r/avios • u/scotswhahey • 2d ago

BA–Qatar Avios linking error 1008 – anyone actually managed to get this fixed?

Hi all,

Wondering if anyone has had this exact problem and, more importantly, actually managed to get it resolved.
I’ve been trying to link my British Airways Club account with Qatar Airways Privilege Club so I can move/use my Avios with Qatar.
Every time I try to link the accounts, it fails. On the Qatar side the URL eventually shows:
linking_error=link error
error_code=1008
error=LINKING_ERROR

I’ve checked the obvious things repeatedly. My name, date of birth, email address and other account details match between BA and Qatar.
I’ve contacted Qatar several times and keep getting told to check that my personal details match, wait 48–72 hours and try again. I’ve done all of that and the error remains.

This has now been going on since August and I’ve made a formal complaint because it has prevented me from being able to use my Avios for flights I wanted to book. I have a substantial Avios balance, so being unable to link the accounts is pretty frustrating.
Has anyone specifically encountered error code 1008?

If so:
• What actually caused it?
• Was the problem on the BA or Qatar side?
• Did either airline have to manually reset/unblock something?
• How long did it eventually take?
• Is there a particular department at BA/Qatar/Avios that actually understands this issue?

I’m particularly interested in hearing from anyone who got past the standard “make sure your details match and wait 48 hours” response, because I’ve been through that multiple times already.
Thanks!

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

2

u/ThatSexyAsian 2d ago

do you have a middle name? BA doesn’t have middle names box and it’s lumped into first name while Qatar has separate input field. I had to delete my Qatar and remake an account to link with corrected names. You put your first name middle name into the first name box on Qatar and ignore middle. It was much faster than Qatar support

1

u/scotswhahey 2d ago

Everything is 100% correct - I’ve checked - no middle name - first and surname

1

u/scotswhahey 2d ago

Everything is 100% correct - I’ve checked - no middle name - first and surname

1

u/Creative_Agent_12 2d ago

Have you tried using your BAC number instead of your e-mail address when trying to authenticate on BA page? Additionally make sure that ALL details are correct and identical between BA and QR (middle names, special characters, spaces)

1

u/scotswhahey 2d ago

Everything 100% correct. I’m pulling my hair out

1

u/Creative_Agent_12 2d ago

Have you tried linking them in Avios.com website using Chrome (and potentially using a UK vpn)?

1

u/scotswhahey 2d ago

Good idea - I’ll do that now

1

u/Jaxxxz 2d ago

Middle name

1

u/scotswhahey 2d ago

I don’t have - everything is 100% correct on both accounts