What on Earth Is a Qatar Airways Flexi Award Seat When Using Avios?

If you’ve ever tried to book a Qatar Airways flight using Avios and found yourself wondering why some seats seem to cost roughly double, you’ve stumbled upon the mysterious world of Flexi Awards. You haven't done anything wrong, and Qatar isn’t secretly charging you for extra legroom and a mint on the pillow. It’s simply their way of giving you another chance to redeem when the usual “cheap” seats are gone.

Two Types of Reward Seats

When booking a flight with Qatar Airways using Avios, there are actually two levels of award availability:

1. Standard Award Seats – These are the regular reward seats everyone wants. They cost the standard number of Avios and have the best value. Naturally, they also vanish faster than free biscuits in the office kitchen.

2. Flexi Award Seats – These appear once all the standard seats have been snapped up. The catch? They cost double the Avios, though the cash taxes and fees remain the same.

So, for example, if a Business Class seat from London to Doha usually costs 43,000 Avios + £358.62 (in taxes and fees), the Flexi version will set you back 86,000 Avios + £358.62. Same plane, same champagne, just a steeper points price.

An example of a standard off-peak Business Class fare and a Flexi Award

The exception to the rule though are Avios fares on "peak" days. You see, the Flexi price is always double the cost of an "off peak" fare. On a "peak" day, the Avios cost is roughly 20% more than the "off peak" fare, but if you were to get a Flexi seat on a "peak" day, this would always be just double the cost of the "off peak" fare.

Why Qatar Airways Does Flexi Awards With Avios

Think of Flexi Awards as a polite gesture from Qatar Airways when you want to use Avios. Rather than saying, “Sorry, no reward seats left” they’re essentially saying, “Well, you could still have one… if you’re willing to part with a few more Avios.”

It’s not the best value on paper, but it’s handy if you must travel on certain dates or your boss won’t accept “no reward availability” as a reason to take more time off work.

On the Qatar Airways website, Flexi Awards are clearly marked as such. But they do not appear on the British Airways website. Instead, once the standard award seats are gone, BA's website will show no seats available.

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When It’s Worth It

Flexi Awards can be useful when:

• You’re travelling at peak times

• Cash fares are eye-watering

• You’ve got more Avios than patience

Otherwise, it’s almost always better to hold out for standard availability or try a partner airline.

So, Scam or Good Option?

So, to put it simply: Flexi Awards aren’t a scam, just an expensive backup plan. You’re paying extra Avios for flexibility, not extra luxury. Some may say this is poor value, but depending on your circumstances, this may represent the best use of your Avios. For those who must travel at peak times, or need to travel at short notice, this ones for you.

Sam

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