EXTENDED: Get British Airways lounge access for 12 months via a Qatar Airways status match

The Qatar Airways status match has been extended ….. again.

It was due to end on Saturday but has now been pushed back to midnight UK time on Wednesday 27th May.  The list of participating airlines has not changed again and remains at five.

Here is our original article on the match, which I have amended to reflect the new qualification requirements …..

Qatar Airways is running a status match at the moment.  This means that, if you have elite status with selected other airlines, Qatar Airways will give you equivalent status in Qatar Privilege Club.

The reason this is interesting, of course, is that Qatar Airways is a member of the oneworld alliance alongside British Airways.  Having status with Qatar Airways gets you all of the benefits of having status with British Airways when flying BA, including BA lounge access, fast track security, priority boarding, additional luggage allowances etc.  You also get status benefits when flying with any of the other airlines in the oneworld alliance.

You can find full details on the Qatar Airways website here.

Which airlines is Qatar Airways offering to match?

That’s the good news.  The bad news is that only a small number of airlines qualify.  These are:

• Emirates
• Etihad
• Turkish Airlines
• Singapore Airlines
• South African Airways

Whilst the rules talk about matching ‘top tier’ status, it appears that they will match ANY level of status with these five airlines.  This is because matches are being made to Qatar Privilege Club Platinum, Gold and Silver tiers.

Annoyingly, there is no list of how a match will work so we don’t know exactly what will match to what.  If an airline only has three tiers then you can reasonably assume it will be a straight match to Platinum, Gold or Silver.  For airlines with four tiers it gets more complicated.

How do Qatar Airways benefit link to British Airways?

This is a little complex, because Qatar Gold doesn’t mean BA Gold!

This is how it matches:

Qatar Privilege Club Platinum = oneworld emerald = British Airways Gold benefits

Qatar Privilege Club Gold = oneworld sapphire = British Airways Silver benefits

Qatar Privilege Club Silver = oneworld ruby = British Airways Bronze benefits

How do you apply for a Qatar Airways status match?

The details are on the Qatar Airways website here.

You need to open a Qatar Privilege Account first, which can be done here.

You need to email Qatar Airways with a copy of your competing airline membership card, a statement of your frequent flyer activity with that airline for the last two months (presumably nil!) and your Qatar Privilege Club account details.

How long does your status match last?

It isn’t clear, but the implication is that it will last for a full 12 months.  Rather like British Airways, Qatar Privilege Club membership is NOT based on strict January to December calendar years but reflects when you joined or when you achieved your status.

Members who are matched can retain their status for a further year by collecting just HALF of the usual number of tier points during the next 12 months.  This isn’t hugely generous, given you are unlikely to be flying much for the next 3-4 months, but it is better than nothing.

Even better, if you are matched to Qatar Platinum, you may (or may not) get a ‘soft landing’ to Qatar Gold for a further 12 months which would still allow you to access British Airways business class lounges.  This would effectively get you 24 months of British Airways lounge access via this match.

Full details of how to apply are here.  Note that the deadline is midnight on Wednesday 27th May.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (September 2023)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

EDIT: Applications for this card are temporarily suspended due to IT issues with the British Airways On Business SME loyalty scheme.

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.