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 14, 2019, 7:22 am
#706
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Columbia, MD
Programs: US Airways DM Silver, United Mileage Plus
Posts: 216
Most likely not, I would be surprised if they allow it. To my limited knowledge, this might be because of the difficulty in establishing a cost for your award ticket on which they can charge a fee to upgrade to J? I could be way off base why, but I don't believe what you want to do is possible.
Mar 14, 2019, 7:23 am
#707
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Columbia, MD
Programs: US Airways DM Silver, United Mileage Plus
Posts: 216
Most likely not, I would be surprised if they allow it. To my limited knowledge, this might be because of the difficulty in establishing a cost for your award ticket on which they can charge a fee to upgrade to J? I could be way off base why, but I don't believe what you want to do is possible.
Mar 15, 2019, 8:32 am
#709
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,974
Mar 16, 2019, 12:07 pm
#712
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: KYE
Posts: 4,156
Your advice would be appreciated. Looking to book
BEY-DOH-SYD in Z and U respectively.
The BEY-DOH sector had 2 Z seats but now shows none after I booked them through QFF.
The trip is in about 3 weeks.
Option 1: call AA and book in economy on the first sector hoping Z might open up closer to travel date, if not stick wtih the economy on the first sector and try a cash upgrade at BEY for that sector.
Option 2: book the earlier flight out of BEY in Z hoping to change it for Z on the other flight.
Option 3: redeem for DOH-SYD and then buy an economy fare for BEY-DOH - only $144 and do a cash upgrade at the airprort, hopefull the baggage allowance for DOH-SYD will be honored?
Option 4: like option 3, but pay for a first clas fare for BEY-DOH - $833 and just rest back.
If 1, 2 fails, then call AA and drop first sector (I understand a hassle might ensue) and book with QR in F for the first secfor.
I looked at various destinstions in the ME region and seems QR cap their regional Z inventory to 2 per flight no matter how close or far ahead.
Thanks!
BEY-DOH-SYD in Z and U respectively.
The BEY-DOH sector had 2 Z seats but now shows none after I booked them through QFF.
The trip is in about 3 weeks.
Option 1: call AA and book in economy on the first sector hoping Z might open up closer to travel date, if not stick wtih the economy on the first sector and try a cash upgrade at BEY for that sector.
Option 2: book the earlier flight out of BEY in Z hoping to change it for Z on the other flight.
Option 3: redeem for DOH-SYD and then buy an economy fare for BEY-DOH - only $144 and do a cash upgrade at the airprort, hopefull the baggage allowance for DOH-SYD will be honored?
Option 4: like option 3, but pay for a first clas fare for BEY-DOH - $833 and just rest back.
If 1, 2 fails, then call AA and drop first sector (I understand a hassle might ensue) and book with QR in F for the first secfor.
I looked at various destinstions in the ME region and seems QR cap their regional Z inventory to 2 per flight no matter how close or far ahead.
Thanks!
Mar 16, 2019, 2:26 pm
#713
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,974
Seems like most of the time and not just summer. Nothing for winter holidays either. Shows up as business saver but books into economy with short haul in first on partners sometimes.
Mar 16, 2019, 10:51 pm
#714
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 122
Does QR have blackout dates? I'm trying to get to/from BOM in the next month or so. There's not a single BOM-DOH flight (in any cabin) from today until the end of June. DOH-BOM is scarce now, but completely cuts off from Apr 30-Jul 21. Plenty of space from the US to DOH, but that last short leg has nothing. Surely BOM isn't such a popular destination that every single flight is full for the next 3 months.
Same experience in searching on BA website for QR, with no availability between Doha and Mumbai for multiple weeks, when I checked last year for Nov'2018 and searching now for May-June'2019. So it appears like a deliberate effort from QR to limit award inventory on this sector. Anyone have more insights or datapoints if certain AA agents can see different award availability/.
Mar 21, 2019, 9:20 pm
#717
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 3
HYD-DOH
Does QR have blackout dates? I'm trying to get to/from BOM in the next month or so. There's not a single BOM-DOH flight (in any cabin) from today until the end of June. DOH-BOM is scarce now, but completely cuts off from Apr 30-Jul 21. Plenty of space from the US to DOH, but that last short leg has nothing. Surely BOM isn't such a popular destination that every single flight is full for the next 3 months.
Mar 22, 2019, 5:51 am
#718
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: GSO/HAM
Programs: UA MM, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 280
trying to book US East coast to MLE with QR and AA miles. Tons of availability on every single day in Feb 2020 but when I try to book it, I get an error message. No matter what day and what flight. Is this phantom availability or an AA glitch ?
Thanks
Thanks
Mar 22, 2019, 6:36 am
#719
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 4,477
Mar 22, 2019, 10:53 am
#720
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: GSO/HAM
Programs: UA MM, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 280
Because those flights are not really available for you to book, the displayed availability is indeed "phantom". The term "glitch" has a more general meaning and is usually applied to temporary or transient errors. OTOH phantom availability is pretty much a permanent feature of AA award booking.