SUMMARY
- Generous intro bonus: 50,000 Avios and 150 Qpoints offered, worth more than the annual fee.
- Healthy accrual schedule: Earn 5 Avios per $1 on Qatar Airways flights, 3 Avios per $1 at restaurants.
- Status boost: Card makes earning Qpoints easier, grants immediate gold status & Oneworld Sapphire status.
For those who have been longtime fans of Middle Eastern legacy carrier Qatar Airways, there is now a unique way for Americans to build their way through the carrier’s ranks. Earlier this month, the carrier launched two new credit cards tied to the airline’s loyalty program, the Qatar Airways Privilege Club.
The more premium of the two cards, the Qatar Airways Privilege Club Infinite Credit Card, has a hefty annual fee of $499 and is offered through partner Cardless, which also offers four other consumer credit cards. This new Visa card may appear to carry a high fee, but it can be a reasonable financial decision when considering the benefits offered.
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The card’s offerings are infinite, from the ability to rapidly earn status with the airline from independent purchases to accessing the carrier’s award-winning lounges. In this article, we will examine the five most important benefits of the Qatar Airways Infinite Visa Card and why they immediately validate its annual fee.
1A generous intro bonus
The welcome offer on the card is split in two:
- 25,000 Avios are awarded after first making a purchase on the card
- 25,000 Avios and 150 Qpoints after spending $5,000 on the card in the first 90 days
This generous welcome offer comes in two stages: immediately offering Qatar Airways Privilege Club members the opportunity to earn Avios and helping them earn Qpoints. These bonuses will quickly justify the new card’s annual fee.
Photo: MBekir | Shutterstock
The carrier’s status system requires passengers to earn several Qpoints to progress from one tier to the next, and an intro bonus of 150 Qpoints will help one quickly get on their way. According to The Points Guy, Avios are worth roughly 1.5 cents each, making a 50,000-point bonus worth roughly $750, far beyond the annual fee.
2A healthy accrual schedule
Purchases on the card earn Avios as follows:
- 5 Avios per $1 spent on Qatar Airways flights
- 3 Avios per $1 spent on restaurant expenditures
- 1 Avios per $1 spent on all other purchases
The airline is also quick to ensure that its Infinite card offers passengers an impressive array of opportunities to earn Avios. In addition to what is already offered to Qatar Airways privilege club members, the airline offers passengers an opportunity to earn an impressive accrual rate on flight purchases.
Photo: Vytautas Kielaitis | Shutterstock
The 3 Avios per $1 spent at restaurants is undoubtedly a nice perk, with most premium credit cards in the United States typically offering around 2-3 miles at restaurants. As one would expect, all other purchases are rewarded with a single Avios.
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3A status boost
Earning status becomes even easier
Traditionally, rising through the ranks of Qatar Airways’ status system required heavy spending on flights. However, the new infinite card introduces a new method. According to the carrier, one can now earn status-qualifying Qpoints as follows:
- Purchasing tickets on flights operated by Qatar Airways ( the airline has a handy calculator on its website to see exactly how much one would earn )
- 2 Qpoints are earned for every 1,500 Avios earned on the new infinite card\
Photo: Qatar Airways
This offers loyal customers the unique opportunity to earn Qpoints even when not flying, bringing higher-tier elite status even more within reach. As we will soon see, the card already comes with generous benefits, making the highest tier of Privilege Club status, platinum, easily within reach.
4Immediate gold status
Offered to passengers upon making their first purchase
Despite potentially never having flown the carrier, opening an account with the new Qatar Airways Infinite Card will immediately offer you all the benefits of Privilege Club Gold status. These are numerous and include all the following:
- A 75% Avios bonus on eligible flight bookings
- Priority stand-by
- Priority boarding
- Preferred seats
- Extra baggage allowance
- Access to Qatar Airways lounges
Photo: Arseniy Shemyakin Photo | Shutterstock
Cardholders who fly in the economy can enjoy these numerous benefits, even if they have never flown Qatar Airways before and just opened an account. Those interested in opening an account should be aware that gold status is only offered for the first year, and the onus is on card members to maintain their status throughout the year by earning the appropriate number of Qpoints.
5Automatic oneworld status
Those who open an account with the card will instantly receive Oneworld Sapphire status
Much like the Qatar Airways Privilege club gold status that is offered, customers are also eligible to immediately begin receiving the many benefits of Oneworld Sapphire status. These include all the following:
- Access to business class lounges
- Access to business class check-in areas
- Access to pre-reserved or priority seating
- Waitlist priority
- Priority baggage handling
- Priority boarding
- An extra baggage allowance
Photo: Bradley Caslin | Shutterstock
These numerous benefits will allow passengers to enjoy a smooth travel experience across the entire oneworld network, even on US airlines like Alaska Airlines and American Airlines. Much like the gold status, however, the onus is on passengers to maintain their Oneworld Sapphire status.
