mileageking

Anyone able to confirm if Platinum traveling in J has complimentary access to Al Safwa?

NicoNTE

Hi,
Yes this has been confirmed multiple time, although I think you have to travel on a paid J ticket (not redemption)

railways

AFAIK paid or redemption J will get you access; upgraded tickets will not.

But if you invite guests travelling in J, they can be on upgraded tickets.

All moot at the moment, of course, since Al Safwa is closed.

a9504477

Did we actually ever get clarification on this? Initially it was mentioned that access only on non-upgraded tickets is only due to technical reason but surely any such reasons should have been sorted out in the meantime (not that the lounge is open atm of course)...

Flame3601

Sorry can't find a thread and do not want to make a new one, so this place seems best suited.

Does anyone know if you can call the Qatar Whatsapp number for gold/plats? Will they answer and be able to help or is it text only, i assume video call is out the question.

HOLYMOLEAIR

In the recent email from AAB, it was hinted that Qmiles expiry will be extended by earning or spending Qmiles. That sounds like they are following the footsteps of Asia Miles (CX) to adopt the BAEC model to me.

Johnnieboy

Rolling qmiles validity

Every time you spend or earn qmiles, your whole balance gets a new 36 month validity.

Pretty good for everyone. Makes platinum just that little bit less attractive to strive for though...

goingplacestogether

Privilege Club is embarking on a journey of change.

Starting today, we’re extending the life of your well-earned Qmiles. Every time you spend or earn a Qmile, your balance will be valid for a further 36 months, meaning your Qmiles will last longer than ever before.

SullyofDoha

The new QMiles expiration rule is fantastic. I’ve been Platinum for several years and have accrued many miles and have been cognizant that I could be fubared if I dropped to Gold. I hate to say it, but Covid has been good for QR since meant Qatar Airways has had to pay positive attention to its frequent flyers.

khabah

Hear hear! I’ve also been Platinum for several years, and I’m happy to see some improvements made to the tier [i.e. Safwa access on a J ticket] and program as a whole. Flying wasn’t much fun before and less so with COVID, but QR will remain my airline of choice for the foreseeable future. Now if only they’d introduce a lifetime tier like BA/Finnair...

khabah

IAN-UK

Yes, theoretical admission to al Safwa is an enormous comfort

SullyofDoha

I Just had to post this article that appeared in the Peninsula today. Again, there are better things happening, but would it not be refreshing to have a CEO for ONCE admit they screwed up and took their loyal customer base for granted and they were now making a concerted effort at recovering their trust?

Qatar Airways' Privilege Club extends Qmiles policy

Qatar Airways’ loyalty programme, Privilege Club, has announced a change to its Qmiles policy in efforts to enhance the programme to further honour members loyalty. When a member earns or spends Qmiles, their balance is valid for 36 months.
Members can now earn or spend their Qmiles for as long as they stay active with the programme. This enhancement is among the initial steps in Privilege Club’s journey of change in exceeding expectations from the airline passengers can always rely on.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, H E Akbar Al Baker said: “At Qatar Airways, we are dedicated to provide our promised five-star service to our passengers and our Privilege Club plays an important role in this. We want to reward our most loyal customers with generosity and flexibility. As such, we have embarked on a journey of change within Privilege Club that puts our members and their needs at the forefront.”
“Privilege Club has recently undergone multiple changes and our enhanced Qmiles policy is the first major step towards perfecting our loyalty programme with many more exciting new initiatives planned in the coming months. It is a true delight to see our loyal members enjoy our programme and I am very excited for what is to come.”
Privilege Club launched in year 2000 as a form of appreciation to Qatar Airways’ loyal passengers, offering them the opportunity to earn Qmiles when travelling on Qatar Airways, oneworld® airlines, or any of the airlines’ partners. It has since served as another convenient means of payment at the award-winning Qatar Duty Free (QDF) outlets, Oryx Galleria in Doha and now at Al Maha meet and assist services at Hamad International Airport (HIA).
Privilege Club offers four membership tiers – Burgundy, Silver, Gold and Platinum – each with their own exclusive benefits for members to enjoy.
https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/articl...-Qmiles-policy
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The bolding above is mine. I found it exceedingly rich! lol

Johnnieboy

It will be interesting to see what the "many more exciting new initiatives" may yet turn out to be, but of course expecting a deliberate loss of face in that part of the world is even less likely than a dialling back of the hubris. And of course the State of Qatar itself was under existential pressure around the time of previous hacks to the programme, as an article on that same Peninsula page alludes to (invasion plans by MBS). There is always a possibility that even AAB was under pressure from above to make cuts.

But the rolling qmiles renewal is good news for everyone and I will buy that as a genuine enhancement (reversing the "enhancement" of cutting validity from 5 years to 3 when they joined oneworld). There will no doubt be more active qmiles in the system in the medium to long term but we shall wait to see the longer term impacts of that.

There is a bit of a hole developing at the top of the programme at the moment though - no qmiles expiry not unique anymore, ability to use all your new bonus qcredits for first class upgrades not possible with A380s grounded, al safwa currently shut - but hopefully they are aware of all of this and "exciting new initiatives" to rectify that are in hand...