Originally Posted by
no1cub17
You should be able to do this as long as you buy the revenue ticket for the ORD-PHL segment at the same time you book the QR award. Make sure you tell the agent you want them booked into a single PNR. May take some HUCA but a knowledgeable agent will be able to do this. I would agree with this strategy especially if you're willing to pay for the domestic sector. You could gamble and book the earlier award segment to PHL but there's no guarantee AA will release awards on any later flights.
I've done power award searches for awards on the days we will need to fly (days meaning specific days of week). While it is true that there is a window that opens up between AA gateway cities something like 14 to 60 days in advance, no convenient flights opened up between ORD and any of the QR gateway cities (where I could see consistent QR J award availability) on the days we will likely be travelling. So it really comes down to attempting to book revenue and award flights together with a 2 - 4 hour layover or book a coach award as a positioning flight and hope for that saver first awards open up later on that flight and deal with a 12 - 13 hour layover in either event.
At that point it comes down to how much you value your own time. I look at the difference between a 4 hours layover and a 13 hour layover as the time, effort and cost of going into town. While there are neat things to see and do in most major US cities, we will be embarking on an eventual 30+ journey including a carefully scheduled 17+ hour layover in DOH to see the Museum of Islamic Art as well as the Souk. So personally I am not anxious to make that a 48 hour + journey and I am willing to pay a bit for the convenience. If you (speaking editorially and not specifically) would do something different, then you should do want you want.