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)
Oct 2, 2020, 10:50 am
#1366
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: KCGX
Posts: 144
Haven't heard back from AA yet, but just put my QR PNR into their website and looks like they've redone my trip to be ORD-DOH-MLE-DOH-ORD on the same dates. Ultimately works out pretty well I guess. I'll call AA in the next couple of days if I don't see it come through reticketed.
Oct 8, 2020, 4:48 am
#1368
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Programs: BA Silver, EY Gold, HH Diamond, IHG Plat
Posts: 12,210
I am sure I saw some a few days ago. Might be worthwhile searching individual days. Worst case book MLE-CMB-DOH there is an evening flight at 930 which has a transit for 2hrs in CMB.
Oct 8, 2020, 6:51 am
#1369
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Roswell, GA
Programs: AA EXP 2.8m,Lifetime PLT, Hilton Diamond, IHG PlLT, SPG Gold
Posts: 3,193
Our ATl-doh-Mle for November has changed so many times now... its like I am on the phone with AA every other day.
as of yesterday we are now ATL-DFW-LAX-DOH-MLE.. with a overnight in LAX on the way back... could not find another outbound city to leave from
on a note... talking to the AA rep yesterday.. if you opt to use BA to travel.. you will not have to pay the $$$$$$ BA fees
as of yesterday we are now ATL-DFW-LAX-DOH-MLE.. with a overnight in LAX on the way back... could not find another outbound city to leave from
on a note... talking to the AA rep yesterday.. if you opt to use BA to travel.. you will not have to pay the $$$$$$ BA fees
Oct 8, 2020, 12:11 pm
#1370
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: British Columbia
Programs: AS MVPG100K, Marriott Marriott Titanium Elite, Hilton Gold
Posts: 7,263
For those that might not be aware, QR is commencing service from San Francisco on December 15th. Perhaps SFO-DOH-XXX might be an alternative route for those facing cancellations.
James
James
Oct 8, 2020, 4:58 pm
#1371
Ambassador: Alaska Airlines
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: BWI
Posts: 7,390
Our ATl-doh-Mle for November has changed so many times now... its like I am on the phone with AA every other day.
as of yesterday we are now ATL-DFW-LAX-DOH-MLE.. with a overnight in LAX on the way back... could not find another outbound city to leave from
on a note... talking to the AA rep yesterday.. if you opt to use BA to travel.. you will not have to pay the $$$$$$ BA fees
as of yesterday we are now ATL-DFW-LAX-DOH-MLE.. with a overnight in LAX on the way back... could not find another outbound city to leave from
on a note... talking to the AA rep yesterday.. if you opt to use BA to travel.. you will not have to pay the $$$$$$ BA fees
Oct 9, 2020, 10:39 am
#1372
Join Date: Mar 1999
Location: Alpharetta, GA, USA
Posts: 948
Our ATl-doh-Mle for November has changed so many times now... its like I am on the phone with AA every other day.
as of yesterday we are now ATL-DFW-LAX-DOH-MLE.. with a overnight in LAX on the way back... could not find another outbound city to leave from
on a note... talking to the AA rep yesterday.. if you opt to use BA to travel.. you will not have to pay the $$$$$$ BA fees
as of yesterday we are now ATL-DFW-LAX-DOH-MLE.. with a overnight in LAX on the way back... could not find another outbound city to leave from
on a note... talking to the AA rep yesterday.. if you opt to use BA to travel.. you will not have to pay the $$$$$$ BA fees
Oct 10, 2020, 6:01 am
#1373
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: DCA/IAD & BUF
Posts: 1,406
Two items related to my JFK-DOH-JRO Award Flight for Nov 3 disappeared from my FF account when I checked this morning.
First - There was no active notification from AA or Qatar, although the AA agent confirmed Qatar had cancelled the reservation Sept 30th. She said AA is working through a backlog of notifications and would have eventually notified me by phone. I've been checking status every few weeks, as this will be 4th Award reservation to "disappear" from my account since June. Not receive a cancellation or change notice, but simply disappear. Within 30 days of flight date, this may have had substantial financial ramifications if I wasn't waiting until the 11th hour to book accommodations. Everyone, check your accounts frequently for status!
Second - the agent said the reason for the cancellation was Qatar has suspended DOH-JRO service. I thought the agent was mistaken - the availability calendar shows several dates in November, even the following day, Nov 4th. She couldn't explain this. It does seem logical though Qatar would have simply changed by departure date from the 3rd to 4th, rather than cancel the ticket outright, if they were still servicing DOH-JRO. Thoughts? Should I simply rebook or is it likely the agent is correct and there's a deeper change that hasn't caught up with AA's calendar yet?
First - There was no active notification from AA or Qatar, although the AA agent confirmed Qatar had cancelled the reservation Sept 30th. She said AA is working through a backlog of notifications and would have eventually notified me by phone. I've been checking status every few weeks, as this will be 4th Award reservation to "disappear" from my account since June. Not receive a cancellation or change notice, but simply disappear. Within 30 days of flight date, this may have had substantial financial ramifications if I wasn't waiting until the 11th hour to book accommodations. Everyone, check your accounts frequently for status!
Second - the agent said the reason for the cancellation was Qatar has suspended DOH-JRO service. I thought the agent was mistaken - the availability calendar shows several dates in November, even the following day, Nov 4th. She couldn't explain this. It does seem logical though Qatar would have simply changed by departure date from the 3rd to 4th, rather than cancel the ticket outright, if they were still servicing DOH-JRO. Thoughts? Should I simply rebook or is it likely the agent is correct and there's a deeper change that hasn't caught up with AA's calendar yet?
Oct 12, 2020, 6:56 am
#1374
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Roswell, GA
Programs: AA EXP 2.8m,Lifetime PLT, Hilton Diamond, IHG PlLT, SPG Gold
Posts: 3,193
are not on you.. the key is the find a rep that knows why to do this
Oct 12, 2020, 6:59 am
#1375
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Roswell, GA
Programs: AA EXP 2.8m,Lifetime PLT, Hilton Diamond, IHG PlLT, SPG Gold
Posts: 3,193
Two items related to my JFK-DOH-JRO Award Flight for Nov 3 disappeared from my FF account when I checked this morning.
First - There was no active notification from AA or Qatar, although the AA agent confirmed Qatar had cancelled the reservation Sept 30th. She said AA is working through a backlog of notifications and would have eventually notified me by phone. I've been checking status every few weeks, as this will be 4th Award reservation to "disappear" from my account since June. Not receive a cancellation or change notice, but simply disappear. Within 30 days of flight date, this may have had substantial financial ramifications if I wasn't waiting until the 11th hour to book accommodations. Everyone, check your accounts frequently for status!
Second - the agent said the reason for the cancellation was Qatar has suspended DOH-JRO service. I thought the agent was mistaken - the availability calendar shows several dates in November, even the following day, Nov 4th. She couldn't explain this. It does seem logical though Qatar would have simply changed by departure date from the 3rd to 4th, rather than cancel the ticket outright, if they were still servicing DOH-JRO. Thoughts? Should I simply rebook or is it likely the agent is correct and there's a deeper change that hasn't caught up with AA's calendar yet?
First - There was no active notification from AA or Qatar, although the AA agent confirmed Qatar had cancelled the reservation Sept 30th. She said AA is working through a backlog of notifications and would have eventually notified me by phone. I've been checking status every few weeks, as this will be 4th Award reservation to "disappear" from my account since June. Not receive a cancellation or change notice, but simply disappear. Within 30 days of flight date, this may have had substantial financial ramifications if I wasn't waiting until the 11th hour to book accommodations. Everyone, check your accounts frequently for status!
Second - the agent said the reason for the cancellation was Qatar has suspended DOH-JRO service. I thought the agent was mistaken - the availability calendar shows several dates in November, even the following day, Nov 4th. She couldn't explain this. It does seem logical though Qatar would have simply changed by departure date from the 3rd to 4th, rather than cancel the ticket outright, if they were still servicing DOH-JRO. Thoughts? Should I simply rebook or is it likely the agent is correct and there's a deeper change that hasn't caught up with AA's calendar yet?
and just remember you will not get notified of any change... that is up to us to check
Oct 12, 2020, 7:02 am
#1376
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Roswell, GA
Programs: AA EXP 2.8m,Lifetime PLT, Hilton Diamond, IHG PlLT, SPG Gold
Posts: 3,193
I found the space through the AA app. QR changes inventory frequently so it’s good to check every other day or so. QR also uses married segment logic sometimes so I could see MLE-BOS available in J but the other city pairs does not even show up despite availability when searching segment by segment. Another thing to note for some reason QR won’t show mixed cabin awards on AA.com (IME) so if MLE-DOH has Y space and DOH-JFK has J space the search result will only spit out the Y award option.
Same boat here. Were you able to keep your seat in business confirmed on the DOH-MLE sector or was only coach available?
Same boat here. Were you able to keep your seat in business confirmed on the DOH-MLE sector or was only coach available?
will let you know how it goes today
Oct 13, 2020, 6:56 am
#1377
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Roswell, GA
Programs: AA EXP 2.8m,Lifetime PLT, Hilton Diamond, IHG PlLT, SPG Gold
Posts: 3,193
called AA yesterday.... Qatar it seems is very slow to respond... everything is fine except the doh-mle out and return... again..
gong to give it a week or so and then push AA for other flight options...the is a BA flight LHR to MLE driect.. but it requires a overnight in LHR on the return
gong to give it a week or so and then push AA for other flight options...the is a BA flight LHR to MLE driect.. but it requires a overnight in LHR on the return
Oct 13, 2020, 10:35 am
#1378
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: ATL
Programs: UA 3.6 MM, Marriott Lifetime Plat
Posts: 2,582
My MIA-DOH was canceled. DOH-MLE was still operating, but QR canceled it anyway. AA says it can't do anything as there is no award inventory and QR refuses to open up space to accommodate me. So frustrating, QR should re-accomodate. I appealed to QR customer service and reservations who said that since it is an AA ticket they can't do anything...they actually don't want to do anything. Refunded the miles last night. Terrible experience all around.
Oct 13, 2020, 2:25 pm
#1380
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,624