Originally Posted by stargold

Summary: If you hold QR Plat or QR Gold status and flying QR Y, there is no need to pre-book Al Maha service if you just want to pass through fast-track immigration.

Arrival: Proceed to the Al Maha lounge at the end of the right hand side corridor once you arrive into the immigration hall. Present your incoming QR BP and the Plat/Gold card, and you will be let into the fast-track immigration without any charge.

Departure: Proceed to the Al Maha lounge at the right hand side corner of the departure hall, almost next to the Safwa/Mourjan desks. In the same way, you just need to present your QR BP and the Plat/Gold card and you will be let into the fast-track immigration without any charge.

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So... a very short trip to Doha and back in order to attend my Global Entry interview this morning illustrated the value of Al Maha and QR status when entering/exiting Doha.

Arrived on EY Y at 9:40pm (couldn't justify 4x miles for 45 minutes in J) and... arrived to a completely rammed immigration hall. The normal lines were full and spilling out. Looked like a good 2hrs wait, especially knowing how painfully slow each passenger is processed.

Saw the desk offering fast track access (is it new?) which said that it's QAR 200 for visa holders and QAR 375 for visa on arrival. As my passport is visa-free for Qatar (i.e. not even visa on arrival), it was going to be QAR 200 vs. 2hrs of my time at 9:40pm after a whole day of work. It wasn't a very difficult choice.

But even the desk to buy the fast track pass in the main arrival hall had a line! So I thought perhaps the Al Maha lounge reception desk could help. And it turns out they did - they processed the payment for QAR 200 pretty quickly and I was out of passport control within 20 minutes or so (there was a small line). It would have been free if I had arrived on QR, but alas...

(PS. The fast-track line in the main arrival hall, which I would have been able to access with the fast-track pass if travelling in J, also had a fairly substantial queue)

On my flight back today, I was travelling on QR Y (again, can't justify 4x Avios for a 45-min flight in F), but I had pre-booked Al Maha when I was clearing inbound immigration last night. I was directed to go to the Al Maha immigration on the rightmost corner of the non-Premium departure area (i.e. next to the Premium check-in).

In both cases, I double checked with the Al Maha receptionists who clarified that you only need to pre-book the Al Maha service if you want the escort and baggage assistance. If you just want the fast-track immigration, you just need to come to the reception with your QR Plat/Gold and QR Y BP.

Just hope this is useful for some of us who hold QR status but don't actually enter/leave Qatar very often!