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)
Jul 30, 2020, 2:23 pm
#1276
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,494
Trying to piece together USA-DOH-MLE arrival date 3/28/2021 (departure probably 3/26/2021). Preferably Qsuites. 3 pax. Willing to travel to reposition from Washington DC area.
Can find USA-DOH (70k) and DOH-CMB-MLE (17.5k) separately via multi-city. No availability one way USA-DOH-MLE. Called AA and they didn't see availability either.
I am new to award booking. Is it a bad deal to have to pay 87.5k for the multi-city booking, esp. with DOH-CMB-MLE on Y, even though I can get the exact date/time I want? How likely will seats open up so that I can book a one way USA-DOH-MLE J for 3 people on the date I want?
Many thanks in advance.
Can find USA-DOH (70k) and DOH-CMB-MLE (17.5k) separately via multi-city. No availability one way USA-DOH-MLE. Called AA and they didn't see availability either.
I am new to award booking. Is it a bad deal to have to pay 87.5k for the multi-city booking, esp. with DOH-CMB-MLE on Y, even though I can get the exact date/time I want? How likely will seats open up so that I can book a one way USA-DOH-MLE J for 3 people on the date I want?
Many thanks in advance.
The reason (most likely) that you're only seeing this searching multi city is that you can no longer have double connections in both Europe and the Middle East on a US to Indian Subcontinent award.
Jul 30, 2020, 5:01 pm
#1277
Join Date: Jul 2020
Posts: 97
What are you seeing for the USA-DOH segments on 3/26? I don't see anything on any QR nonstops from the US to DOH. Everything involves a connection in Europe.
The reason (most likely) that you're only seeing this searching multi city is that you can no longer have double connections in both Europe and the Middle East on a US to Indian Subcontinent award.
The reason (most likely) that you're only seeing this searching multi city is that you can no longer have double connections in both Europe and the Middle East on a US to Indian Subcontinent award.
Jul 30, 2020, 5:31 pm
#1278
Join Date: Jul 2020
Posts: 97
Just my opinion, but I'd snag the 3 seats in J to DOH and deal with the DOH-MLE separately later. It's sort of a bummer about the extra 17.5k miles, but if that's the case, I might even just pay for an economy ticket to get the non-stop DOH-MLE. Have you signed up with AwardNexus? You can join since you are on Flyertalk, and you can set up an automatic search to alert you if/when 3 seats become available DOH-MLE.
Jul 31, 2020, 4:52 pm
#1279
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
Can find USA-DOH (70k) and DOH-CMB-MLE (17.5k) separately via multi-city. No availability one way USA-DOH-MLE. Called AA and they didn't see availability either.
I am new to award booking. Is it a bad deal to have to pay 87.5k for the multi-city booking, esp. with DOH-CMB-MLE on Y, even though I can get the exact date/time I want? How likely will seats open up so that I can book a one way USA-DOH-MLE J for 3 people on the date I want?
I am new to award booking. Is it a bad deal to have to pay 87.5k for the multi-city booking, esp. with DOH-CMB-MLE on Y, even though I can get the exact date/time I want? How likely will seats open up so that I can book a one way USA-DOH-MLE J for 3 people on the date I want?
In my personal view, paying for two awards is a bit of a rip-off, and I'd avoid it. However, if you're willing to pay for two awards, then you might consider a stop-off in Doha for a day or two. Assuming it's open to visitors by then, that's a way to sleep in a real bed, and see the sights there. You also have the flexibility to find J space on both sides.
Booking what you can now and checking for connecting flights to open up later is a strategy that I used for many years, but I'm not sure if it's still feasible with AA awards. AA made some changes last year that make it much harder to drop in a connection, as they started wanting to see award availability on the already-booked leg at the time of the change, which typically is long gone. Maybe that's not a concern with QR flights, I haven't tried it, but I'd be very cautious.
Aug 1, 2020, 3:25 pm
#1280
Join Date: Jul 2020
Posts: 97
My understanding of the rules, which matches my experience, is that you can book a mixed cabin itinerary as a through award. The award is a single end to end award for the highest cabin booked. The flights in lower cabins are considered voluntary downgrades. I can't explain why three agents would tell you this isn't possible. If the flights no longer show up when doing a multi-city search, then the availability might be gone. That really sucks.
It's possible that what you saw was phantom availability. I suggest using the BA or QF web sites to see if they also show the availability. If they do, then AA should see it. If they don't, it's likely the AA web site was showing phantom space.
In my personal view, paying for two awards is a bit of a rip-off, and I'd avoid it. However, if you're willing to pay for two awards, then you might consider a stop-off in Doha for a day or two. Assuming it's open to visitors by then, that's a way to sleep in a real bed, and see the sights there. You also have the flexibility to find J space on both sides.
Booking what you can now and checking for connecting flights to open up later is a strategy that I used for many years, but I'm not sure if it's still feasible with AA awards. AA made some changes last year that make it much harder to drop in a connection, as they started wanting to see award availability on the already-booked leg at the time of the change, which typically is long gone. Maybe that's not a concern with QR flights, I haven't tried it, but I'd be very cautious.
It's possible that what you saw was phantom availability. I suggest using the BA or QF web sites to see if they also show the availability. If they do, then AA should see it. If they don't, it's likely the AA web site was showing phantom space.
In my personal view, paying for two awards is a bit of a rip-off, and I'd avoid it. However, if you're willing to pay for two awards, then you might consider a stop-off in Doha for a day or two. Assuming it's open to visitors by then, that's a way to sleep in a real bed, and see the sights there. You also have the flexibility to find J space on both sides.
Booking what you can now and checking for connecting flights to open up later is a strategy that I used for many years, but I'm not sure if it's still feasible with AA awards. AA made some changes last year that make it much harder to drop in a connection, as they started wanting to see award availability on the already-booked leg at the time of the change, which typically is long gone. Maybe that's not a concern with QR flights, I haven't tried it, but I'd be very cautious.
Aug 1, 2020, 3:59 pm
#1281
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, UA, GE
Posts: 5,123
I believe that Qatar is closed to visitors. Staying overnight would require a reservation for the expensive air-side hotel. You may want to check this on the QR forum.
Aug 1, 2020, 5:32 pm
#1282
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: DFW
Programs: OWE AA EXP;*A TK Gold; Marriott LTT; Hyatt Globalist; IHG Plat; National VIP
Posts: 3,097
Aug 1, 2020, 7:52 pm
#1283
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
Aug 2, 2020, 8:17 am
#1284
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, UA, GE
Posts: 5,123
Yes, it's closed to visitors now, but @miss_travel is looking for late March, and I don't believe we know now what the situation will be in roughly five months. That's why I prefaced my suggestion about a stop in Doha with "Assuming it's open to visitors by then."
I don't believe you can book a flight with a stopover in DOH at this point in time. I've been looking at booking QR from ORD to South Africa in late summer 2021. We would love to do a 1 or 2 day stopover in DOH on the way over and the QR website won't allow us to do so (either with a simple round trip or multi-city search). Also the ability to book a cheap stopover in DOH has been removed form QR's website.
Aug 6, 2020, 5:44 pm
#1285
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Sacramento
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, HH Diamond, Marriott Platinum, Amtrak Select
Posts: 1,341
similar to above issues, I'm trying to get USA-DOH-MLE in J.
Only USA to DOH is showing as available in J.
My understanding is if I book separate cash or award flight DOH-MLE (and vice versa on the return), I still have to get my luggage and re-check it, and so I would be unable to do this since I cannot enter Qatar with current restrictions.
Or would I be able to get QR to check luggage through for me?
Only USA to DOH is showing as available in J.
My understanding is if I book separate cash or award flight DOH-MLE (and vice versa on the return), I still have to get my luggage and re-check it, and so I would be unable to do this since I cannot enter Qatar with current restrictions.
Or would I be able to get QR to check luggage through for me?
Aug 21, 2020, 9:45 am
#1286
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, UA, GE
Posts: 5,123
I just booked award flights for myself and my wife from the US to South Africa for Summer 2021. I am finding that the PNR on the QR website has issues with the contact information that make updating the reservation (making sure that travel details like passports, known traveller numbers, etc are included) very difficult.
Does anyone have any recommendation on the best way to get this fixed and to get seats assigned? QR reservations seems to be particularly overloaded at the moment and wait times on the phone are tremendous.
Does anyone have any recommendation on the best way to get this fixed and to get seats assigned? QR reservations seems to be particularly overloaded at the moment and wait times on the phone are tremendous.
Aug 21, 2020, 10:05 am
#1287
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 1,018
I just booked award flights for myself and my wife from the US to South Africa for Summer 2021. I am finding that the PNR on the QR website has issues with the contact information that make updating the reservation (making sure that travel details like passports, known traveller numbers, etc are included) very difficult.
Does anyone have any recommendation on the best way to get this fixed and to get seats assigned? QR reservations seems to be particularly overloaded at the moment and wait times on the phone are tremendous.
Does anyone have any recommendation on the best way to get this fixed and to get seats assigned? QR reservations seems to be particularly overloaded at the moment and wait times on the phone are tremendous.
Send a message to them on Twitter. They will fix it. You can even tell them what seats you prefer, etc.
Aug 21, 2020, 10:34 am
#1288
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, UA, GE
Posts: 5,123
Aug 21, 2020, 12:17 pm
#1289
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 1,018