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 22, 2020, 5:27 am
#1411
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Programs: BA Silver, EY Gold, HH Diamond, IHG Plat
Posts: 12,210
I am thinking of booking ORD to DOH in Qsuites, total travel time one way is 13 hours and 15 mins. I have the option to fly BA in Business to LHR and then do Qsuites to DOH and this will be LHR to DOH total travel time of 6 hours and 45 mins. How does the experience and service compare on a longer 13 hour flight in qsuites vs a shorter 7 hour flight?
Oct 31, 2020, 12:37 pm
#1413
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Oakland, CA
Posts: 1,231
I just booked SFO-DOH-SEZ on Qatar's new SFO-DOH flight for next September. Given it's so far away and with everything unknown, I'm not sure if the SFO-DOH flight will be running at that time. If it doesn't, will AA/QR put me on a SFO-LAX-DOH flight instead even if there's no availability on either flight? Or should I proactively connect through LAX for better chances of it running? Thanks.
Oct 31, 2020, 6:19 pm
#1414
Ambassador: Alaska Airlines
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: BWI
Posts: 7,390
I just booked SFO-DOH-SEZ on Qatar's new SFO-DOH flight for next September. Given it's so far away and with everything unknown, I'm not sure if the SFO-DOH flight will be running at that time. If it doesn't, will AA/QR put me on a SFO-LAX-DOH flight instead even if there's no availability on either flight? Or should I proactively connect through LAX for better chances of it running? Thanks.
Also if QR cancels your SFO-DOH flight you most likely will lose your confirmed seat on DOH-SEZ as QR’s system automatically cancels all sectors if they are not able to automatically rebook you on the same routing (I.E. SFO only has one daily flight so there is no option to automatically rebook on a later or earlier itinerary).
Nov 14, 2020, 11:45 am
#1415
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 7
AA award to Maldives
Hi all,
i have booked an AA award from MCO to MLE for next year. Kind of expected but the flight from the US to Qatar got canceled (MIA connection) and I got re routed through BOS. Now this Qatar flight was canceled too and American pushed out my flight but over a day. I’m trying to leave on my original day but when I call AA, I am told that nothing in business is available. When I check MCO to MLE only economy is available but when I check DFW to MLE, business award shows availability. On the phone, AA tells me that there is nothing they can do and also they won’t call Qatar to open up award space. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance
i have booked an AA award from MCO to MLE for next year. Kind of expected but the flight from the US to Qatar got canceled (MIA connection) and I got re routed through BOS. Now this Qatar flight was canceled too and American pushed out my flight but over a day. I’m trying to leave on my original day but when I call AA, I am told that nothing in business is available. When I check MCO to MLE only economy is available but when I check DFW to MLE, business award shows availability. On the phone, AA tells me that there is nothing they can do and also they won’t call Qatar to open up award space. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance
Last edited by Salvadore22; Nov 14, 2020 at 4:21 pm
Nov 14, 2020, 6:57 pm
#1416
Ambassador: Alaska Airlines
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: BWI
Posts: 7,390
Hi all,
i have booked an AA award from MCO to MLE for next year. Kind of expected but the flight from the US to Qatar got canceled (MIA connection) and I got re routed through BOS. Now this Qatar flight was canceled too and American pushed out my flight but over a day. I’m trying to leave on my original day but when I call AA, I am told that nothing in business is available. When I check MCO to MLE only economy is available but when I check DFW to MLE, business award shows availability. On the phone, AA tells me that there is nothing they can do and also they won’t call Qatar to open up award space. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance
i have booked an AA award from MCO to MLE for next year. Kind of expected but the flight from the US to Qatar got canceled (MIA connection) and I got re routed through BOS. Now this Qatar flight was canceled too and American pushed out my flight but over a day. I’m trying to leave on my original day but when I call AA, I am told that nothing in business is available. When I check MCO to MLE only economy is available but when I check DFW to MLE, business award shows availability. On the phone, AA tells me that there is nothing they can do and also they won’t call Qatar to open up award space. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance
QR will not do anything to help - don’t bother trying to get the Oneworld liaison involved - and your only option is to book/re-ticket what AA can book.
Nov 14, 2020, 9:16 pm
#1417
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: East Coast
Programs: AA CONCIERGE KEY & 1MM, HILTON DIAMOND
Posts: 11,970
Book DFW-MLE and have AA add a segment from MCO-DFW. You will need to fly MCO-DFW-DOH-MLE. Another option is to have AA try searching segment by segment. Do not worry about the first segment (MCO-XXX) have AA search from QR cities and find availability then worry about MCO-XXX last since this will be an AA flight which they do have control over (they can open up award space for you).
QR will not do anything to help - don’t bother trying to get the Oneworld liaison involved - and your only option is to book/re-ticket what AA can book.
QR will not do anything to help - don’t bother trying to get the Oneworld liaison involved - and your only option is to book/re-ticket what AA can book.
Nov 15, 2020, 9:41 am
#1418
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 7
Book DFW-MLE and have AA add a segment from MCO-DFW. You will need to fly MCO-DFW-DOH-MLE. Another option is to have AA try searching segment by segment. Do not worry about the first segment (MCO-XXX) have AA search from QR cities and find availability then worry about MCO-XXX last since this will be an AA flight which they do have control over (they can open up award space for you).
QR will not do anything to help - don’t bother trying to get the Oneworld liaison involved - and your only option is to book/re-ticket what AA can book.
QR will not do anything to help - don’t bother trying to get the Oneworld liaison involved - and your only option is to book/re-ticket what AA can book.
Thank you so much for the advice. I called them back and asked firmly but politely to check DFW to MLE and then add MCO to DFW to the routing. That did the trick but it took 4 calls to AA and multiple representatives to accomplish the change.
Nov 17, 2020, 7:12 pm
#1419
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: SFO, SJC, SEA
Programs: A3 Gold, AA Plat
Posts: 203
If I change the origin of a ticketed award without affecting the region, does that require a cancellation plus redeposit or can I maintain the connecting leg? For example, if I’m ticketed from JNB-DOH-LAX-SJC on QR and AA all under one award ticket and want to change the JNB-DOH leg to NBO-DOH for the same dates, can I still maintain the DOH-SJC flights without needing to cancel and rebook?
Nov 17, 2020, 8:21 pm
#1420
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 1,018
If I change the origin of a ticketed award without affecting the region, does that require a cancellation plus redeposit or can I maintain the connecting leg? For example, if I’m ticketed from JNB-DOH-LAX-SJC on QR and AA all under one award ticket and want to change the JNB-DOH leg to NBO-DOH for the same dates, can I still maintain the DOH-SJC flights without needing to cancel and rebook?
but never hurts to call and ask.
Just be sure to tell them to NOT change anything until you approve.
Nov 19, 2020, 10:44 pm
#1421
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Palm Springs, CA 92264
Programs: AA ExPlat 3MMiler
Posts: 144
Linking two Record Locators
Question. I booked QR DFW-DOH-KGL for next year with miles and then bought AA PSP-DFW in F and when I call to try to link the two PRN's they said I couldn't. We'd have to collect our luggage and recheck? Is there anything that can be done so we only have to check in once?
Nov 20, 2020, 1:04 am
#1422
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,624
Question. I booked QR DFW-DOH-KGL for next year with miles and then bought AA PSP-DFW in F and when I call to try to link the two PRN's they said I couldn't. We'd have to collect our luggage and recheck? Is there anything that can be done so we only have to check in once?
Nov 23, 2020, 8:39 am
#1423
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: So Cal
Posts: 937
Question. I booked QR DFW-DOH-KGL for next year with miles and then bought AA PSP-DFW in F and when I call to try to link the two PRN's they said I couldn't. We'd have to collect our luggage and recheck? Is there anything that can be done so we only have to check in once?
Dec 3, 2020, 12:19 pm
#1425
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Canada
Posts: 347
I'm looking for an AAdvantage award from Montreal to the Maldives via Doha. I can find Doha-Maldives availability without a problem online (though Y only). However, Montreal-Doha or Montreal-Maldives searches turn up nothing. However, if I search Montreal-Amman, I can book Montreal-Doha-Amman (in business) , with the Montreal-Doha leg on the flight I want. If I book those flights, can I call in to change the last leg from Amman to the Maldives, while holding on to the Montreal-Doha leg?