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)
#2101
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: RDU
Posts: 2,264
I am not seeing any QR options at all. Whether I go Cairo to the US or Dubai or just from Doha. Dubai and Cairo are all BA. Doha is AA's flight. I havent looked at every single day as that would be really time consuming on AA site but I looked at probably 10-15 days in July & August and another 10-15 days in November & December. Was just wondering are QR flights just sold out through AA or is something else going on?
Thanks
Thanks
Could be things are just sold out this summer, and World Cup has definitely impacted inventory in Nov/Dec (WC runs Nov 21-Dec 18).
#2102
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,483
I am not seeing any QR options at all. Whether I go Cairo to the US or Dubai or just from Doha. Dubai and Cairo are all BA. Doha is AA's flight. I havent looked at every single day as that would be really time consuming on AA site but I looked at probably 10-15 days in July & August and another 10-15 days in November & December. Was just wondering are QR flights just sold out through AA or is something else going on?
Thanks
Thanks
With pretty much any partner search like this you have to hunt and peck and piece things together one segment at a time. Search just DOH-JFK, then DOH-BOS, then DOH-PHL, and so on until you find something. Then search CAI-DOH on that date to see if that's available too. Rinse and repeat until you can piece together an itinerary.
Just did a dummy search for DOH-ORD, random Tuesday in mid July, on page 2 of the results I found a DOH-IAD-ORD routing availabe in business. Boom, now I know DOH-IAD is available on date X. Then searched CAI-IAD on date X -1 day, and voilà, now I have CAI-DOH-IAD. That was literally the very first random date I picked.
#2103
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,601
Just did a dummy search for DOH-ORD, random Tuesday in mid July, on page 2 of the results I found a DOH-IAD-ORD routing availabe in business. Boom, now I know DOH-IAD is available on date X. Then searched CAI-IAD on date X -1 day, and voilà, now I have CAI-DOH-IAD. That was literally the very first random date I picked.
#2104
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,483
Yes and no, while married segment issues are always a possibility with QR, it doesn't change the underlying strategy of having to check each and every possibility for best results.
#2105
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Omaha
Programs: AA Life Plat 4mm, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,461
Just put OMA/ORD/DOH/MLE J on hold, like most everybody DOH/MLE in coach - 70k
DOH layover is 8:30pm to 2 am - will we have lounge access in DOH?
Trip isn’t until next January so will keep looking for that leg in J - same situation on the return.
DOH layover is 8:30pm to 2 am - will we have lounge access in DOH?
Trip isn’t until next January so will keep looking for that leg in J - same situation on the return.
#2106
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,483
On the return you'll have access to the nicer QR Al-Mourjan Business Lounge by virtue of your DOH-ORD flight in business class.
#2107
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2015
Location: BOS, YVR, ZRH
Programs: *G
Posts: 17,405
I am not seeing any QR options at all. Whether I go Cairo to the US or Dubai or just from Doha. Dubai and Cairo are all BA. Doha is AA's flight. I havent looked at every single day as that would be really time consuming on AA site but I looked at probably 10-15 days in July & August and another 10-15 days in November & December. Was just wondering are QR flights just sold out through AA or is something else going on?
Thanks
Thanks
Use the calendar search for non-stop availability of individual segments and then see if you can piece them together.
#2108
Join Date: Jul 2020
Location: So Cal
Programs: AA Platinum
Posts: 2,712
Thanks to all for the suggestions and tips. I will try piecing it together and the calendar search. Really appreciate the help. When you say the calendar search what exactly do you mean though? I have no problem flying to any USA location to get QR in J. I also can go from Cairo, Amman or Dubai, it really doesnt matter.
Any thoughts on why AA is also not letting me find a single QF F seat? I posted on AA QF but no replies. I dont think this is a piece it together, use the calendar search fix. Its like F doesnt exist right now depsite the LAX/SYD flight being an A380. Or maybe its sold out for everyday for the next year.
Thanks for the QR tips..
Any thoughts on why AA is also not letting me find a single QF F seat? I posted on AA QF but no replies. I dont think this is a piece it together, use the calendar search fix. Its like F doesnt exist right now depsite the LAX/SYD flight being an A380. Or maybe its sold out for everyday for the next year.
Thanks for the QR tips..
#2109
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,483
Any thoughts on why AA is also not letting me find a single QF F seat? I posted on AA QF but no replies. I dont think this is a piece it together, use the calendar search fix. Its like F doesnt exist right now depsite the LAX/SYD flight being an A380. Or maybe its sold out for everyday for the next year.
#2110
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: SYD
Programs: QF WP (OWE), VA PLAT, EY GLD, SPG PLAT, Hyatt DIA, Hilton DIA, Hertz PC
Posts: 8,527
Any thoughts on why AA is also not letting me find a single QF F seat? I posted on AA QF but no replies. I dont think this is a piece it together, use the calendar search fix. Its like F doesnt exist right now depsite the LAX/SYD flight being an A380. Or maybe its sold out for everyday for the next year.
Thanks for the QR tips..
#2111
Join Date: Jul 2020
Location: So Cal
Programs: AA Platinum
Posts: 2,712
You received lots of replies on this issue in the thread you started on this search a few weeks ago, nothing has changed since then, QF F (and J) award space has always been some of the hardest to find in the AA system. Let's keep this thread on topic to QR.
I have tried so many times to reset password, unsubscribe and resubscribe but nothing is working to get me email alerts. Tried a few moderators on PM but no one has been able to fix it.
#2112
Join Date: Jul 2020
Location: So Cal
Programs: AA Platinum
Posts: 2,712
I just figured out Calendar search, first time ever using this . Wow does this make it easier to see whats going on and when I can find a 70K Q Suites flight.
Last edited by happiest_at_40000; Mar 11, 2022 at 8:58 pm
#2113
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Seattle WA
Programs: AS 100K, Marriott LT Platinum
Posts: 1,828
Had to cancel an upcoming QR award booked via AA miles. Got the miles back almost instantly. Will I get the taxes and fees back? It said nothing about them during the online cancel process...
#2114
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: RDU
Posts: 2,264
And yes, for sure you should get the $$$ back in addition to the miles.
#2115
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: So Cal
Posts: 937
Yes you will. You should see it hit your credit card within a couple of days.