose status was due to expire between April 1 and June 30 will have their expiration date extended by six months.

The measure also applies retroactively. This means that members who lost their status between 1 February and 9 March will regain their membership level during the period for six months from 1 April.

You can find out for yourself which terms apply to your membership by logging into qmiles.com .

Flexible bookings

For most of us, it is now difficult to plan trips ahead of time. Qatar Airways has therefore introduced a very generous flexibility in flights scheduled before June 30. Up to three days before departure, all travellers have the opportunity to freely change the travel date or exchange the trip for a voucher valid for one-year.

You can read more about the terms and conditions here.

Bottom line

The ongoing outbreak of the COVID-19 virus is affecting everyone, and the negative consequences for the travel industry are already very clear. It is reassuring to see that several companies in the industry are looking ahead and doing their best to safeguard the interests of customers while we wait for normal travel to resume.

Photo: Qatar Airways