Update, 5/17: Qatar is no longer selling flights between the US and Kiev.
Additionally, new terms have been added:
- You must now wait 14 days after booking until you can change your flight.
- You must now book into the same booking class on the new flight of else the fare difference will apply.
- Rerouting is no longer allowed if you originally booked a 5th freedom flight that doesn’t connect in Doha, such as Sao Paulo-Buenos Aires.
Disclaimer: The health of DansDeals readers is this website’s paramount concern. For your sake and the sake of those around you, the best way for society to make it through COVID-19 with the lowest mortality rate is by staying at home. That being said, some people still need to travel home, others need to travel for essential or emergency purposes, and people can try to book for after they think COVID-19 will no longer be a threat. Remember to travel responsibly and take precautions as suggested by your local authorities to avoid spreading the virus.
Qatar introduced a travel with confidence policy for tickets booked by 9/30/20 that is absurdly generous.
- Your ticket is valid for 2 years.
- If you travel by 12/31/20 you can make unlimited free changes.
- If you travel by 12/31/20 you can change the origin city to anywhere within your country without paying the difference in fare, as often as you want.
- If you travel by 12/31/20 you can change the destination city to anywhere within 5,000 miles of your original destination without paying the difference in fare, as often as you want.
- You can cancel your ticket you will get a voucher worth 10% more than you paid.
- You can exchange your ticket into miles at a cost of 1 cent per mile.
- You can get a refund if your flight is cancelled.
So what does that practically mean?
You can book a flight on Qatar from JFK to Kiev from 11/2-11/9 for $1,657 in business class.
Qatar QSuites is one of the highest rated business class products around.
After booking, you can call Qatar at 877-777-2827 and:
- Change the dates to any dates in 2020 for free.
- Change to origin city to: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, JFK, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, or Washington DC for free.
- Change the destination city to places within 5,000 miles of Kiev such as:
- Baku, Azerbaijan
- Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- Beijing or Shanghai, China
- Delhi or Mumbai, India
- Hong Kong
- Male, Maldives
- Yangon, Myanmar
- Doha, Qatar
- Mahe, Seychelles
- Seoul, South Korea
- Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Kilimanjaro or Zanzibar, Tanzania
- Bangkok, Chiang Mai, or Phuket, Thailand
- Entebbe, Uganda
- Da Nang or Hanoi, Vietnam
Using GCMap.com you can check the mileage distance, and you can see that anything in the light area is within 5,000 miles of Kiev:
- If you want to fly farther out, such as to Johannesburg, you could book a flight from Philadelphia to Bucharest for $2,436.
Anything in the light area is within 5,000 miles of Bucharest:
- If you want to fly farther out, such as to Melbourne, Tokyo, or Sydney, you could book a flight from Chicago to Bangkok for $2,804
Anything in the light area is within 5,000 miles of Bangkok:
This will work in coach too. For example a flight from JFK to Beirut is $580, but you can change the destination from anywhere in the US to anywhere within 5,000 miles from Beirut. That would cover Cape Town to Hong Kong!
Anything in the light area is within 5,000 miles of Beirut:
There are many more examples of how to best use this, so post your comments on what you find!
Will you fly anywhere with Qatar’s travel with confidence fare?
HT: menachemd1, via DDF, GSTP, and Lucky
Looks great. Not sure where to yet , but that’s the beauty of it.
You can decide later and change unlimited times.
Can you use chase points for this?
Technically, yes.
But I wouldn’t count on the reps knowing how to do this, so I wouldn’t recommend it.
Why would we deal with the Chase reps? Seems to me once the ticket is booked you can just call Qatar and they should know what to do. Am I wrong?
The rules state you’ll have to do it through the travel agent, but it’s possible that they will do it directly if the travel agent won’t do it.
YMMV, if you try let us know!
Do you mean pay on orbitz or one of those sites form chase portal?
If wanting to use points 110k for RT business (sounds like a great redemption to me) do you think you’ll get 10% back in points and then able to rebook? bringing Redemption to 99k pp
Problem is, you still need to travel by 12/31/2020, though the 110% credit is a nice fallback.
Yup, if it was good for unlimited changes in 2021 as well, it would be a smoking hot deal.
What’s the best way to go to Israel?
You can use this to Amman and then take Royal Jordanian…or a taxi.
Rofl
Better to do to LCA if flying, cheaper flights to Israel than RJ
Hilarious. But seriously why not just fly from Amman to TLV like most people do?
Based on current events, there is a decent chance there will be no flights between Amman and TLV in the near future.
wait so I can book that ticket to Kiev and then switch it to MLE?
Yup!
Can I book and request a voucher right away, effectively getting a 10% discount?
Yes.
Yah but what do you gain? Might as well change ticket for free? Or is that to save for 2021?
I’d assume he means book $1,500 ticket, cancel for $1,650 voucher, book $1,650 ticket, change origin/destination for free.
You got it!
Oh! I thought $1657 was the cheapest option but I guess you can find others not from US
Can you get to TLV?
https://www.dansdeals.com/airfare-deals/international-flights/qatars-incredible-travel-confidence-policy-means-can-fly-across-globe-qsuites-1660-round-trip/#comment-1470714
Can the voucher be used by anyone?
If you change your destination and that destination is more expensive and don’t end up flying you will get 110% of your original flight or the destination you switched it to?
Is the maldives within 5k miles of Beirut?
http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=bey-mle
Can i just book a flight, cancel, and get a voucher worth 10% more than you paid. After use that voucher to rebook the same flight? this would effectivly save me 10%
Yes.
@dan this would save 10% but would the same travel with confidence terms apply?
So I booked the jfk to kbp for $1657
So now I can travel anytime before 12-31-20
And change the destination location to Maldives? With no charge?
Yes.
does the return leg have to before 12/31. Or can the return leg be after.
Does Qatar fly to Mahe?
Yes.
“Keep your ticket and use it when you are ready with our extended ticket validity, now valid for 2 years from the date of ticket issuance for greater flexibility.
Call any of our offices or contact centres to extend your ticket validity.”
What does that mean practically? That we can travel later but will pay fees for 2021/22?
Dan, thanks a lot, we really appreciate your help.
Change fees will be waived, but difference in fare would be owed for 2021/2022. But you would still get the 10% bonus!
Fare difference of JFK-Kiev or to the destination i changed it to?
Can I book the JFK-Kiev route…call up and change it from Los Angeles to MLE….and then have them hold this ticket to be able to use anytime within the next two years?
Fare difference will be collected for flights starting 2021
Can I switch the ticket to a partner airline? Or do I always have to fly through Doha?
No.
Nearly all flights connect in Doha, which is a perfectly safe transit city.
What abt to explore Doha? Safe ? Anything to see ?
Already booked for JFK KIEV 12/24-1/3
Can I change destination to MLE even if my return is 1/3?
Thanks
Should work, call and ask and let us know.
Where are you going
How do I get from LAX to CPT using this deal?
Look for airports within 5,000 miles of CPT, such as in Africa and the Middle East. One example is in the post.
Can I use points to do this?
I can use my Citi TY points and transfer to Qatar.
Can i fly from usa to Manchester uk with this?
All US flights are via Doha…
Like going from Boro Park to Flatbush via Los Angeles?
#VerrazanoMethod
Good times.
There is a business saver option for cheaper as well. Do the same policies apply?
Yes
Can I book a flight from Jordan to Doha and then change the final destination to make?
Yes to Mahe or Male.
Hey Dan,
I see you write unlimited changes – i spoke to Qatar, this is a waiver – not fare rule amendment.
In my experience, unlike fare rules, the airline is not bound by a waiver and could pull it anytime.
How are you certain this unlimited changes wont be pulled within the next day or month?!
Thanks
Take a screenshot.
is there a flexiable calander option?
Google Flights
What would be the best way to get from tlv to male? Thanks
Drive or fly to AMM.
Can I change the date of my flight after booking
Yes
possible to change passanger name?
So basically instead of paying a $2400 business class ticket to Israel thru either Jordan or Cyprus I can book to Kiev for $1600 and then change destination to either Jordan or Cyprus for no charge (flying before 12/31)
I wanna take this shot for Uman Rosh Hashana, online they don’t have any flight in September from JFK to Kyiv, should I take the risk and make a November reservation and ask a rep to change it to September?
For all those asking about TLV, it’s easier and cheaper to fly from LCA than AMM.
on which airlines? Business? what dates?
What’s the cheapest economy flight to book that gives you good range for changing the destination? You mentioned Beirut, would that be the best option?
Also does it matter when you book it for? Is there a difference in price?
I actually wanna fly to Kiev. when is Qatar starting to fly?
What would be best/ cheapest way to book flight from TLV- MLE ? Do I book amm to doh or does it have to be amm to Kiev? And can I do stopover in Dubai on the way?
Thanks!!
Am I doing something wrong I see $2547 for a round trip jfk to Kiev with 1 stop on biz saver .
Also when changing dates and destinations will they charge a fare difference or will it be same price and same class? Etc same amount of stops or will it be “whatever’s available” and they’ll set aside a few black out dates or certain flights allowed when changing etc. I’m a bit weary as the airlines aren’t shmos and if they want to play hardball they will, who’s really gonna stop them?
You need to do the exact dates dan wrote, Nov 1 to the 11th to get the price
Did it work for you? Because the “exact dates dan wrote” were 11/2-11/9 :/
Must be JFK KIEV, must be those exact dates. Yes at that it worked. But being that I live in Miami it’s a risk that I”m not sure I”m willing to take… I would really need to use it. by the end of the year, or get a credit for next year… at regular price…. But I have (thanks to Dan) Chase points… so I”m still on the fence. How about you?
Beware – just got off the phone with Qatar after booking a pair of the $1600 Kiev fares last night. Tried to change origin from JFK to DFW and destination from KBP to MLE. Agent said can’t make that change claiming supervisor indicated that both origin & destination cannot change (only one or the other). I asked to be escalated to the supervisor directly where I was fed various different excuses for not performing the change (mileage not loaded in their system between KBP and MLE, cannot change both origin and destination, and also misinformed that the tickets are non-refundable). Supposedly this supervisor was sending out a note to someone for clarification on the new policy, and she hoped to have an answer back to me today. Stay tuned.
Nothing in the terms indicate that’s a problem. You can also try just changing one at a time.
Did that work Jeremy.?
As expected, I have heard nothing back from the earlier supervisor as of yet. I decide to try calling in again, and was actually surprised by the quick success. The agent was able to change the entire flight over without issue: moving dates, origin from JFK to DFW, and destination from KBP to MLE. I thought it was a done deal – even received the ticket reissues via email. However, 10min later I received a call from the same agent indicating that they could not move the ticket destination to MLE as the distance between KBP and MLE exceeds 5000mi. I kindly asked where they are getting their distance calculation, and she said that it was in ‘their system’ – whatever that means. The agent then went on to tell me that I had called multiple times and been told the same information multiple times. This was patently false as my only previous call was the aforementioned. I am not very happy to say the least. Guess I’ll be looking at a chargeback.
Surprising considering other success stories for MLE.
I’d HUCA again and ask a manager for a refund if they won’t honor.
This is getting comical. I think I’d avoid until more successful data points surface. Qatar is both refusing to honor the promo (on grounds of KBP to MLE being greater than 5,000mi) or refund the fare.
Has anyone successfully actually modified a JFK-Kiev routing to another destination (i.e. Maldives)?
GR8 for uman rosh hashuna !
Did you find available dates in September?
What would be the best/cheapest way from NYC to MEL?
With this deal.
Read the post? I suggested ORD-BKK, but there may be better options.
Do you really think NZ and AUS will be open to US tourists this year?
lax to bkk 602 usd rt sept 14-21
does this still work with the new rules and conditions
i can switch lax to MIA then bkk to MEL?
Can I book and cancel a couple times stacking the 10 percent bonuses
I’d be surprised if it worked more than once.
Definitely wanna go to Entebbe 😉
I took the plunge and booked the JFK-KBP fare motioned in the post above. I then called the us customer service number spent about 10 minutes on the phone and had my dates and destination changes to be JFK-MLE. @ tickets in Qsuites from JFK-MLE RT for $3300 is a pretty slick deal. Thanks!
Awesome!
Somebody on another forum said they had luck changing a Chase UR ticket, though had to educate the Chase agent on the policy and have them call QR to confirm. This path would allow you 24 hour cancellation flexibility if it doesn’t work
Nice, any readers try this yet?
I just called in to switch my flight to Phuket and they said it is over 5000 miles from Kiev in their system but Bangkok is fine
Odd. Try HUCA?
Whats that?
https://www.dansdeals.com/?s=huca
What? Why? That’s fishy right off the bat… actual distance is 4831 miles????
Does Qatar give Jew-food on board?
Lol, yes. Including Hermolis from DOH!
https://www.qatarairways.com/en/services-special/special-meals.html
Theoretically you can change the dates and cities , but what is technically available , we dont know for sure. right?
It’s not based on any special availability.
Has anyone tried doing this 10% thing multiple times? E.G. book for $500 get back $550, then with that money book again, get back $605, $660, $726….. If done enough times you can get crazy $$$!!.. Would this work??
Or book an $8000 ticket….?
Hi Dan, 2 questions. I am an American citizen but also an Israeli citizen and was born in Israel. Is it safe for me to travel through Doha? 2. Do they serve alcohol on these flights? Thanks
It’s fine with a US passport.
They do serve booze.
Which fare difference will I have to pay If I decide to use my ticket in 2021/22… The fare difference of my original booking or of the destination/Origin I changed it to?
I booked a flight from JFK to TBS, tried to exchange it to Chicago to MLE, they told me that is outside of the radius and I should pay $1k more. My flight cannot be cancelled either even though I bought it for less than 24hrs. So now I’m trying to get a voucher. Hope there is no other catch. Don’t see how TBS is not within 5K miles radius.
Escalate to a supervisor? Certainly within 5,000 miles.
Otherwise I’d file a DoT complaint and chargeback. Take a screenshot of the promo details.
I’ve filed a DoT complaint and will try calling them again on Monday until I get the right answer. According to google, TBS and MLE are only a little over 3K miles apart.
Can we book on that on their website??? What’s the cheapest Q-Suite deal from anywhere in Canada ??
I just put 2 Business Class seats on a 24 Hold directly on Qatar’s website. Nov 22 – 30 Philadelphia to Kyiv RT for $3284.74. I’ll look at options to change dates/cities, and book before the ticket hold expires. Thanks Dan!
Anyone seeing viable routes?
It seems very evident to me after 4 separate calls with 2 escalations to supervisors in the US call center yesterday followed by 3 calls so far to the Qatari call center with 1 escalation to a supervisor that Qatar Airways has no intention whatsoever to honor this policy in full. Yes it’s true they will change dates, origins, and destinations at no additional cost for travel within 2020. However, their statement of ‘any destination within 5,000 miles’ must be calculated using Qmiles rather than any widely accepted measurements between 2 points easily corroborated by multiple sources online.
In other words, the enforced limit by their system seem completely arbitrary – definitely not 5,000. For the example given in the blog, my experience has shown the system to disallow changes from KBP to either MLE or SEZ but does allow CMB. BKK has been fairly widely reported as a destination being offered as an alternative to HKT for many seeking to change to Phuket. Sure their are exceptions: I myself got my flight reticketed to MLE, but was called back 10 min afterward by the agent to reverse the changes based on these grounds.
To those who successfully modified reservations from KBP to MLE – congratulations! I would keep an eye on my booking online fairly frequently just to ensure they don’t reverse your changes as well.
I called, via skype, the Qatar line, because i wanted to get it done last night. They didnt have a supervisor on hand and couldnt help. Kept saying i could only change IF my flight wasnt going to fly- NO!
so i’ll try the Domestic line on Monday but a bit nervous!
Did this stop working? I can’t seem to find any flights available anymore
+1
All the cheap biz and econ airfares were pulled by QR Sat late morning. Lowest i see in econ is about $700-$800 (was $500) and lowest in biz in $2xxx (was $1600).
I know there has been some talk about cancellation with the full amount plus 10% bonus voucher. Is the vocher issued immediately or does it take time? Can be used by anyone even if they’re not the original ticket holder? Has anyone done this yet?
Did anyone else get this email last night
“As a way to thank you for your recent booking, we are offering you a travel voucher of USD 100 to be used for your next trip between 1 June and 15 December 2020.
We will email your voucher number within 48 hours of completing the first flight of your original trip.”
What did you book? Did you switch it yet?
Business class JFK to Kiev, not yet.
Got the same thing. I also booked business to Kiyev,.
Is that price one way or round trip
Read the title?
It is worth noting that no where does it suggest that you can change the origin city AND the destination city. Dans reporting of this is factually inaccurate. The policy writes OR you can change the destination to within a 5000 mile radius.
False.
“Can be changed within the same country of origin and/or within a 5,000 (five thousand) mile radius from the original destination booking.”
dan wrong. Read the policy. the word and does NOT appear
ou can change your travel date or destination free of charge, as often as you need, for travel until 31 December 2020. You can change your origin to another city within the same country or any other destination we fly to within a 5,000 mile radius of your original destination.
Call any of our offices or contact centres to rebook.
quoting YOUR summary of the policy doesnt make it their policy
Again, false. Stop posting fake news.
Scroll of the bottom of the Qatar page where that exact quote comes from.
They changed the rules to require 14 days after booking and must be in same fare class
Indeed. I’ve updated the post.
Still think its a worthwhile gamble at the 16xx fare?
I’m not seeing any NYC-KBP tickets for sale anymore!
I have a ticket that I booked through chase on points…apparently I can still cancel until 4pm today.
Based on them adding sleazy new terms, I wouldn’t take that gamble anymore.
Did you try calling and switching based on the terms from the time you bought the ticket?
i cut and pasted from the qatar page. As noted here agents are often using this. Instead of mocking me why not actually point out the 2 versions and not just have your readers who either arent from NY or dont want to go to kiev be aware. Again multiple agents have confirmed that this indeed is the working policy.
Mocking? You are the one that accused me of making things up.
Even in the top version, it does not say “Or” as you claim it does. But the bottom version is very clear. Tell their agents to read their site.
please explain to me how a cut and paste of QATAR website which is what i posted is fake news ? Furthermore as confirmed here agents have at times insisted on this version. I am trying to help people who dont live in NY not lose money. But sure.. fake news.. You must always be right.
You posted nothing showing that you can only do one or the other.
And the terms specifically say you can do one and/or the other. But sure, lash out at me because you’re wrong if that makes you feel good.
Is this still on the website? I can’t seem to find it?
Dan or other DD guru; What is the cheapest flight to book now? Trying to be within 5K miles of Japan.
lashing out ? one last time. Before the summary in the initial outline it says you can change the origan to any city in same country OR change the destination to anywhere within 5k miles. I indeed cut and paste from their website. And indeed it does say OR in the portion i quoted. Furthermore agents have repeatedly told people (as 6 different agents and supervisors told me) that this IS the policy. Given that the 2 parts of website seem to contradict I doubt youll have a case trying to enforce one. Because of this I wrote to warn people who dont live in NY not to lose big money. Just as the 14 days which arent in original terms defacto means they arent talking to you if you call sooner this is also a caveat. If you are so positive that indeed people will always be able to do BOTh then by all means moderate and delete my posts. If not then please stop calling a quoting the website “fake” news”. Its a quote and in fact upheld in practice by many reports both here and on FT. this isnt about you.
The website never said “Or.”
But feel free to post a screenshot showing otherwise.
QR agents have been making up terms. And if they do, I’d suggest HUCA or DoT complaint or chargeback.
Chill out Mark. Have a cup or 2 of wine
yea, kosherwines.com has a great sale going on now for shavuos. Mark should check it out
If I want to go to BOM i.e Mumbai, what’s the cheapest way to avail this? thanks. where do I book to since Kiev is not an option?
I bought 4 tickets prior to the policy change. The 14 day policy is a pain but the real issue here is the same class of fare. I just had a supervisor look up fare class availability and they are few and far between around the holidays to multiple cities. They also said that because I took advantage of their policy, they have every right to change the policy. I asked for a full refund and was denied. Therefore, I would not trust qatar to do the right thing here.
Your ticket is valid for 2 years.
you mean the refund of 10 percent more wont expire for 2 years
Does anyone have a screenshot of the original fare waiver? Looking to file a complaint with the DOT or possibly file a dispute. Thanks!
Same!
I was able to purchase 2 Round-Trip QSuites November flight tickets for less than $1,650, before the PHI – KBP routing was removed. I patiently waited the 14 days and had no issues calling (I used the 800.988.6128 phone number) and changing my QSuites flights from PHI to a different city in the USA/ from KBP to BKK(Was told MLE was not an option, but didn’t mind)/ to dates in December.
I would be happy to share the screen shot I took, before the 14 day additional term was added, but do not know how to add an attachment here?
Thanks again for this great travel tip Dan!
It worked for me as well. How much did you end up paying for one round trip originally?
I just received a Qatar 50% off code for healthcare workers, and up to 3 companions, who registered for the Free Flight promotion, but didn’t win.
I wonder if I use that promo code will I also be able to have this generous change of destination option