Purchasing miles can be a good way to top up your balance for a redemption, though it doesn’t always make sense.

When they’re on sale, buying miles can also allow you to score a discounted award flight. While we don’t always recommend this, there are cases where it makes sense.

Qatar Airways is out with its newest promotion for purchasing Avios, which offers up to a 50% bonus on purchases through September 8, 2024.

Let’s check out the promotion details and whether it’s worth taking advantage of.

Qatar Airways’ promotion allows you to get up to a 50% bonus when purchasing Avios at the following rates:

• Buy 3,000 to 15,000 Avios and get a 20% bonus
• Buy 16,000 to 34,000 Avios and get a 40% bonus
• Buy 36,000 to 250,000 Avios and get a 50% bonus (1.53 cents per Avios)

There are other details of which you’ll want to be aware:

• Members must have at least 1 Avios in their account to purchase Avios
• Promotion valid on Avios purchased through September 8, 2024
• Members can buy, gift, or transfer 250,000 Avios per calendar year

Hot Tip:

Is It Worth It?

If you max out this promotion, you’ll be purchasing a total of 250,000 Avios (+125,000 bonus Avios) for $5,750. This comes out to a purchase rate of 1.53 cents per Avios.

This is more expensive than our valuation of Qatar Airways Avios at 1.25 cents per Avios, so it’s not necessarily a great deal.

However, there are certain situations in which buying Avios like this can be a good deal, especially since they’re interchangeable across British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and Finnair.

Take, for example, this round-trip Qatar Airways flight from Doha (DOH) to Male (MLE) in business class, which will cost $3,133:

Qatar’s own website shows saver-level award availability for these flights, so you’ll pay 70,000 Avios round-trip plus $299.80 in taxes and fees for these 5-hour flights.

You can buy 48,000 Avios through Qatar Airways for $1,104 and receive 24,000 bonus Avios (72,000 total). Then, you can book your flight for a total out-of-pocket cost of $1,403.80. That’s less than half of the cash price you’d otherwise pay!

In this case, deducting the cost of Avios and taxes and fees from the retail price, you’re also redeeming your Avios at a rate of 4 cents each, which is way more than you’re paying to purchase them.

Hot Tip:

Final Thoughts

It’s not always a good idea to purchase points, even when they’re on sale. However, there are some situations where it can make sense, especially if you’re able to leverage partnerships to reduce your costs, are topping off your balance for a big redemption, or redeeming miles for more value than the purchase price. If you’re interested in purchasing Qatar Airways Avios with up to a 50% bonus, you’ll want to do so before September 8, 2024, when the promotion expires.