Want to Fly Qatar Q-Suites? Hint: Try Booking with Virgin Australia

Gold in the Inbox

I usually ignore emails from most frequent flier programs, but the Velocity Frequent Flyer message I received the other day, titled "Velocity Reward Seats on Virgin Australia flights to Doha launch today," caught my eye. 

A few months ago, we learned that Virgin Australia would start selling tickets for Qatar-operated flights between Doha and Perth, Brisbane, and Sydney. Now, we've learned that Virgin Australia's allotted award space on Qatar flights will increase threefold through this deepened partnership.

This update is low-key huge, as Virgin Australia is now the program with the most Q-Suites award space. This appears to be for all Q-Suites routes, not only those between Doha and AU cities. I quickly searched Seats.aero to confirm this, and the proof is in the pudding. Virgin Australia had about double the award space than Jetblue for flights from North American to Doha - Alaska and American availability was no where to be found.

Saver fares will cost you 104,000 Velocity Points, which might make you say, "Blackbeard, put down the wine. That's not a great deal." I'd then respond, "Have you considered that Virgin Australia semi-regularly sells points at a discount?" If you're savvy, you'd know that these are priced in AUD and when you factor in the currency conversion, you'll find the per-point-cost of Velocity Points to be significantly less than most other major frequent flier programs. I've advocated for buying points in the past, and this is another instance where doing so can net you outsized value and a luxury flying experience at a fraction of the cost.

Conclusion

Virgin Australia is a good program to focus on if you're hoping to book Q-Suites flights quickly, at a fraction of the cash rate, by buying points and immediately redeeming them. Enjoy Doha, fam.