A Sneaky Loophole to Book Qatar First Class (& Visit the Al Safwa Lounge) for Less

Qatar Qsuites are indisputably some of the best business class seats in the world.  But if you ask us, Qatar Airways First Class deserves a shout-out, too – whether you fly one of Qatar’s A380 with a bar at the back of the top deck or one of the Boeing 777s the airline borrowed from Cathay Pacific.

And there’s a new way you can make it happen … for the price of business class. Thanks to a quirk with award pricing when redeeming Qatar (or British Airways) Avios, choosing a segment in Qatar Airways first class on a one-stop itinerary won’t cost you another mile more than booking business class on the same journey.

So while you can fly business class from the U.S. to Doha and onward all the way to the Maldives (MLE) for 85,000 Avios and $200 or so in taxes and fees …

… you can instead book that second segment in first class (sitting in one of Cathay Pacific’s outrageously comfortable first class seats on a leased 777) for just – you guessed it – 85,000 Avios and $200 or so in taxes and fees. 

That’s extremely unusual, as most airlines will make you fork over more miles for moving up to a better cabin for one leg of your trip. In some cases, they’ll even charge you the full first class mileage for the entire trip on a mixed-cabin itinerary like this – even if only a fraction of your trip is up in first. And yet here, Qatar and British Airways are doing the opposite. 

Qatar’s first class seats on the A380 might lack the privacy of Qsuites, but the experience more than makes up for it with elevated and personal service, a delicious caviar course, and top-shelf champagne selections like vintage Krug onboard. And the first class seats Qatar offers on Boeing 777s are widely regarded as some of the most comfortable in the sky – especially in lie-flat mode. 

But the upside of flying first class goes far beyond just the flight: It also gets you into one of the best airport lounges in the world, Qatar’s Al Safwa First Class Lounge. This place is part lounge, part museum: a jaw-dropping, art-filled expanse with a sit-down restaurant at the front and private sleeping rooms at the back. 

Read our full review of the Al Safwa Lounge … and the best ways to get in!

It’s unclear why this trick to book Qatar first for less works or when it happened, though we believe it’s the result of a somewhat recent change. Regardless, it’s an amazing loophole and far and away the best way to book Qatar First Class right now. 

It hinges on finding award availability on both flights, and that can take some trial and error. You may run into Qatar’s so-called “Flexi awards” which price out substantially higher, especially on the final first class segment. And our Thrifty Traveler Premium members gobbled up much of the available award space after we sent an alert yesterday pointing out this amazing opportunity to fly Qatar business class and first class for less next year. 

But when it works, it works all over – at least on the few routes where Qatar is flying planes outfitted with a bonafide first class cabin these days. That includes:

• The Maldives (MLE) for just 85,000 Avios, connecting to island paradise on a Cathay Pacific 777 first class cabin decked out in Qatar colors
• Bangkok (BKK) for 95,000 Avios, flying onward from Doha on either the A380 or the 777
• Hong Kong (HKG) for 95,000 Avios flying on one of those fancy 777s 
• Istanbul (IST) for 102,000 Avios, though Qatar is only flying a 777 equipped with first class through late October
• Perth (PER) in Australia for 120,000 Avios on the A380

Qatar also flies first class-equipped planes to Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG), London-Heathrow (LHR), and Sydney (SYD), but we couldn’t find any award availability as of publication to tell you how much it’ll cost. 

Flying to Perth via Doha might be taking the really long way to the Land Down Under, but it’s also easily the best deal on this list. You could fly from Chicago-O’Hare (ORD) to Doha and onward to western Australia in business class all the way for 120,000 Avios … or you could spend that 11-hour flight to Australia in Qatar First on the A380 for 120,000 Avios. It’s an easy choice. 

Get this: Booking the nonstop from Doha (DOH) to Perth (PER), a first class award would normally cost you 105,000 Avios. You can start your trip from the U.S. in business class for just 15,000 more miles!

For years, using American AAdvantage miles was our go-to way to book Qatar business class: How could you top booking for a flat 70,000 miles and a few bucks in taxes and fees? But that’s changed over the past year, as American Airlines flyers rarely get access to the award space to book those prized suites with miles.

It’s much easier using Qatar’s own Avios miles or British Airways Avios. And those two programs have another serious edge: Unlike American, which only allows you to book 11 months in advance, you can book 361 days out using Qatar Avios – or 355 days when redeeming through British Airways. That gives you a critical window of nearly a full month to lock in your trip in Qatar business class before others have the chance.

This new wrinkle allowing you to book into Qatar First Class instead for the rates of business class makes that case even stronger. Plus, those points are even easier to earn.

Both Qatar and British Airways are transfer partners with most of the big credit card companies – and you can even combine and transfer Avios between the two carriers – meaning a stash of points on cards like the *chase sapphire preferred*, *amex gold*, and *venture x* is all you need.

Bottom Line

What’s better than flying business class using points and miles? Just one thing: Bumping up to the first class cabin, sipping top-notch champagne while you enjoy a caviar course, without paying another mile.

We recently discovered this sneaky way to take a one-stop trip with Qatar Airways through Doha, booking your connecting flight in Qatar’s fancy first class cabins for the same rate as flying business class the whole way. Like all workarounds and loopholes, this one surely won’t last long. Put it to use while you can!