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 30, 2022, 6:48 pm
#2416
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2015
Location: BOS, YVR, ZRH
Programs: *G
Posts: 17,418
Personally, I’d avoid the JFK DOH connection since AA is adding a JFK DOH flight. If schedule changes come along between now and your trip, good chance you will be changed to the AA flight. Just my two cents.
we have taken the ORD DOH flights multiple times and never seen it change to not Qsuite. Have heard that happens at DFW but hopefully others can comments their experience there?
we have taken the ORD DOH flights multiple times and never seen it change to not Qsuite. Have heard that happens at DFW but hopefully others can comments their experience there?
May 31, 2022, 2:27 am
#2417
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: AA Executive Platinum, Marriott Lifetime Titanium, IHG Platinum
Posts: 1,456
Just wasted a few hours on the AA site trying to book with miles. Flights showing available in Business Class, then I go to reserve and I get the red exclamation point of "Choose a different flight or fare - We're sorry but at least one of the flights or fares you chose is no longer available." I am then presented with other options (business and coach), where again it shows the business flights I would like to reserve as available.
May 31, 2022, 7:13 pm
#2418
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: AA Executive Platinum, Marriott Lifetime Titanium, IHG Platinum
Posts: 1,456
So I had some minor success- I have the long-haul booked (on QR out of PHL). In speaking with AA earlier this week, I was told they would be able to add on the outbound domestic portion (TPA-PHL) at a later time. In trying to get this done today, I was told they cannot add any of the flights that are available on my departure day (First Class OR coach). All 3 flights I could take are web specials (Y for coach and J for First). I was told my only option is to create a separate one-way reservation (TPA-PHL). Its only 12.5K points, (or ~$180), but I will need to check bags, pick them up when I land in PHL, then check in for my 2nd itinerary and re-check bags for the long haul.
Is it reasonable to expect these web special tickets will go away (i.e. change from Y to T), so they can be added by an agent? (this trip is almost a year out). It is odd that the day before my departure, all the points coach flights are T fares ... and two days before they are again all Y fares. I can't see any pattern, and the required point amounts are the same.
Recommendations welcome!
Is it reasonable to expect these web special tickets will go away (i.e. change from Y to T), so they can be added by an agent? (this trip is almost a year out). It is odd that the day before my departure, all the points coach flights are T fares ... and two days before they are again all Y fares. I can't see any pattern, and the required point amounts are the same.
Recommendations welcome!
May 31, 2022, 8:05 pm
#2419
Join Date: Jul 2020
Location: So Cal
Programs: AA Platinum
Posts: 2,738
So I had some minor success- I have the long-haul booked (on QR out of PHL). In speaking with AA earlier this week, I was told they would be able to add on the outbound domestic portion (TPA-PHL) at a later time. In trying to get this done today, I was told they cannot add any of the flights that are available on my departure day (First Class OR coach). All 3 flights I could take are web specials (Y for coach and J for First). I was told my only option is to create a separate one-way reservation (TPA-PHL). Its only 12.5K points, (or ~$180), but I will need to check bags, pick them up when I land in PHL, then check in for my 2nd itinerary and re-check bags for the long haul.
Is it reasonable to expect these web special tickets will go away (i.e. change from Y to T), so they can be added by an agent? (this trip is almost a year out). It is odd that the day before my departure, all the points coach flights are T fares ... and two days before they are again all Y fares. I can't see any pattern, and the required point amounts are the same.
Recommendations welcome!
Is it reasonable to expect these web special tickets will go away (i.e. change from Y to T), so they can be added by an agent? (this trip is almost a year out). It is odd that the day before my departure, all the points coach flights are T fares ... and two days before they are again all Y fares. I can't see any pattern, and the required point amounts are the same.
Recommendations welcome!
May 31, 2022, 9:20 pm
#2420
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Boston, MA
Programs: AA 1MM CK, DL Plat, Hilton Diamond, Bonvoy Ambassador (RIP SPG), BAEC Gold
Posts: 1,183
Took a call to the Exec Liaison team to get the miles / fee refunded. Per the agent, my flight was never fully cancelled and they had to reach out to QR to confirm that I didn’t get on the plane.
Jun 1, 2022, 1:42 am
#2421
Join Date: Jul 2021
Location: US
Programs: AA, AI-FR, ClubVistara, KrisFlyer, EK, InterMiles
Posts: 49
Seat Selection on X class
Hi all,
This post maybe slightly away from the topics being discussed so far but I have Coach (X fare class) redemption flights coming up on QR from India to ORD ( 17+hrs, I guess) in mid-June and wanted to pre-select the seats - to my surprise I can't see even view the seat map on QR's website. I reached out to QR's Twitter team and they said I can't select seats on a ticket issued by AA and would only be able to select by talking to the agent at check-in. Is there any workaround for this? I don't wish to be stuck in a crappy middle seat and would much rather pay for the exit row. Any ideas are appreciated.
Thanks!
This post maybe slightly away from the topics being discussed so far but I have Coach (X fare class) redemption flights coming up on QR from India to ORD ( 17+hrs, I guess) in mid-June and wanted to pre-select the seats - to my surprise I can't see even view the seat map on QR's website. I reached out to QR's Twitter team and they said I can't select seats on a ticket issued by AA and would only be able to select by talking to the agent at check-in. Is there any workaround for this? I don't wish to be stuck in a crappy middle seat and would much rather pay for the exit row. Any ideas are appreciated.
Thanks!
Last edited by SuraBoy; Jun 1, 2022 at 4:12 pm
Jun 1, 2022, 1:49 am
#2422
Join Date: Jun 2021
Posts: 100
Hi all,
This post maybe slightly away from the topics being discussed so far but I have Coach (X fare class) redemption flights coming up on QR from India to ORD ( 17+hrs, I guess) in mid-June and wanted to pre-select the seats - to my surprise I can't see even the seat map on QR's website. I reached out to QR's Twitter team and they said I can't select seats on a ticket issued by AA and would only be able to select by talking to the agent at check-in. Is there any workaround for this? I don't wish to be stuck in a crappy middle seat and would much rather pay for the exit row. Any ideas are appreciated.
Thanks!
This post maybe slightly away from the topics being discussed so far but I have Coach (X fare class) redemption flights coming up on QR from India to ORD ( 17+hrs, I guess) in mid-June and wanted to pre-select the seats - to my surprise I can't see even the seat map on QR's website. I reached out to QR's Twitter team and they said I can't select seats on a ticket issued by AA and would only be able to select by talking to the agent at check-in. Is there any workaround for this? I don't wish to be stuck in a crappy middle seat and would much rather pay for the exit row. Any ideas are appreciated.
Thanks!
Jun 1, 2022, 7:31 am
#2423
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: AA Executive Platinum, Marriott Lifetime Titanium, IHG Platinum
Posts: 1,456
Is it reasonable to expect these web special tickets will go away (i.e. change from Y to T), so they can be added by an agent? (this trip is almost a year out). It is odd that the day before my departure, all the points coach flights are T fares ... and two days before they are again all Y fares. I can't see any pattern, and the required point amounts are the same.
Jun 1, 2022, 4:11 pm
#2424
Join Date: Jul 2021
Location: US
Programs: AA, AI-FR, ClubVistara, KrisFlyer, EK, InterMiles
Posts: 49
Jun 1, 2022, 4:26 pm
#2426
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 4,542
For interior Q Suites on AA awards, I’ve always had to call QR. For window Suites, I’ve been able to select on QR site.
Jun 1, 2022, 9:27 pm
#2427
Join Date: Nov 2006
Programs: Marriott Platinum, Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum
Posts: 3,733
Hi all,
This post maybe slightly away from the topics being discussed so far but I have Coach (X fare class) redemption flights coming up on QR from India to ORD ( 17+hrs, I guess) in mid-June and wanted to pre-select the seats - to my surprise I can't see even view the seat map on QR's website. I reached out to QR's Twitter team and they said I can't select seats on a ticket issued by AA and would only be able to select by talking to the agent at check-in. Is there any workaround for this? I don't wish to be stuck in a crappy middle seat and would much rather pay for the exit row. Any ideas are appreciated.
Thanks!
This post maybe slightly away from the topics being discussed so far but I have Coach (X fare class) redemption flights coming up on QR from India to ORD ( 17+hrs, I guess) in mid-June and wanted to pre-select the seats - to my surprise I can't see even view the seat map on QR's website. I reached out to QR's Twitter team and they said I can't select seats on a ticket issued by AA and would only be able to select by talking to the agent at check-in. Is there any workaround for this? I don't wish to be stuck in a crappy middle seat and would much rather pay for the exit row. Any ideas are appreciated.
Thanks!
Jun 3, 2022, 11:59 am
#2428
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 31
Woof what a morning. Flying MSP>ORD>DOH>MLE this weekend. AAdvantage award 001 ticket. All one reservation. Arrived at MSP this morning to check-in. They could only give me my MSP>ORD boarding pass. Said sometime over the last week Qatar has taken control of all their flights and will only issue boarding passes themselves after document check. Not sure if true or if they just couldn’t figure it out. They could, however, tag my bags to DOH. Not to MLE. This puzzled the agents to the point of sitting on hold with the oneworld help desk for over an hour only to be hung up on. They eventually HAND WROTE my bag tags all the way to MLE. Praying they make it. When I landed at ORD I had emails showing my reservation had been reticketed. It looked like they decoupled the AA and QR flights, but same PNR and ticket numbers. With that, I could then check-in on the QR app but still no boarding pass. Agent at the Flagship lounge took my MSP>ORD boarding pass and could pull up the full reservation and granted access. Advised to go to QR desk to get boarding pass and confirm bags are checked once they open. Glad the bubbly is self-serve here in the lounge. 
Jun 3, 2022, 2:10 pm
#2429
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Cape Cod, MA, USA
Programs: American Airlines - Executive Platinum / Marriott - Ambassador
Posts: 45
AA Promotion on QR?
This is not about Redemption, but noticed this promotion today in the AA App for extra miles when flying QR. When you click through it goes to the regular QR page on AA.com that has no updates. Anyone else seen this? Or seen any actual info on what the bonus is?
Earn more AAdvantage miles when you fly on Qatar Airways flights
Earn more AAdvantage miles when you fly on Qatar Airways flights
Jun 3, 2022, 8:02 pm
#2430
Join Date: Oct 2021
Programs: AA
Posts: 16
Woof what a morning. Flying MSP>ORD>DOH>MLE this weekend. AAdvantage award 001 ticket. All one reservation. Arrived at MSP this morning to check-in. They could only give me my MSP>ORD boarding pass. Said sometime over the last week Qatar has taken control of all their flights and will only issue boarding passes themselves after document check. Not sure if true or if they just couldn’t figure it out. They could, however, tag my bags to DOH. Not to MLE. This puzzled the agents to the point of sitting on hold with the oneworld help desk for over an hour only to be hung up on. They eventually HAND WROTE my bag tags all the way to MLE. Praying they make it. When I landed at ORD I had emails showing my reservation had been reticketed. It looked like they decoupled the AA and QR flights, but same PNR and ticket numbers. With that, I could then check-in on the QR app but still no boarding pass. Agent at the Flagship lounge took my MSP>ORD boarding pass and could pull up the full reservation and granted access. Advised to go to QR desk to get boarding pass and confirm bags are checked once they open. Glad the bubbly is self-serve here in the lounge.