Qatar Airways has a ‘Qsuite Guarantee’! Swap for free if your aircraft changes

Three months ago I wrote an article about why Virgin Atlantic should have a ‘suite guarantee’. The background was that a New York trip I had booked on the A330neo – Virgin’s best Upper Class seat – had been swapped to a Boeing 787 with Virgin’s (and indeed the Atlantic’s) worst business class seat.

Readers had told me that they no longer booked Virgin Atlantic in Upper Class because aircraft swaps were too common. I thought a ‘suite guarantee’ (free rebooking if your A350 or A330neo flight was moved to a Boeing 787 or A330) was the answer.

It turns out that Qatar Airways beat me to it.

The ‘Qsuite Guarantee’ is semi-mythical

If you google ‘Qsuite Guarantee’ you won’t find any definite proof that it exists.

It doesn’t seem be to mentioned on the Qatar Airways website and I can’t find an article on any site where the writer was offered it directly.

All I could find online was this 2019 tweet from the airline, which was quoted in another article which had tried (and failed) to find proof that the guarantee still existed:

Last week, however, I got this email out of the blue from a reader:

“On another note, I assume you’re already aware that Qatar has a Qsuite Guarantee. It allows a free flight change (within 21 days of the original flight) when it does an aircraft swap from a Qsuite plane to a non-Qsuite plane.

Qatar emailed me a week before my return flight mentioning the aircraft swap to a non-Qsuite & offering the flight change. I’ve not heard of such a scheme on any other airline.

Even though I did an Avios redemption originally and there was no reward availability in the 21 day window, they still allowed me to change flights to one with no reward availability.

This was useful as the aircraft for the original flight was changed to an old 777 with a 2-2-2 layout in business.”

The guarantee was tucked away at the very bottom of the email the reader received about his aircraft change:

“You can also enjoy one complimentary flight change if you wish to fly in Qsuite on a different date. To benefit from this option, please contact us.”

The guarantee terms are unchanged

It turns out that the terms of the guaranteed are the same as the 2019 tweet I quoted above:

• you can change your travel date +/- 21 days to move to a Qsuite aircraft

• the first change is absolutely free, but any further changes would result in the normal fees

• if you have an Avios ticket, there does not need to be reward availability to change

The only ‘fact’ that our reader didn’t verify was whether the ‘swap to another departure point in the same country or within 500 miles’ part of the guarantee still stands. Given where he was, flying back to the UK, it wasn’t relevant to him.

(EDIT: the comments below suggest that the ‘swap to any airport within 500 miles’ part of the guarantee is no longer available. You can only swap to another flight from the same airport.)

So, the ‘Qsuite Guarantee’ exists!

It’s not perfect, obviously. If Qatar Airways makes a permanent equipment swap on a route to a non-Qsuite aircraft type, and there are no alternative airports you can reach (and the transfer would be at your cost) then you’re stuck.

For anyone caught by a one-off aircraft swap, however, the ‘Qsuite Guarantee’ will see you right. Kudos to Qatar Airways for quietly offering this benefit for at least the last five years and without even making a song and dance about it.

How about it, Virgin Atlantic?

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (January 2025)

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. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

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.