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)
Mar 22, 2022, 8:54 am
#2146
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 321
Mar 22, 2022, 11:30 am
#2147
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,763
Followed JJfrey's suggestion last Friday I called AA to add a MIA-DCA domestic segment to an On Hold reservation that was IAD-DOH-AMM. Agent was able to add it and priced it out at the same 70K plus the additional tax on one more airport. Many thanks to JJfrey for his knowledge!
Agent proactively assigned all seats - both the AA domestic in T and the 2 QR legs (the IAD-DOH seems to be currently QSuite equipped based on the seat assignment). However when I went to QR site to pull up the reservation, while all seat assignments were shown but there is NO button to see seat map, let alone change seats. Granted, the travel time is in Nov so I suspect seat selection online would not show up until much closer to travel time given QR changes its aircraft on each route so frequently.
I ticketed the reservation yesterday morning on the last day of hold. It has not ticketed it yet. I understand it will probably take more than 24 hours. I cannot remember last time how long it takes. I do remember the ticketing was held up because the domestic segment was in T, and a box to check that the passengers were informed, or knew it and still accepted the ticket was checked, hence holding up the ticketing. But the agent who added the MIA-DCA knew it was in T and we briefly chitchat on that wasn't an issue given it was a 2.5hr flight... So if that box still exists, he would have checked it off.
How long usually QR award got ticketed? I hope QR will hold the reservation long enough for AA to ticket. Some airlines, like IB, if it is not ticketed soon enough the reservation is auto-canceled, IIRC that happened a lot in the past.
Agent proactively assigned all seats - both the AA domestic in T and the 2 QR legs (the IAD-DOH seems to be currently QSuite equipped based on the seat assignment). However when I went to QR site to pull up the reservation, while all seat assignments were shown but there is NO button to see seat map, let alone change seats. Granted, the travel time is in Nov so I suspect seat selection online would not show up until much closer to travel time given QR changes its aircraft on each route so frequently.
I ticketed the reservation yesterday morning on the last day of hold. It has not ticketed it yet. I understand it will probably take more than 24 hours. I cannot remember last time how long it takes. I do remember the ticketing was held up because the domestic segment was in T, and a box to check that the passengers were informed, or knew it and still accepted the ticket was checked, hence holding up the ticketing. But the agent who added the MIA-DCA knew it was in T and we briefly chitchat on that wasn't an issue given it was a 2.5hr flight... So if that box still exists, he would have checked it off.
How long usually QR award got ticketed? I hope QR will hold the reservation long enough for AA to ticket. Some airlines, like IB, if it is not ticketed soon enough the reservation is auto-canceled, IIRC that happened a lot in the past.
Mar 22, 2022, 12:20 pm
#2148
Join Date: Feb 2022
Posts: 25
I don't know what you mean by "Just made a booking and need to fly to MLE in march '23". If you already booked flights, then what is your question? Also, stating "im willing to fly from SFO and JFK" shows low flexibility on your part. If you find award availability, great, but if you don't, there might be availability from other QR U.S. airports. Finally, award inventory is for a cabin (e.g.., business class). QR may or may not operate a flight with Qsuite, and is likely to change configurations fairly often.
I meant to say I booked a stay (hotel wise) in maldives on March of '23. Now trying to figure out how to use my AA miles to book Qsuites. I have not booked a plane ticket yet. It sounds like from what you and another person said it's a high probability that they change planes if you book a year in advance. Im new to all this so at the time I didnt know that limiting myself to 2 gateways (LAX and SFO) would really limit my chances of booking. So I have now been open to booking from from just about all the US gateways. Although my dates set. My reservation is on a Thursday so I would have to leave her on a Tuesday. If im advised not to book a year in advance (as the main point of this booking is to experience qsuites) what or when should i be looking to book? Thanks for the reply and help btw
Mar 22, 2022, 12:30 pm
#2149
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: British Columbia
Programs: AS MVPG100K, Marriott Marriott Titanium Elite, Hilton Gold
Posts: 7,263
Mar 22, 2022, 12:46 pm
#2150
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
Agent proactively assigned all seats - both the AA domestic in T and the 2 QR legs (the IAD-DOH seems to be currently QSuite equipped based on the seat assignment). However when I went to QR site to pull up the reservation, while all seat assignments were shown but there is NO button to see seat map, let alone change seats. Granted, the travel time is in Nov so I suspect seat selection online would not show up until much closer to travel time given QR changes its aircraft on each route so frequently.
I ticketed the reservation yesterday morning on the last day of hold. It has not ticketed it yet. I understand it will probably take more than 24 hours. I cannot remember last time how long it takes. I do remember the ticketing was held up because the domestic segment was in T, and a box to check that the passengers were informed, or knew it and still accepted the ticket was checked, hence holding up the ticketing. But the agent who added the MIA-DCA knew it was in T and we briefly chitchat on that wasn't an issue given it was a 2.5hr flight... So if that box still exists, he would have checked it off.
How long usually QR award got ticketed? I hope QR will hold the reservation long enough for AA to ticket. Some airlines, like IB, if it is not ticketed soon enough the reservation is auto-canceled, IIRC that happened a lot in the past.
How long usually QR award got ticketed? I hope QR will hold the reservation long enough for AA to ticket. Some airlines, like IB, if it is not ticketed soon enough the reservation is auto-canceled, IIRC that happened a lot in the past.
Mar 22, 2022, 12:58 pm
#2151
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
I meant to say I booked a stay (hotel wise) in maldives on March of '23. Now trying to figure out how to use my AA miles to book Qsuites. I have not booked a plane ticket yet. It sounds like from what you and another person said it's a high probability that they change planes if you book a year in advance. Im new to all this so at the time I didnt know that limiting myself to 2 gateways (LAX and SFO) would really limit my chances of booking. So I have now been open to booking from from just about all the US gateways. Although my dates set. My reservation is on a Thursday so I would have to leave her on a Tuesday. If im advised not to book a year in advance (as the main point of this booking is to experience qsuites) what or when should i be looking to book? Thanks for the reply and help btw
To put this another way, there are multiple aspects:
- Experience Qsuite
- Have nice long Qsuite flights
- Use award miles instead of cash
- Fly on certain dates
Mar 22, 2022, 4:10 pm
#2153
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
I could even select middle Q Suites.
Perhaps AA have finally improved the AA/QR ticketing and MMB experience which I've had countless issues with prior. I suspect the Avios integration may have forced them to change their systems.
Last edited by m0hamed; Mar 22, 2022 at 4:37 pm
Mar 22, 2022, 5:31 pm
#2154
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 2,135
Guys - any tips to book BOM-DOH-JFK in April? I read that only Monday award seats are available these days - is that true? What call center should I call and when and are there any automated tools that can track this for me? Also, if the agent can see two different segments, can they join them for booking or I have to book each segment separately which will cost more miles? Usually BOM-DOH-JFK on a single ticket is 70k AA miles. Thanks
Mar 22, 2022, 6:17 pm
#2155
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: DCA/IAD & BUF
Posts: 1,400
I have an award ticket IAD-DOH currently on Hold. I was planning to try to have DOH-MLE added, but the date didn't end up working. It would however work with a flight to ZNZ.
Is it possible to call and have ZNZ added though and still post correctly at 75K? With IAD-DOH-ZNZ being a different region (75K) than IAD-DOH-MLE (70K).
Or do I need to cancel the IAD-DOH segment and start over from scratch? (Hoping the award is put back out?)
Is it possible to call and have ZNZ added though and still post correctly at 75K? With IAD-DOH-ZNZ being a different region (75K) than IAD-DOH-MLE (70K).
Or do I need to cancel the IAD-DOH segment and start over from scratch? (Hoping the award is put back out?)
Mar 22, 2022, 8:23 pm
#2156
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,763
Seats can be assigned immediately (except in cases that don't apply here), but the QR web site is finicky and doesn't allow bookings with non-QR tickets to assign seats. There are a number of work-arounds. One is to call AA and ask the agent to assign seats for you. They can easily assign seats except middle Qsuite seats, because those are blocked. If you're wanting center Qsuite seats for the private two-person suite experience (complete with double bed) there are many techniques to try. The most straightforward is to call AA and ask the agent to call QR to assign those seats. Next most straightforward is to call QR yourself. Next is to try using the QR record locator on a partner airline site, such as Royal Jordanian or Finnair. More complicated are techniques to edit the web frames. There are multiple threads on Flyer Talk on these topics.
AA awards that have partner airline flights and that are booked with the assistance of an agent (not directly using AA's web site) go through a manual review before they can be ticketed. That typically takes around 2-3 days. Sometimes one gets lucky and it happens within an hour, other times it takes five or more days. There shouldn't be an issue with QR cancelling the space as long as it doesn't stretch into multiple weeks.
AA awards that have partner airline flights and that are booked with the assistance of an agent (not directly using AA's web site) go through a manual review before they can be ticketed. That typically takes around 2-3 days. Sometimes one gets lucky and it happens within an hour, other times it takes five or more days. There shouldn't be an issue with QR cancelling the space as long as it doesn't stretch into multiple weeks.
. I will patiently wait a week on the ticketing. I need to book an AMM-CAI and a CAI-FCO segment, but much prefer the long one is ticketed first. AMM-CAI using BA Avios at 6000 in Y is much cheaper than using AA miles at 17,500 with just $50+ extra due to BA charges YQ. However BA has a $55 cancellation fee… CAI-FCO a pay ticket is the best option though I might hold the space with an UA award which is free to cancel up to 31 days. Then replace it with a pay ticket.
It really is tough to book a trip many months in advance even without the current uncertainty. I very much miss the old days when we could book only 3 months out for a trip. Sigh.
Mar 22, 2022, 8:28 pm
#2157
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,763
I have an award ticket IAD-DOH currently on Hold. I was planning to try to have DOH-MLE added, but the date didn't end up working. It would however work with a flight to ZNZ.
Is it possible to call and have ZNZ added though and still post correctly at 75K? With IAD-DOH-ZNZ being a different region (75K) than IAD-DOH-MLE (70K).
Or do I need to cancel the IAD-DOH segment and start over from scratch? (Hoping the award is put back out?)
Is it possible to call and have ZNZ added though and still post correctly at 75K? With IAD-DOH-ZNZ being a different region (75K) than IAD-DOH-MLE (70K).
Or do I need to cancel the IAD-DOH segment and start over from scratch? (Hoping the award is put back out?)
Mar 23, 2022, 9:03 am
#2158
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Seattle, WA
Programs: DL Plat, Hyatt Plat
Posts: 107
What is the lounge situation these days when travelling in business on Qatar and connecting in Doha/Hamad? I heard that as some point, business passengers were even being allowed in to the otherwise reserved-for-first-class Al Safwa First Lounge vs the usual Al Mourjan Business Lounge? Any recent experiences?
Mar 23, 2022, 9:12 am
#2159
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,483
What is the lounge situation these days when travelling in business on Qatar and connecting in Doha/Hamad? I heard that as some point, business passengers were even being allowed in to the otherwise reserved-for-first-class Al Safwa First Lounge vs the usual Al Mourjan Business Lounge? Any recent experiences?
QR Al Safwa First Class Lounge
QR Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge
Mar 23, 2022, 3:21 pm
#2160
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: AUS
Programs: AA Gold / Bonvoy Plat / Hilton Gold / JetBlue Mosaic / peon everywhere else
Posts: 14
AA booking for Qatar Airways
I have a noob question. I'm using AA.com, trying to see if there are any business award seats on Qatar Airways from anywhere in the U.S. to Nairobi in July. I found a flight that says it's premium economy on 77W-Boeing 777 (US gateway to Doha, booking class X) but looking at seat guru and Qatar's own website, there isn't a premium economy product on Qatar at all. Can someone please explain what I'm looking at? Thanks!!