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)
Jan 17, 2021, 9:33 pm
#1471
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: DEN
Programs: DL PM, Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Gold
Posts: 399
Silly question and should not have started another thread over this (sorry mods). I'm trying to fly from Istanbul, to the US, through Doha (so I can fly Qatar). For the AA award booking, if I can find J availability for each leg separately and then call AA to book, will it price as a single 57.5K Europe-US award?
Jan 18, 2021, 5:28 am
#1472
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,494
Silly question and should not have started another thread over this (sorry mods). I'm trying to fly from Istanbul, to the US, through Doha (so I can fly Qatar). For the AA award booking, if I can find J availability for each leg separately and then call AA to book, will it price as a single 57.5K Europe-US award?
Jan 18, 2021, 6:22 am
#1473
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: DCA
Programs: AA Gold, HH Diamond, UA Silver
Posts: 1,366
Hi all- I know this has been answered before, but can’t seem to find it in the thread today. I’m looking to book iad-doh-india next winter. Iad-doh is showing up for many dates that work for me, but for whatever reason doh-India is not. If I book the iad-doh leg now (and the return doh-iad) and then qr makes the doh-India leg available, can I just get that segment added to my itinerary at that time since it’s 70k to either destination. Or do I run into some issue with married segments such that they’ll want to cancel the ticket, see if it shows up again in inventory, and then rebook it if it does? In either case it seems like it might be ok to speculatively book the one leg and hope for the second to show up, given that there is no longer a penalty for canceling and redepositing the miles, but wanted to check and see if I’m missing something.
Jan 18, 2021, 7:21 am
#1474
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: NYC
Posts: 9,125
Hi all- I know this has been answered before, but can’t seem to find it in the thread today. I’m looking to book iad-doh-india next winter. Iad-doh is showing up for many dates that work for me, but for whatever reason doh-India is not. If I book the iad-doh leg now (and the return doh-iad) and then qr makes the doh-India leg available, can I just get that segment added to my itinerary at that time since it’s 70k to either destination. Or do I run into some issue with married segments such that they’ll want to cancel the ticket, see if it shows up again in inventory, and then rebook it if it does? In either case it seems like it might be ok to speculatively book the one leg and hope for the second to show up, given that there is no longer a penalty for canceling and redepositing the miles, but wanted to check and see if I’m missing something.
Jan 18, 2021, 10:36 am
#1475
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: DCA
Programs: AA Gold, HH Diamond, UA Silver
Posts: 1,366
no- it’s not there right now. From past experience with qr tickets to/from India, qr seems to release those flights in waves, so I suspect it will show up in the future, but by then the iad-doh leg might be gone.
Jan 18, 2021, 10:44 am
#1476
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,624
If married segment availability applles and the sector is not available in conjuction with the flight from the US, then you will not be able to add it
Jan 18, 2021, 11:32 am
#1477
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: DCA
Programs: AA Gold, HH Diamond, UA Silver
Posts: 1,366
If you book the US to Qatar segment, then as long as the Qatar to India sector becomes available for booking in conjunction with this, then you can make the change without any issue
If married segment availability applles and the sector is not available in conjuction with the flight from the US, then you will not be able to add it
If married segment availability applles and the sector is not available in conjuction with the flight from the US, then you will not be able to add it
Jan 18, 2021, 6:06 pm
#1478
Join Date: Feb 2020
Posts: 26
What's the best strategy for ensuring that two separate bookings can select seats together? Flying Q-Suites in March with my wife and we'd love to get the reverse-facing middle seats that are usually reserved for couples/families. We each booked our own award ticket separately through AA on the same QR flight (no PNR issued yet), would it be easiest to call AA to get each PNR and then call QR together to ask for the seat assignments? Should we expect any difficulties getting those particular seats?
Jan 18, 2021, 10:37 pm
#1479
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: MSY (finally); previously NYC, BOS, AUH
Programs: AA EXP, 6MM; BA GLD
Posts: 17,249
What's the best strategy for ensuring that two separate bookings can select seats together? Flying Q-Suites in March with my wife and we'd love to get the reverse-facing middle seats that are usually reserved for couples/families. We each booked our own award ticket separately through AA on the same QR flight (no PNR issued yet), would it be easiest to call AA to get each PNR and then call QR together to ask for the seat assignments? Should we expect any difficulties getting those particular seats?
Jan 20, 2021, 6:21 am
#1480
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,494
What's the best strategy for ensuring that two separate bookings can select seats together? Flying Q-Suites in March with my wife and we'd love to get the reverse-facing middle seats that are usually reserved for couples/families. We each booked our own award ticket separately through AA on the same QR flight (no PNR issued yet), would it be easiest to call AA to get each PNR and then call QR together to ask for the seat assignments? Should we expect any difficulties getting those particular seats?
Jan 20, 2021, 10:28 am
#1481
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 286
With the Qatar-U.A.E. embargo lifting, and flights on Air Arabia resuming between Qatar and the U.A.E., does anyone have any idea when Qatar Airways might resume service to DXB or AUH? I was hoping to travel to Dubai once the pandemic is over in Etihad's first-class apartments, but now that those are gone for the foreseeable future (if not for good), I'd love to use my miles to fly the Q-suites on the longer haul flight from the U.S. if routes from Doha to the U.A.E. resume.
It'll be nice to have other options than just Etihad, given how unreliable their award space can be.
It'll be nice to have other options than just Etihad, given how unreliable their award space can be.
Jan 20, 2021, 4:20 pm
#1484
Join Date: Jul 2020
Posts: 97
I have a US-DOH-CMB-MLE reservation for end of March. Today Sri Lanka (UL) canceled the DOH-CMB leg, and rebooked me to the day before, which won't work because I will still be on the US-DOH flight. There is no award availability from either QR or UL. Called AA and as expected they didn't have a solution. Called UL (surprisingly the call to their US # was picked up immediately), was told there is a flight on the day after but they haven't opened up the space yet. Was asked to check back with them around mid Feb.
My concern is that even if in Feb UL is able to book me on that flight a day after the original canceled one, who is to say they won't cancel it again down the road? I would be stuck in DOH, not willing to pay for a revenue flight which would probably be costly. So I am leaning towards canceling the whole thing, esp. with the COVID situation. It will be a shame because piecing together the itinerary PLUS finding hotel award availability in Maldives was no small feat. I think I will hold on to the bookings for now, as I don't have to make a decision yet. Is there anything I am missing that could make it all work? I wish there was availability on QR for the DOH-MLE segment, assuming QR is less likely to cancel than UL, but I have looked many times in the past 6 months and they never opened it up, probably because it's so close to Easter.
My concern is that even if in Feb UL is able to book me on that flight a day after the original canceled one, who is to say they won't cancel it again down the road? I would be stuck in DOH, not willing to pay for a revenue flight which would probably be costly. So I am leaning towards canceling the whole thing, esp. with the COVID situation. It will be a shame because piecing together the itinerary PLUS finding hotel award availability in Maldives was no small feat. I think I will hold on to the bookings for now, as I don't have to make a decision yet. Is there anything I am missing that could make it all work? I wish there was availability on QR for the DOH-MLE segment, assuming QR is less likely to cancel than UL, but I have looked many times in the past 6 months and they never opened it up, probably because it's so close to Easter.
Jan 20, 2021, 11:04 pm
#1485
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: So Cal
Posts: 937
I have a US-DOH-CMB-MLE reservation for end of March. Today Sri Lanka (UL) canceled the DOH-CMB leg, and rebooked me to the day before, which won't work because I will still be on the US-DOH flight. There is no award availability from either QR or UL. Called AA and as expected they didn't have a solution. Called UL (surprisingly the call to their US # was picked up immediately), was told there is a flight on the day after but they haven't opened up the space yet. Was asked to check back with them around mid Feb.
My concern is that even if in Feb UL is able to book me on that flight a day after the original canceled one, who is to say they won't cancel it again down the road? I would be stuck in DOH, not willing to pay for a revenue flight which would probably be costly. So I am leaning towards canceling the whole thing, esp. with the COVID situation. It will be a shame because piecing together the itinerary PLUS finding hotel award availability in Maldives was no small feat. I think I will hold on to the bookings for now, as I don't have to make a decision yet. Is there anything I am missing that could make it all work? I wish there was availability on QR for the DOH-MLE segment, assuming QR is less likely to cancel than UL, but I have looked many times in the past 6 months and they never opened it up, probably because it's so close to Easter.
My concern is that even if in Feb UL is able to book me on that flight a day after the original canceled one, who is to say they won't cancel it again down the road? I would be stuck in DOH, not willing to pay for a revenue flight which would probably be costly. So I am leaning towards canceling the whole thing, esp. with the COVID situation. It will be a shame because piecing together the itinerary PLUS finding hotel award availability in Maldives was no small feat. I think I will hold on to the bookings for now, as I don't have to make a decision yet. Is there anything I am missing that could make it all work? I wish there was availability on QR for the DOH-MLE segment, assuming QR is less likely to cancel than UL, but I have looked many times in the past 6 months and they never opened it up, probably because it's so close to Easter.