Fly to New Zealand aboard Qatar's QSuite for just 90 thousand avios points: here's how to do it
New Zealand is, arguably, the farthest destination to reach from Italy. Of course, perhaps Polynesia is even more distant, [...]
Qatar Airways
AKL
New Zealand
New Zealand is, arguably, the farthest destination to reach from Italy. Of course, perhaps Polynesia is even further away, but it is definitely a less popular location than the location where The Lord of the Rings saga was filmed.
In this article:
Literally flying to the other side of the world is not cheap and you obviously have to be prepared to spend several hours sitting on a plane as well. From Italy, or perhaps it would be better to say Europe, it is not possible to fly there nonstop. It could aim for a direct flight from Rome to Sydney, and then make the last leg of about 2 hours to New Zealand, but of all the options this in my opinion is the most inconvenient and the one that does not fly in winter, but only during the summer months.
Much better are the alternative routes with stopovers in Singapore, Hong Kong, or the Gulf area with Emirates and Qatar over all.
Having to choose among the various operators I would definitely go for Singapore Airlines, Qatar and Emirates: all carriers, however, which are not very cheap on these kinds of routes, and a business ticket can easily exceed 5,000€. Of course, I would never spend that kind of money on a single ticket, and that's where the points come in.
The Qatar option and avios points
This is when prize tickets become a real gold mine: Peel off such a ticket for only 90 thousand avios, one-way, allows for super conversion and huge savings in economic terms.
If we then add to that the fact that it is possible flying aboard the QSuite, or the award-winning business class of the world's best airline, is a real home run.
How to move points to Qatar
New for 2022 was theQatar's adoption of the Avios currency and partnership with British Airways: an agreement that allows Italian point hunters to transfer points from membership rewards to BA executive club and from there link the profile to Qatar's Privilege Club profile.
The great thing about the partnership between BA and QR is that you can move points from one side to the other indefinitely, not like with the MR point transfer that instead is one-way and cannot be cancelled.
How to search for award places
The easiest way is to use the Qatar search engine. Unfortunately, the Doha-based company is not yet featured on Seatspy, as opposed to British Airways. Qatar's site is more reliable, faster and on time than BA's. Not only that. Although the two programs are now closely linked, the availability the prices and fees that are shown often differ, and not by a small margin, between the two systems.
Once you enter the Qatar website will be able to search by date and also access a calendar which shows availability for longer periods, quick and easy. Not only are the required points shown, but also the fees and surcharges.
The perfect combination
Given the length of the flights, it might be a good idea to look for A combination that allows for a stop over in Doha. And thus reduce the impact of flight.
For example, you can book a ticket for 90 thousand avios points and €231 of fees by flying both routes in QSuite. The first from Milan operated aboard the 787/9, here the QSuite will be even better, and the second, longer one of just under 19 hours of flight time aboard the 777/300, the largest aircraft in Qatar's fleet with the exclusion of the few routes operated with the A380.
In conclusion
Award tickets the more complicated they are to get to, the more satisfaction they give when you manage to book them. A ticket to go to New Zealand spending 23o€ in fees is a real treasure and I hope that thanks to this little guide so many will be able to book it and have all my admiration.
