For our recent travel to Maldives from SFO, we were able to redeem American Airline points for First Class seats on a roundtrip fare between Doha-Male. I have heard amazing reviews about Qatar Airlines business and first class (especially food and wine). Here’s my take of the experience
Al Safwa First Class Lounge
This was the best airport lounge I’ve ever been to (Cathay’s in Hong Kong is a close second) based on the size, service, amenities, food and drinks. They had nap rooms (that were actually more like a hotel room) with private shower and bathroom, multi-course dining, sushi bar, and a great selection of drinks. Their wine list included
Laurent-Perrier Brut (heard they used to serve Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame)
Inflight food and beverage
Qatar is famous for serving Krug for their first class and we were in for a treat. They were serving Krug 2004 and Bollinger rosé 2008 paired with a caviar plate. Appetizer and main dish (choices include scallops, tuna, lobster, steak, fish) were delicious as well. We were so sad this leg was only 4hrs 50min 😂
Other details worth noting
Our flight coming back to Doha from Male required a shuttle transfer from the plane to the gate and this was the first time we saw a separate bus for first class passengers. We were the only passengers in the first class cabin and were the only ones on the bus as well.
Qatar Airways is very strict with the entrance requirement to the Al Safwa lounge. You can only enter if your outbound flight is in first class (or the very front seat of the plane) or if your inbound flight in first class is longer than 5hrs. They have separate lounges for business class, card holders, and elite members. There were conflicting reviews and anecdotes on different forums but we actually were not able to get in on our way back because our flight was 10 minutes short of 5 hours.
First class seats are usually double the price of business seats and don’t think most people pay for first class, hence we were the only people in the first class cabin both ways.
We loved the experience overall and would love to do it again. I’m not a points expert but the points guy has an article on redeeming points for Qatar Airways. Highly recommend trying this if you can!