Garuda Indonesia Joins the Avios Family

As of Wednesday 26th March, there is a new member of the Avios crew. Garuda Indonesia, despite being a member of the SkyTeam Alliance, has gone live as an Avios partner. 

Garuda Indonesia joins the Avios Family with the Qatar Airways Privilege Club, allowing participants to redeem Avios for flights to/from Indonesia with Garuda Indonesia. 

Whilst it seems that accepting Avios and being a member of Skyteam may have conflicting priorities. I would posit that Garuda are just operating in their own best interests, aware that by partnering with Qatar, they can enable greater connectivity and demand through their own network. In February 2024, Garuda and Qatar announced a codeshare agreement on flights between Doha and Indonesia, currently standing at 4x daily to/from Jakarta, and 3x daily to/from Bali. So by joining into the Privilege Club, this is merely a natural expansion to an already successful partnership. 

Maybe Garuda should switch teams, from Skyteam to Oneworld?

Travelers looking to redeem Avios for Garuda Indonesia flights should be aware that bookings cannot be made via ba.com, nor can cash flights on Garuda be credited to a British Airways Executive Club account. Instead, all redemptions and earnings must be handled through a Qatar Airways Privilege Club account.

For passengers looking to use Avios in their British Airways Executive Club account, you are able to link the two together, enabling a seamless crossover between the pair. This can also be done with Iberia Plus and Finnair Plus accounts.

A key advantage is that Avios transfers are not required between an Executive Club account and a Privilege Club. When making a redemption, Avios will be automatically withdrawn from the linked British Airways account, streamlining the process.

However, one limitation exists: only Avios from an individual’s personal British Airways account can be used. Qatar Airways Privilege Club does not have access to household account balances, meaning travellers must ensure they have sufficient Avios in their own account before making a booking.

Whilst bookings are not yet live on the Qatar Airways website, they use the same redemption chart for bookings on all partner airlines. For reference, the distance between Doha and Jakarta is 4282 miles. 

If you are looking to credit your Avios from flying on Garuda to your Qatar Airways Privilege Club account, then the amount of Avios credited will depend on your fare class. 

One final note, if you are looking to fly directly from the UK to Indonesia, then there is a snag; pre-covid Garuda Indonesia served Heathrow 1x daily, but the only flights remaining from Europe start in Amsterdam, so this will need to be factored into your travel plans when booking.