You are currently viewing Testimonial: 12-hour flight in the world’s best business class for $161 instead of $3856

We’ll have plenty of good economy class examples very soon, but I wanted to start this new feature on rewards redemption examples with something more “aspirational,” my amazing 12-hour flight experience in the world’s best business class. The famous Qsuite is so much more accessible than you think — thanks to travel rewards.

Welcome to Flytrippers’ new feature with concrete examples of travel rewards redemptions, including testimonials from YOU, our beloved fans. We know you’ve earned at least 3 million dollars just with the travel rewards deals we shared, so we want to share your testimonials! 

Want to get a gift card? Do you want to share your travel rewards redemption example to inspire other travelers (it can also be an economy flight, a hotel stay, or any trip)? We’ll even send you a $25 gift card for your trip story, and we’ll do most of the work! The first step is to email us today to let us know you’re interested, and we’ll send you the details!

Here’s an extreme example to kick things off and show the extremely high-value travel rewards of the more lucrative type can provide. We already shared many examples of good uses for Avios points and Aeroplan points, but this here is a different format with real-life examples.

 

About me

This section will be especially useful for when our fans, like you, will share a testimonial — so you can know at least a little bit about them. 

In my case, for those who haven’t been following my travel stories over the last 7 years since I co-founded Flytrippers, my priority is traveling more — I travel about 10 times per year. So, I make decisions accordingly and try to save on almost everything. I travel solo more often than with my girlfriend or friends.

Selfie at night of Andrew D’Amours/Flytrippers on a trip with water and illuminated buildings in the background.
Doha skyline, in Qatar (photo credit: Andrew D’Amours/Flytrippers)

 

My trip

Last summer, I was part of the Canadian delegation invited to the G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance Summit in India. 

Luckily, we were given a fixed amount of money to cover our flights, so I decided to cash that in and use travel rewards to splurge on my 1st-ever true business class redemption (and my 2nd-ever long-distance business class flight).

I didn’t want to use up too many points, so I decided that the long 12-hour overnight flight from Montreal to Doha (Qatar) in business class was enough for me. I’ll share my return redemption from Sri Lanka to Montreal separately soon (I booked a separate cash ticket from Doha to India since cash prices were very low; that’s the self-transfer tip).

I really wanted to at least try out the Qsuite, which is often voted the world’s best business class with its closed door and amazing service. And especially since it’s one of the best travel rewards sweet spots for Canadians.

Selfie of Andrew D’Amours/Flytrippers on his trip in India
Taj Mahal, in India (photo credit: Andrew D’Amours/Flytrippers)

 

My business class flight experience

Here are the details of my business class flight:

  • From: Montreal (YUL)
  • To: Doha (DOH)
  • Type: One-way
  • Stops: None
  • Airline: Qatar Airways
  • Date: July 5, 2023

There’s a reason the Qsuite is often voted the world’s best business class. It was nothing short of amazing.

 

 

Many airlines have good lie-flat pod seats, but having a door you can close to make it a private suite space makes it so much more exclusive and luxurious.

Lie-flat pod seats on Qatar Airways Qsuite
Qsuite lie-flat pod seat on Qatar Airways (photo credit: Andrew D’Amours/Flytrippers)

 

All the unlimited food I ate was delicious. Qatar Airways even had poutine!

The delicious unlimited food on Qatar Airways’ Qsuite
Delicious unlimited food (photo credit: Andrew D’Amours/Flytrippers)

 

The champagne and alcohol are obviously free too.

The desserts were all great.

The delicious desserts on Qatar Airways’ Qsuite
Delicious unlimited desserts (photo credit: Andrew D’Amours/Flytrippers)

 

The flight attendant was great, as you’d expect from a premium Gulf airline — a reminder that everything related to hospitality is so much better outside North America; too many people are unfortunately unaware of this.

She set up my bed as soon as I asked and was very quick to bring whatever I wanted — and I wanted a lot. I love maximizing everything!

Andrew D’Amours/Flytrippers bed on Qatar Airways Qsuite
Bed in Qatar Airways Qsuite (photo credit: Andrew D’Amours/Flytrippers)

 

The amenity kit was by Diptyque, and a year later, I still use the comfortable pajamas from The White Company brand at home.

Diptyque amenity kit in Qsuite on Qatar Airways
Diptyque amenity kit (photo credit: Andrew D’Amours/Flytrippers)

 

The seat is roomy and comfortable. It’s really the pinnacle of luxury in flight, and I can’t recommend it enough. 

Andrew D’Amours/Flytrippers in his lie-flat pod seat on Qatar Airways Qsuite
Laying in my lie-flat pod seat on Qatar Airways Qsuite (photo credit: Andrew D’Amours/Flytrippers)

 

I’ll share a more detailed flight review separately soon.

 

My business class flight’s cash price ($3856)

Prices for business class flights are always completely insane in cash; don’t ever pay that.

My one-way was actually much more expensive than $3856, but that’s just because long-distance one-ways are often more expensive. So, instead of the real $6000 price for my exact flight, I used half of the regular roundtrip price of $7712 to be more realistic and fair in my valuation.

My Montreal-Doha flight’s cheapest cash price on Qatar Airways website.
My flight’s cash price (photo credit: Qatar Airways)

 

My travel rewards redemption ($161)

Here are the details of my travel rewards redemption:

  • Program: Qatar Airways Privilege Club
  • Price: 70,000 Avios points
  • Taxes/fees: $161
  • Cash price: $3856
  • Value: 5.3¢/pt*
  • Flytrippers Valuation: ≈ 1.5¢/pt

It’s one of the best business class sweet spots to get many hours in a lie-flat seat for not too many points. Just 70,000 points, that’s a really good price, and the taxes/fees are very reasonable at $161 (although taxes/fees did increase slightly recently, it’s still an amazing deal).

Andrew D’Amours/Flytrippers’ receipt for the same Montreal-Doha flight in Avios points on Qatar Airways’ website.
My flight redemption in points (photo credit: Qatar Airways)

 

That’s an amazing value of 5.3¢/pt because I saved $3695 (ticket at $3856 in cash minus $161 in taxes/fees paid) with 70,000 points. You can read the basics of reward value.

That’s why it’s so bad to waste points of the more lucrative type at the terrible 1¢/pt value like so many people sadly do. I got 5 times more value! I even got way more value than our conservative Flytrippers Valuation, which is ≈ 1.5¢/pt for Avios points.

But actually, I got even more than 5.3¢/pt, hence the asterisk above.

 

My strategy to earn these travel rewards

Those particular Avios points I used were less than the amount I got with just the welcome bonus on my RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card. It’s crazy to get $3000+ in value with just 1 welcome bonus!!!

That card’s record-high bonus is back and is available right now, but that will often not be the case in this testimonials feature since welcome bonus offers change constantly — that’s why the next section will always be there to tell you how you can get the points now in an actionable way.

RBC Avion points are the 2nd-best bank points in Canada because they’re transferable points. The regular transfer rate from Avion RBC to the British Airways Executive Club is 1-to-1, but I took advantage of the annual transfer bonus, which gave me 30% more points (back now too!). 

So, it cost me only 53,847 RBC Avion points, giving me a real value of 6.9¢/pt. Make sure you sign up for our free newsletter specifically for travel rewards to never miss out on that amazing transfer bonus deal (which will give you an easy 30% extra value) or on the increased welcome bonus offers on any card (which can give you twice as many points when you get them at the right time)!

Avios points are unique in that they can also be transferred between a few airline programs at a rate of 1-to-1. That’s why I booked with Qatar Airways Privilege Club. To be clear, I could have booked that Qatar Airways flight with the British Airways program too, but in this case, it was the same price with Qatar Airways, and it’s better to book directly with the operating airline on these rare occasions where it’s the same price. 

 

How you too can do the exact same thing right now

In Flytrippers’ infographic with all the basics of travel rewards, you can read THE most important thing to understand in the entire wonderful world of travel rewards: the best way to earn a lot of rewards is always with welcome bonuses. 

Here’s Flytrippers’ ranking of the best credit cards for Avios points right now.

Best credit cards
for Avios points
American Express® Gold Rewards Card
American Express Gold Rewards Card
Min. income (card):
Min. spend (bonus): $1k/month for 12 months
WELCOME BONUS
(Flytrippers VALUATION)
Rewards: ≈ $1180
Card fee: $250
Avios points: 72,000 pts
+ 4 lounge passes
and $100 travel credit
American Express® Business Gold Rewards Card
American Express Business Gold Rewards Card
Card: no business required
Min. spend (bonus): $7.5k in 3 mos.
WELCOME BONUS
(Flytrippers VALUATION)
Rewards: ≈ $713
Card fee: $199
Avios points: 47,500 pts
+ quicker
unlocking of pts
RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card
RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card
Min. income (card):
Min. spend (bonus): $5k in 6 mos.
WELCOME BONUS
(Flytrippers VALUATION)
ends November 25th

 apply now
Rewards: ≈ $900
Card fee: $120
Avios points: 60,000 pts
+ wider acceptance
than Amex
RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege Card
RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege Card
Min. income (card):
Min. spend (bonus): $5k in 6 mos.
WELCOME BONUS
(Flytrippers VALUATION)
ends November 25th
Rewards: ≈ $919
Card fee: $399
Avios points: 60,000 pts
+ 6 passes
for airport lounges
American Express Cobalt® Card
American Express Cobalt Card
Min. income (card):
Min. spend (bonus): $750/month for 12 months
WELCOME BONUS
(Flytrippers VALUATION)
Rewards: ≈ $900
Card fee: $156
Avios points: 60,000 pts
+ 5X the points
best card in Canada
NEW
Platinum Card® from American Express
Platinum Card from American Express
Min. income (card):
Min. spend (bonus): $10k in 3 mos.
WELCOME BONUS
(Flytrippers VALUATION)
ends January 28th
Rewards: ≈ $2051
Card fee: $799
Avios points: 150,000 pts
+ unlimited lounges
and $200 travel credit
Terms and conditions apply. Flytrippers editorial opinion only. Financial institutions are not responsible for maintaining the content on this site. Please click "See More" to see most up-to-date information.
Best credit cards
for Avios points
WELCOME BONUS
(Flytrippers VALUATION)
Avios
points
American Express Gold Rewards Card
Min. income (card):
Min. spend (bonus): $1k/month for 12 months
Rewards: ≈ $1180
Card fee: $250
72,000 pts
+ 4 lounge passes
and $100 travel credit
American Express Business Gold Rewards Card
Card: no business required
Min. spend (bonus): $7.5k in 3 mos.
Rewards: ≈ $713
Card fee: $199
47,500 pts
+ quicker
unlocking of pts
RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card
Min. income (card):
Min. spend (bonus): $5k in 6 mos.
Rewards: ≈ $900
Card fee: $120
60,000 pts
+ wider acceptance
than Amex
ends November 25th

 apply now
RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege Card
Min. income (card):
Min. spend (bonus): $5k in 6 mos.
Rewards: ≈ $919
Card fee: $399
60,000 pts
+ 6 passes
for airport lounges
ends November 25th
American Express Cobalt Card
Min. income (card):
Min. spend (bonus): $750/month for 12 months
Rewards: ≈ $900
Card fee: $156
60,000 pts
+ 5X the points
best card in Canada
NEW
Platinum Card from American Express
Min. income (card):
Min. spend (bonus): $10k in 3 mos.
Rewards: ≈ $2051
Card fee: $799
150,000 pts
+ unlimited lounges
and $200 travel credit
ends January 28th
Terms and conditions apply. Flytrippers editorial opinion only. Financial institutions are not responsible for maintaining the content on this site. Please click "See More" to see most up-to-date information.

The highest amount you can get in a quick timeframe is with the RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card!

Don’t miss our detailed guide on Avios, business class flight redemptions, and so much more soon! In the meantime, you can read an introduction to how airline point redemptions work.

 

Learning how to travel for less

Join over 100,000 savvy Canadian travelers who already receive Flytrippers’ free newsletter so we can help you travel for less — including thanks to the wonderful world of travel rewards!

Sign up for our travel rewards newsletter

 

Summary

Flytrippers is launching a new feature showcasing concrete examples of travel rewards redemptions. My impressive 12-hour business class flight in the Qsuite is a great way to kick off this initiative, as it’s often voted the world’s best business class. You are now invited to reach out to us by email if you have a travel rewards testimonial to share so you can inspire others and even receive a $25 gift card.

 

What would you like to know about sharing your examples of travel rewards redemption? Tell us in the comments below.

 

See the flight deals we spot: Cheap flights

Discover free travel with rewards: Travel rewards

Explore awesome destinations: Travel inspiration

Learn pro tricks: Travel tips

 

Featured image: Me in the Qatar Airways Qsuite (photo credit: Andrew D’Amours/Flytrippers)

 

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Andrew D'Amours

Andrew is the co-founder of Flytrippers. He is passionate about traveling the world but also, as a former management consultant, about the travel industry itself. He shares his experiences to help you save money on travel. As a very cost-conscious traveler, he loves finding deals and getting free travel thanks to travel rewards points... to help him visit every country in the world (current count: 71/193 Countries, 47/50 US States & 9/10 Canadian Provinces).

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