Nov 19, 2013, 3:20 pm
Last edit by: Prospero
Covid-19 Update:
For further information on AA awards see:
HELP DESK: MileSAAver / SAAver Award Availability - Help, Assistance & Discussion
and
AA oneworld and Other Airline Partner Award information, rules (2015 on)
N.B. Upgrades on QR book into fares not granted EQD/EQM by AA. If you're upgraded on QR, be prepared for pushback from some AA agents. You may have to submit a formal request with accompanying documentation reflecting you purchased an eligible fare class.
NOTE:AA has removed most EY and QR award access from aa.com due to a glitch booking these:
If you experience difficulties with the AA reservations system, you may be able to book by calling AA Australia (+61 2-9101-1948 ) then press 4 - or the New Zealand number (+64 09-308-4014) as an alternative - although the call center is actually in Suva, Fiji (South African agency Mindpearl) - as they can often see the inventory more reliably, and you can book.
NOTE: USA Canada travel on QR will earn EQ miles etc. in accordance with the fare class purchased.
Links:
Link to AA.com Qatar miles earning etc.
AA miles earning on QR changed 1 May 2016 (Link):
Minimum miles guarantee applies.
Checking QR award availability:
You can check QR availability on AA's site, BA's site, QF's site, www.awardnexus.com (which pulls from BA and/or QF), or the KVS tool. (A certain number of searches are free to FlyerTalk members at AwardNexus; click the "more signup options" link under the green Purchase button to sign up as a FlyerTalk member.)
When checking QR award availability, you have to check each segment individually. Both BA and QF can generate very misleading information if you try to check QR award availability all the way through [xxx-(DOH)-yyy] in one step. Be aware AA can only book 330 days out, even if you see availability farther out.
Awards on QR may not be visible to AA agents if a multi-segment itinerary is requested; broken into individual segments will generally reveal availability, however.
As well, AA Australia or New Zealand (actually MindPearl in Fiji) can often see and book AA awards on QR US-based ones might not be able to.
From danger: For AA awards, Economy is X, Business is U, First is Z. NOTE: Those with Z (First) awards may see "Z (Business Class)" shown on the QR website; this is a known glitch.
As well, QR sells intra gulf two class service as First and Economy, as AA does domestically. This can cause some issues with a Business flight including a Gulf "First" flight potentially incurring an F award redemption.
From hotelmotel: "Got my QR PNR from AA. Popped over to QR and selected seats." (AAdvantage award.)
Days of the week: To/from the USA, especially in business class, Qatar often only offers awards seats for Mon..Thu departures, not Fri..Sun departures. So makes sure you check different parts of the week, and not just always weekends (if you're not finding anything on weekends).
NOTE: At DOH / Hamad International Airport, lounges as follows:
Qatar Airways Al Safwa First Lounge (not a oneworld lounge): only accessible to those flying First Class on Qatar or oneworld airlines and QRPC Platniums flying in ticketed Business (not oneworld Emeralds flying other lower classes of service)
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge (not a oneworld lounge): only accessible to those flying Business Class on Qatar or oneworld (not oneworld Sapphire flying lower classes of service)
Oryx Lounge: Third party lounge.
Qatar Airways HIA First Class Lounge (oneworld lounge): First Class ticketed customers, Emerald members, as well as their accompanying guests, travelling on Qatar Airways and other oneworld member flights.
Qatar Airways HIA Business Class Lounge (oneworld lounge): First and Business Class ticketed customers, Emerald and Sapphire members, as well as their accompanying guests, travelling on Qatar Airways and other oneworld member flights.
Arrivals Lounges (not oneworld lounges): only accessible to those arriving in First or Business Class on Qatar Airways (not oneworld Sapphire flying other oneworld airlines or other classes of service)
See FT: QR Lounges at HIA
Selecting Qatar Airways Seats
If you want to assign a seat after booking an award, you should first try the Qatar website or app. If you experience issues, please try a partner site like Royal Jordanian, Malaysia Airlines, or Sri-Lankan. You can also reach out to the QR Twitter team to fix your record in order to be able to select seats on their own site.
- Sapphire+ status pax are temporarily allowed to use the Al Mourjan Business Lounge
- Only tickets issued on QR 157 stock are eligible for the Extending Our Commitment (EOC) rebooking policy
For further information on AA awards see:
HELP DESK: MileSAAver / SAAver Award Availability - Help, Assistance & Discussion
and
AA oneworld and Other Airline Partner Award information, rules (2015 on)
N.B. Upgrades on QR book into fares not granted EQD/EQM by AA. If you're upgraded on QR, be prepared for pushback from some AA agents. You may have to submit a formal request with accompanying documentation reflecting you purchased an eligible fare class.
NOTE:AA has removed most EY and QR award access from aa.com due to a glitch booking these:
From One Mile at a Time (link)
Bottom Line
For the time being you’ll have to call American if you want to ticket AAdvantage awards on Etihad & Qatar that aren’t for travel to & from the US or Canada. It makes sense that American took these awards “offline,” and now it also makes sense why so many passengers have been having issues with checked bags on awards.
Bottom Line
For the time being you’ll have to call American if you want to ticket AAdvantage awards on Etihad & Qatar that aren’t for travel to & from the US or Canada. It makes sense that American took these awards “offline,” and now it also makes sense why so many passengers have been having issues with checked bags on awards.
NOTE: USA Canada travel on QR will earn EQ miles etc. in accordance with the fare class purchased.
Links:
Link to AA.com Qatar miles earning etc.
AA miles earning on QR changed 1 May 2016 (Link):
Minimum miles guarantee applies.
Checking QR award availability:
You can check QR availability on AA's site, BA's site, QF's site, www.awardnexus.com (which pulls from BA and/or QF), or the KVS tool. (A certain number of searches are free to FlyerTalk members at AwardNexus; click the "more signup options" link under the green Purchase button to sign up as a FlyerTalk member.)
When checking QR award availability, you have to check each segment individually. Both BA and QF can generate very misleading information if you try to check QR award availability all the way through [xxx-(DOH)-yyy] in one step. Be aware AA can only book 330 days out, even if you see availability farther out.
Awards on QR may not be visible to AA agents if a multi-segment itinerary is requested; broken into individual segments will generally reveal availability, however.
As well, AA Australia or New Zealand (actually MindPearl in Fiji) can often see and book AA awards on QR US-based ones might not be able to.
From danger: For AA awards, Economy is X, Business is U, First is Z. NOTE: Those with Z (First) awards may see "Z (Business Class)" shown on the QR website; this is a known glitch.
As well, QR sells intra gulf two class service as First and Economy, as AA does domestically. This can cause some issues with a Business flight including a Gulf "First" flight potentially incurring an F award redemption.
From hotelmotel: "Got my QR PNR from AA. Popped over to QR and selected seats." (AAdvantage award.)
Days of the week: To/from the USA, especially in business class, Qatar often only offers awards seats for Mon..Thu departures, not Fri..Sun departures. So makes sure you check different parts of the week, and not just always weekends (if you're not finding anything on weekends).
NOTE: At DOH / Hamad International Airport, lounges as follows:
Qatar Airways Al Safwa First Lounge (not a oneworld lounge): only accessible to those flying First Class on Qatar or oneworld airlines and QRPC Platniums flying in ticketed Business (not oneworld Emeralds flying other lower classes of service)
Qatar Airways Al Mourjan Business Lounge (not a oneworld lounge): only accessible to those flying Business Class on Qatar or oneworld (not oneworld Sapphire flying lower classes of service)
Oryx Lounge: Third party lounge.
Qatar Airways HIA First Class Lounge (oneworld lounge): First Class ticketed customers, Emerald members, as well as their accompanying guests, travelling on Qatar Airways and other oneworld member flights.
Qatar Airways HIA Business Class Lounge (oneworld lounge): First and Business Class ticketed customers, Emerald and Sapphire members, as well as their accompanying guests, travelling on Qatar Airways and other oneworld member flights.
Arrivals Lounges (not oneworld lounges): only accessible to those arriving in First or Business Class on Qatar Airways (not oneworld Sapphire flying other oneworld airlines or other classes of service)
See FT: QR Lounges at HIA
Selecting Qatar Airways Seats
If you want to assign a seat after booking an award, you should first try the Qatar website or app. If you experience issues, please try a partner site like Royal Jordanian, Malaysia Airlines, or Sri-Lankan. You can also reach out to the QR Twitter team to fix your record in order to be able to select seats on their own site.
Qatar Airways / QR: Redeem AA Miles for Award (master thd)
Feb 3, 2022, 2:54 pm
#2011
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 288
Curious, is it possible to combine Qatar and Etihad on a single award ticket costing 70K AA Business?
Something like
USA-DOH on QR
DOH-AUH-Indian sub-continent on EY
Is this a valid option? This helps if there is an availability on QR for one side and EY on other side.
Something like
USA-DOH on QR
DOH-AUH-Indian sub-continent on EY
Is this a valid option? This helps if there is an availability on QR for one side and EY on other side.
Feb 3, 2022, 5:40 pm
#2012
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,624
Very unlikely to be possible as a single award unless QR's fare rules would allow for travel on EY for the connecting flight. Looking at QR's routing rules , I cannot see allowance fir travel on EY
Feb 3, 2022, 5:55 pm
#2013
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
I wouldn't want to predict how likely it might be. If the flight doesn't seem to be selling, then QR might open up award space close to departure, as whatever revenue they get for that would be better than nothing. You could use EF (if you have a subscription) to check flight loads, but November/December is a long way away, so whatever you might see now is certain to change, and could change either way.
Feb 3, 2022, 6:05 pm
#2014
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
I haven't done it since the embargo was lifted.
Feb 4, 2022, 12:08 am
#2015
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 223
I wouldn't want to predict how likely it might be. If the flight doesn't seem to be selling, then QR might open up award space close to departure, as whatever revenue they get for that would be better than nothing. You could use EF (if you have a subscription) to check flight loads, but November/December is a long way away, so whatever you might see now is certain to change, and could change either way.
A tangential question: any thoughts on why partner availability through Jan 2023 is limited to USA-DOH with nothing in the reverse (DOH-USA)? Is it typical for QR to limit availability like this? Any hope that availability will re-appear soon or not until a few weeks before departure, if at all?
Feb 4, 2022, 2:56 pm
#2017
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
This is just rumor and pure speculation at this point. It's been predicted to be imminent for years. Just before AA announced their complete gutting revamping of status earning last fall, there were rumors of a big change and many people assumed it meant devaluation of partner awards. My guess is that AA will be busy shaking out the glitches in the new status scheme for the next year.
Feb 7, 2022, 7:01 pm
#2018
Join Date: Jun 2021
Posts: 17
Hi all- flying AUH-DOH-MIA using AA miles, quick question re. lounge access in DOH (especially since they re-opened the 'silver' lounge recently as far as I know).
AUH-DOH was booked into Z-class (first class, since they don't sell business class on this route) and DOH-MIA into U-class (business class). I'm also an AA plat (OW Sapphire).
Will I be allowed entry into Al Safwa (due to the AUH-DOH first-class leg)? If not, at least into Al Mourjan?
Up until the end of 2021, they let me into Al Safwa while flying a similar routing - but not sure if things have changed with this new silver lounge in DOH.
AUH-DOH was booked into Z-class (first class, since they don't sell business class on this route) and DOH-MIA into U-class (business class). I'm also an AA plat (OW Sapphire).
Will I be allowed entry into Al Safwa (due to the AUH-DOH first-class leg)? If not, at least into Al Mourjan?
Up until the end of 2021, they let me into Al Safwa while flying a similar routing - but not sure if things have changed with this new silver lounge in DOH.
Feb 7, 2022, 7:16 pm
#2019
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 223
This is just rumor and pure speculation at this point. It's been predicted to be imminent for years. Just before AA announced their complete gutting revamping of status earning last fall, there were rumors of a big change and many people assumed it meant devaluation of partner awards. My guess is that AA will be busy shaking out the glitches in the new status scheme for the next year.
Feb 7, 2022, 9:00 pm
#2020
Join Date: May 2006
Location: SAN
Programs: Lots of faux metal
Posts: 6,425
Hi all- flying AUH-DOH-MIA using AA miles, quick question re. lounge access in DOH (especially since they re-opened the 'silver' lounge recently as far as I know).
AUH-DOH was booked into Z-class (first class, since they don't sell business class on this route) and DOH-MIA into U-class (business class). I'm also an AA plat (OW Sapphire).
Will I be allowed entry into Al Safwa (due to the AUH-DOH first-class leg)? If not, at least into Al Mourjan?
Up until the end of 2021, they let me into Al Safwa while flying a similar routing - but not sure if things have changed with this new silver lounge in DOH.
AUH-DOH was booked into Z-class (first class, since they don't sell business class on this route) and DOH-MIA into U-class (business class). I'm also an AA plat (OW Sapphire).
Will I be allowed entry into Al Safwa (due to the AUH-DOH first-class leg)? If not, at least into Al Mourjan?
Up until the end of 2021, they let me into Al Safwa while flying a similar routing - but not sure if things have changed with this new silver lounge in DOH.
Feb 8, 2022, 1:11 pm
#2021
Join Date: Feb 2022
Programs: AM Titanum, Bonvoy Titanium, Hilton Diamond, UA Silver
Posts: 10
I booked an award ticket on QR (SFO-DOH-MCT | U and Z class) using AAdvantage miles for flying in 4Q-22 and I am excited to fly QR and Qsuites for the first time.
Everything looks ok, I received a PNR from QR, I can log in to QR website and see my confirmed flights, except I cannot choose seats in any of the segments.
I updated my personal details on the reservation, hoping it would solve the isse, but did not.
I saw on EF that my SFO-DOH has mostly blocked seats in business and only a handful already assigned.
Question is: Is this normal on QR award flights from AAdvantage? Is it because of how far in the future the flight is scheduled? Or it is probably I mistake I could solve calling QR?
Thanks for your feedback!
Everything looks ok, I received a PNR from QR, I can log in to QR website and see my confirmed flights, except I cannot choose seats in any of the segments.
I updated my personal details on the reservation, hoping it would solve the isse, but did not.
I saw on EF that my SFO-DOH has mostly blocked seats in business and only a handful already assigned.
Question is: Is this normal on QR award flights from AAdvantage? Is it because of how far in the future the flight is scheduled? Or it is probably I mistake I could solve calling QR?
Thanks for your feedback!
Feb 8, 2022, 1:29 pm
#2022
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 288
I booked an award ticket on QR (SFO-DOH-MCT | U and Z class) using AAdvantage miles for flying in 4Q-22 and I am excited to fly QR and Qsuites for the first time.
Everything looks ok, I received a PNR from QR, I can log in to QR website and see my confirmed flights, except I cannot choose seats in any of the segments.
I updated my personal details on the reservation, hoping it would solve the isse, but did not.
I saw on EF that my SFO-DOH has mostly blocked seats in business and only a handful already assigned.
Question is: Is this normal on QR award flights from AAdvantage? Is it because of how far in the future the flight is scheduled? Or it is probably I mistake I could solve calling QR?
Thanks for your feedback!
Everything looks ok, I received a PNR from QR, I can log in to QR website and see my confirmed flights, except I cannot choose seats in any of the segments.
I updated my personal details on the reservation, hoping it would solve the isse, but did not.
I saw on EF that my SFO-DOH has mostly blocked seats in business and only a handful already assigned.
Question is: Is this normal on QR award flights from AAdvantage? Is it because of how far in the future the flight is scheduled? Or it is probably I mistake I could solve calling QR?
Thanks for your feedback!
Feb 8, 2022, 1:50 pm
#2023
Join Date: Aug 2018
Programs: AA Plat Pro
Posts: 105
I booked an award ticket on QR (SFO-DOH-MCT | U and Z class) using AAdvantage miles for flying in 4Q-22 and I am excited to fly QR and Qsuites for the first time.
Everything looks ok, I received a PNR from QR, I can log in to QR website and see my confirmed flights, except I cannot choose seats in any of the segments.
I updated my personal details on the reservation, hoping it would solve the isse, but did not.
I saw on EF that my SFO-DOH has mostly blocked seats in business and only a handful already assigned.
Question is: Is this normal on QR award flights from AAdvantage? Is it because of how far in the future the flight is scheduled? Or it is probably I mistake I could solve calling QR?
Thanks for your feedback!
Everything looks ok, I received a PNR from QR, I can log in to QR website and see my confirmed flights, except I cannot choose seats in any of the segments.
I updated my personal details on the reservation, hoping it would solve the isse, but did not.
I saw on EF that my SFO-DOH has mostly blocked seats in business and only a handful already assigned.
Question is: Is this normal on QR award flights from AAdvantage? Is it because of how far in the future the flight is scheduled? Or it is probably I mistake I could solve calling QR?
Thanks for your feedback!
Feb 8, 2022, 1:56 pm
#2024
Join Date: Feb 2022
Programs: AM Titanum, Bonvoy Titanium, Hilton Diamond, UA Silver
Posts: 10
Feb 9, 2022, 10:12 am
#2025
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: DCA/IAD & BUF
Posts: 1,406
I've been trying for a few weeks to find an award flight back to the states during a specific time period in March. It's long since past when QR had seats released in bulk. Unless QR releases any close in seats, my only shot is someone canceling an upcoming award trip. If QR releases the seat back into award inventory.
My question is: Does anyone know if re-introduced QR award seats happen near real time - i.e., any random time of the day or night someone cancels an award they will appear shortly after (if they're going to at all) - or if they're not back in the system until AA runs the next upload the following morning?
I guess this question applies to any award ticket - I just happen to be looking for something specific on QR this time.
My question is: Does anyone know if re-introduced QR award seats happen near real time - i.e., any random time of the day or night someone cancels an award they will appear shortly after (if they're going to at all) - or if they're not back in the system until AA runs the next upload the following morning?
I guess this question applies to any award ticket - I just happen to be looking for something specific on QR this time.