Book Qatar Airways Awards with Fewer British Airways Avios

Book Qatar Airways Award with Fewer British Airways Avios

Book Qatar QSuites Business Class Awards with Fewer British Airways Avios, as part of Qatar Airways Privilege Club adopting Avios as its award chart currency.

In particular, it's now possible to book Los Angeles LAX to Doha DOH for just 70,000 Avios + $102. AAdvantage also charges 70K AA miles, but AAdvantage miles are harder for most people to earn, since neither AMEX Membership Rewards points nor Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to AAdvantage.

Since Avios has a distance based award chart, not a regional chart, it costs more using Avios to fly to the Maldives: LAX-DOH-MLE is 105,000 Avios + $206, while the return flight is 105K Avios + $333. Roundtrip Qatar QSuites fares from the West Coast to the Maldives usually run at least $5000 and sometimes $12,000 or more per person, so an award redemption earns you anywhere from 2.2 cents to 5.5 cents or more per Avios. That amount can be even higher per Ultimate Rewards point if you transferred Ultimate Rewards points to Avios with a 30% bonus, since that brings the roundtrip award rate from 210,000 Ultimate Rewards = Avios points to 162,000 Ultimate Rewards points, earning you anywhere from 2.8 cents to 7.2 cents per UR point.

Avios award rates are the same (70K to Doha, 105K Avios each way) flying to and from the East Coast of the U.S., but paid Qatar Business Class flights from New York JFK via Doha to Male tend to be ~$4200 except for peak periods, so the value of the award redemption is lower, less than 2 cents per Avios point, at which point it's better for many people to pay for flights and save points for a higher value use.

Here's one of our Qatar QSuites Business Class video reviews:

Where to Stay in the Maldives

The Maldives has some of our favorite luxury beach resorts in the world. Our top pick is Cheval Blanc Randheli, for its wonderful and modern airy villas with private pools you can swim laps in, fantastic fine dining, and superb tennis and spa facilities. For adrenaline junkies who also want to golf and enjoy fine wines, Velaa Private Island can't be beat since it has a plethora of water toys, the only golf course in the Maldives, and the most extensive wine collection in the Maldives. Don't forget that its spa also includes a Snow Room to cool down in, after the sauna. Joali has spacious villas that are similar in design to Cheval Blanc Randheli's, although with a different color scheme. The island is on the small side, and best for couples, since the kids' club is small and best for very young kids; there's little for teens.

Four Seasons Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru is ideal for families, with an extensive kids' club, and a unique Manta-on-Call program during certain summer dates (usually monsoon season in the Maldives, but also an ideal time to see the many manta rays that come to Baa Atoll). The Park Hyatt Maldives has one of the better house reefs to snorkel around, with many fish and reef sharks (although as with most other Maldivian resorts, the coral has suffered bleaching there too). Just make sure to keep your hands and arms close to your body, since the Park Hyatt is also where my husband had to punch a shark that swam right at him because he was treading water (presumably his fingers looked like tasty squid).

Here's our Joali video review: