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)
May 18, 2022, 4:05 pm
#2356
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 81
There's availability, just for the last leg, DOH-MLE on first class. But I wasn't sure if they need to cancel the entire booking to change the last leg, and perhaps risk losing the ticket altogether, as there is zero availability from the US to DOH for my dates.
May 18, 2022, 4:09 pm
#2357
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,620
As long as there is availability on the flight when combined with the flight from the US ( i.e. that there are no married segment availability issues ) , then just should be able to call up and get that 1 sector changed
May 18, 2022, 4:27 pm
#2358
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 31
If it’s in first from DOH-MLE then that might reprice the entire itinerary. I’ve called and asked about the same route. AAgent confirmed changing to a first class segment on that leg would increase the price from 70K to 115K miles.
May 18, 2022, 4:43 pm
#2359
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 81
Yikes. Unfortunately, there's only first class available for those two early flights, no business. Do you think it's feasible for me to book a separate DOH-MLE ticket at 40k miles or would that throw off my entire ticket since I have an existing DOH-MLE leg the same day?
May 18, 2022, 4:48 pm
#2360
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 31
Yikes. Unfortunately, there's only first class available for those two early flights, no business. Do you think it's feasible for me to book a separate DOH-MLE ticket at 40k miles or would that throw off my entire ticket since I have an existing DOH-MLE leg the same day?
May 18, 2022, 4:51 pm
#2361
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,620
Yikes. Unfortunately, there's only first class available for those two early flights, no business. Do you think it's feasible for me to book a separate DOH-MLE ticket at 40k miles or would that throw off my entire ticket since I have an existing DOH-MLE leg the same day?
You could, if you want to, change the existing business class award of US to MLE to just be US to DOH and then book a 40k award rather than pay 45k to change the entire existing award , however I think that you will need to make 2 separate bookings unless you have a stopover in Doha
If you make 2 separate bookings, then you no longer have protection should you misconnect or should a schedule change impact your connection or similar
Unless the existing booking is non-workable, I would suggest sticking with the existing award and just do checks to see whether business class becomes available on an earlier flight rather than throw 40k miles to get an earlier flight
May 18, 2022, 4:54 pm
#2362
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 81
You could put it on hold, call AA to modify your existing reservation, and then purchase the new DOH-MLE leg, but by doing that you now have two separate reservations. You'll have to collect your bags in DOH and re-check, meaning you'll have to enter Qatar and follow all the COVID entry requirements for Qatar. If you're just transiting through DOH you do not need to follow those entry requirements. If it were me, I'd stick with what I have.
May 18, 2022, 4:58 pm
#2363
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 81
I assumed that yoi already had a 1st class ticket from your query - as was posted , indeed you would need to redeem a 1st class award to travel in 1st class
You could, if you want to, change the existing business class award of US to MLE to just be US to DOH and then book a 40k award rather than pay 45k to change the entire existing award , however I think that you will need to make 2 separate bookings unless you have a stopover in Doha
If you make 2 separate bookings, then you no longer have protection should you misconnect or should a schedule change impact your connection or similar
Unless the existing booking is non-workable, I would suggest sticking with the existing award and just do checks to see whether business class becomes available on an earlier flight rather than throw 40k miles to get an earlier flight
You could, if you want to, change the existing business class award of US to MLE to just be US to DOH and then book a 40k award rather than pay 45k to change the entire existing award , however I think that you will need to make 2 separate bookings unless you have a stopover in Doha
If you make 2 separate bookings, then you no longer have protection should you misconnect or should a schedule change impact your connection or similar
Unless the existing booking is non-workable, I would suggest sticking with the existing award and just do checks to see whether business class becomes available on an earlier flight rather than throw 40k miles to get an earlier flight
May 18, 2022, 11:11 pm
#2364
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Boston, MA
Programs: AA 1MM CK, DL Plat, Hilton Diamond, Bonvoy Ambassador (RIP SPG), BAEC Gold
Posts: 1,166
The F experience is nice, and depending on how many miles you have, it could be worth it. There’s also a direct bus from the Al Safwa lounge to the remote stands. That was a nice perk and came in handy given that our inbound delay from LHR left us with a 50 minute connection (I was on separate PNRs; my fiancée was on a single PNR).
I’m sure the resort you’re going to has contingency plans in place for the delays or weather. If the miles difference is worth it, make the confirmable switch and get the extra time in the sun.
On the separate PNR topic — I do think Qatar links them up behind the scenes to some extent. I am flying back to the US on separate PNRs and my fiancée to Europe (single PNR). She is able to check in without issues, yet I am only able to obtain a check in confirmation, likely due to the COVID test requirement associated with my DOH-JFK leg.
May 19, 2022, 3:40 am
#2365
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
You could, if you want to, change the existing business class award of US to MLE to just be US to DOH and then book a 40k award rather than pay 45k to change the entire existing award , however I think that you will need to make 2 separate bookings unless you have a stopover in Doha
If you make 2 separate bookings, then you no longer have protection should you misconnect or should a schedule change impact your connection or similar
If you make 2 separate bookings, then you no longer have protection should you misconnect or should a schedule change impact your connection or similar
May 19, 2022, 4:00 am
#2366
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,620
AA might be able to put all flights in one record but break the award in DOH. In theory, this should be fairly easy for an agent to do, although they may have to call Tariff to do it. In practice, it likely depends on the skill of the agent you get. If you want to force it, you could add three connecting flights, so it's four flights to get to DOH, which would automatically break the award in DOH, and then cancel the connecting flights. But you shouldn't have to resort to such games.
May 19, 2022, 11:01 am
#2367
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
May 19, 2022, 2:16 pm
#2368
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,620
c.f. person has a ticket JFK-LHR and then decides wants to start from ORD. Easy to change the booking to be ORD-LHR via JFK, but if wanting to purchase a separate ticket ORD-JFK, that isn't doable
Also where a through fare exists, getting the airline to issue a through itinerary consisting of 2 separate fares is , ime, not possible with AA
Maybe it can be done, but it seems moot since the passenger seems to be sticking to original 70k itinerary
Last edited by Dave Noble; May 19, 2022 at 2:22 pm
May 19, 2022, 4:27 pm
#2369
Join Date: Aug 2005
Programs: AA LTP, UA, DL, HH, Marriott/SPG
Posts: 585
Here's what happened when I switched DOH-MLE segment from biz to first. I booked LAX-DOH-MLE in business for October about 3 months ago. We needed to change the outbound by a few days. For the DOH-MLE there was only 1st for the flights arriving in the morning (the flight with biz seats available would get in after 3pm). So, we had agent make the change and paid the extra 40K miles/ticket. Agent had to refund the miles and $$ paid on the original reservation and then I provided credit card to charge the $$ upon reticketing (and pulling the miles). As for the reservation, I believe the agent only touched the outbound to change the dates I requested. When I made the change, there was still good availability on other nearby dates on the long-haul segments, so I wasn't as concerned. Now, seeing almost no availability, I would be more hesitant to make such a change since I wouldn't to risk losing what I have.
May 19, 2022, 6:09 pm
#2370
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 81
Here's what happened when I switched DOH-MLE segment from biz to first. I booked LAX-DOH-MLE in business for October about 3 months ago. We needed to change the outbound by a few days. For the DOH-MLE there was only 1st for the flights arriving in the morning (the flight with biz seats available would get in after 3pm). So, we had agent make the change and paid the extra 40K miles/ticket. Agent had to refund the miles and $$ paid on the original reservation and then I provided credit card to charge the $$ upon reticketing (and pulling the miles). As for the reservation, I believe the agent only touched the outbound to change the dates I requested. When I made the change, there was still good availability on other nearby dates on the long-haul segments, so I wasn't as concerned. Now, seeing almost no availability, I would be more hesitant to make such a change since I wouldn't to risk losing what I have.