Qatar Airways says it will extend its Privilege Club members’ tier status until 31 December 2021 in “recognition that travel plans continue to be impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic”.

The Doha, Qatar-based airline said the move will apply to Silver, Gold and Platinum members whose tier is due to end this year and have not earned enough Qpoints to retain it.

“At Qatar Airways we are doing everything in our power to be the airline you can rely on,” said Qatar Airways Chief Commercial Officer, Thierry Antinori.

“Having flown continuously during the pandemic, we currently operate the largest network among airlines based in the Middle East thanks to the flexibility offered by our sustainable, wide body Boeing 787 and A350 aircrafts.

“We also offer the highest standards of safety on board and at Hamad International Airport – recently endorsed by our Skytrax 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating Airport Safety Rating.

“Our Privilege Club members are very important to us and we want to continue to be there for them. We understand that some of our members may need more time to plan and book their upcoming travel.

“That is why we are announcing today our latest tier extension as one of the many steps that Privilege Club has taken over the last year to honour the loyalty of our valued members as we navigate these difficult times together,” he said.

The announcement follows news that Qatar Airways will offer all passengers unlimited date changes and free refunds for tickets issued before 30 April 2021 for travel completed by 31 December 2021.

Antinori said Privilege Club members can therefore benefit from flexible booking policies that will allow them to change their plans with ease if they need to, while retaining their current, hard-earned tier status and enjoying the unique benefits associated with it.

He said last year, Qatar Airways’ Privilege Club was one of the first airline loyalty programmes to announce a tier extension offer of up to 12 months to its members and throughout 2020, Privilege Club continued to invest in redefining the programme, including cutting the number of Qmiles required to book award flights by up to 49 per cent.

Qatar Airways also revised its Qmiles policy so that when a member earns or spends them, their balance is valid for 36 months.