I jumped on the opportunity to upgrade to Qatar business class when Chesney and I flew from Bucharest to Cape Town. It was an amazing experience, but it’s important to know you don’t get all the same perks with the upgrade! Here’s everything you should know before deciding to spend the extra cash on a luxury flight with Qatar Airways, and whether I think it’s worth it.
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How to score an affordable upgrade to Qatar business class
With a combination of luck, a bit of extra money, and quick action, you can get a decently priced upgrade to Qatar business class.
- Luck: You just need to hope they don’t fill the business class seats organically with people who are willing to pay full price. They’ll only send you this offer a week or so before the flight.
- Extra money: The upgrade won’t come super cheap! But I still think it’s a good deal to fly with one of the best airlines in the world. Prepare to fork out a few hundred bucks, at least. For example, my upgrade from Doha to Cape Town was about $425 USD. Still much cheaper than the thousands it costs to buy business class outright.
- Quick action: When the offer comes through, you have to be ready to make a decision pretty quickly because it’s first come first served. However, when I did it, it took us a couple days to decide, and the seats were still available. So you never know!
What they don't tell you about a Qatar business class upgrade before you book it
The full price for a business class ticket on that route is normally upwards of $4,000 USD. My original ticket price + the upgrade came to a total of $900. Not bad! However, it didn’t come with all the same bells and whistles. Here’s what to consider before you pay for the upgrade on Qatar business class:
You don't get lounge access
This was a disappointment that we only found out when we were checking in. It’s not all bad, I suppose. They gave us the option to pay €50 each to access to the lounge. but after spending hundreds on the upgrade, we weren’t keen to drop a dollar more.
I also get access to other lounges for free with my credit card (Priority Pass and Dragon Pass), so the extra money wasn’t worth it in our opinion. However, the The Al Safwa First and Al Mourjan Business lounges are supposed to be amazing.
I just think this is a silly thing to exclude. It costs them basically nothing to let you chill in the lounge and provides so much perceived value. But I guess they need to hold some stuff back or no one would ever book business class from the get go and pay the full price.
Read more: The Perfect 1-2 Itinerary in Doha, Qatar
You might not get the seats you chose
You’ll get business seats no matter what, it’s not a bid or waitlist scenario. BUT, these upgrade opportunities only pop up when there are unbooked seats a week or two out from the departure date. I don’t know what kind of math they do, but if the flight isn’t full enough, they’ll downgrade to a smaller plane. I have since learned this happens so frequently it’s called “getting Qatar’d.”
And it happened to us when we flew from Doha to Cape Town. Part of the reason we upgraded to business was that we knew our flight route had the award-winning Qsuite. Then, a few hours before departure, we got a notification announcing that they’d changed the plane. This meant no more Qsuite! It also meant our seats got reassigned within the business class section. Fortunately, we were still seated next to each other.
We were still happy we went for the upgrade, but it was a bit disappointing to lose out on Qsuite. I imagine even more disappointing for the people who paid full price, though!
You still have to pay for Wi-Fi on board
Ok, to be fair, you get one free hour if you’re a Privilege Club member, and it’s free to sign up for that. But then you have to pay for any extra time, which is really not a huge deal but it’s just like… why? Full price-paying business class passengers get free wi-fi.
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Is an upgrade to Qatar business class worth it?
Overall, yes. Make sure you’re upgrading on a reasonably long flight so you have time to soak it all in and take advantage of every perk. My upgrade was €420 (about $425 USD) per person, which made sense for a 10-hour flight. Even without the lounge access and the fact that we didn’t get Qsuite, I totally recommend the upgrade.
The food on board was amazing, getting a shorter security line was a nice touch, the plane seats were super comfy. Like, the lie-flat bed will change your life.
We had the exact same boarding process and service onboard as every other business class passenger and felt very spoiled. We had little welcome packages waiting for us, which included Dyptique perfume, moisturizer, lip balm, socks, and an eye mask. Champagne (yes, real Champagne) on arrival, a nice wine list, and top ups on drinks and snacks whenever we wanted.
The Qatar Airways stopover program
Whether you decide to upgrade to business class or not, you absolutely must take advantage of the stopover program if you’re flying with Qatar Airways through Doha! You can extend your layover up to 4 days and stay in the city for a little as $14 USD per night. I’ve made a map of all the available hotels with the program. You don’t even need to apply for a visa or anything.
Doha is a really interesting city. It’s super modern and relatively small so it’s easy to get around and see lots within a short time. I didn’t know what to expect before I went, but absolutely loved it. The stopover program is set up so well that it’s super easy to add to your trip. It’s a great incentive to get a little off the beaten track and explore a country you may not have otherwise put at the top of your list.
Is Doha, Qatar affordable?
I was surprised by how easy it was to see Doha on a budget. It helped that we only paid $40/night for our hotel, which was part of the stopover program promotion. So that was huge. But even that aside, the metro system is crazy cheap ($1.60 for a day pass) and even connects to the airport.
Visiting the major landmarks like the National Museum of Qatar or the Museum of Islamic Art costs under $15. And you can wander the alleyways and market stalls of Souq Waqif or walk down the Corniche for free!
National Museum of Qatar
It would be easy to blow your budget on more luxury experiences, like going whale shark watching or staying in one of the all-inclusive wellness resorts. But there’s also cheap street food and ways to spend your time without going broke. The upgrade to Qatar business class can easily be your biggest expense on an otherwise pretty low key trip. I break down my whole budget over 3 days in this post:
