Rob McDonald, CCO of IAG Loyalty, revealed that over the past year and a half, more than 250,000 members had connected their accounts. This has led to a substantial flow of Avios in both directions, granting travelers the flexibility to choose from the best options and prices with both airlines.
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GLOIn March 2022, Qatar Airways implemented Avios as its loyalty currency, a move that aligned it with IAG carriers such as British Airways and Aer Lingus. Rob McDonald, the Chief Commercial Officer of IAG Loyalty, highlighted the significant success of this integration in an exclusive interview with Simple Flying. He discussed how members readily embraced the changes. Under this agreement, members can effortlessly transfer Avios between the British Airways Executive Club and Qatar Airways Privilege Club once they’ve linked their accounts. This enables them to access optimal redemption options in both programs without needing to allocate flights separately. As both airlines are part of the oneworld alliance, your membership tier status applies when flying with either carrier and beyond.
During an interview with Rob McDonald, he revealed that over the past year and a half, more than 250,000 members had connected their accounts. This has led to a substantial flow of Avios in both directions, granting travelers the flexibility to choose from the best options and prices with both airlines. While the collaboration with Avios came as a surprise, it was a logical step considering Qatar Airways’ stake in the European group IAG, which increased to 25% just before the pandemic in 2020. The integration of the loyalty currency strengthens the value of Avios and widens the availability of benefits with exclusive partners on both sides of the loyalty programs.
The process of linking accounts and transferring points through the online platform has proven relatively user-friendly, which is remarkable given the historical challenges with British Airways’ IT systems. This streamlined process has facilitated the success of the unified program involving two airlines and a shared currency. Although Avios can now be earned and redeemed across various outlets, ranging from restaurants to wine shopping, flights continue to be the primary focus. Over the past year, IAG Loyalty has been notably active, introducing new credit cards globally, from India to the US, and witnessing a notable increase in redemptions. Particularly intriguing is the introduction of Avios-only flights, where entire flights can be booked solely by redeeming points.
