I am thinking of going to Malta at the end of the year (2020) and was interested in flying Qatar airways. I have award points on my credit card and was wanting to transfer them to the frequent flyer program of the airline I wish to fly with, which is Privilege Club. Is this a good idea?As I was hoping to start earning more points which may help in a discounted airfare.I am with Commonwealth Bank.
Hi and welcome.
Unfortunately, CBA points does not transfer to Qatar’s frequent flyer program. However, you can transfer to Qatar’s partner airline programs such as Qantas and Asia Miles (Cathay Pacific). However, your CBA rewards program has to be setup to earn/transfer to Qantas beforehand to be able to do this. The transfer rate to Asia Miles is also rather poor: 3 CBA pts to 1 Asia Mile.
The Asia Miles chart for Partner airlines is a bit confusing. One way economy costs 42k or 90k Asia Miles. Multiply the costs by 3 and that should be the amount of CBA points required.
Depending on how much CBA points you have at the moment, it may be worthwhile to earn Qantas points instead to fund the trip. Assuming you depart from Sydney, it costs 66200, 124800, 159000 and 227500 Qantas points respectively for one way economy, prem econ, business and first class.
As we often say on this website, one of the best way to extract the most value out of your hard earn points is to redeem premium cabin seats. However, everyone’s circumstances is different. If you are prioritising minimising cash outlay for your flights, compare the amount of $ you save from paying for your flights with pts versus redeeming grocery gift cards. Depending on when you are travelling, airlines often have sale fares, which are very affordable.
All the best.
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