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 5, 2018, 7:45 pm
#421
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,571
Indeed - you cannot go to Europe from USA via Middle East , nor can you do USA to either of Asia 1 or Asia 2 via Middle East , so both would require 2 awards
Oct 6, 2018, 12:40 pm
#423
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,631
Oct 6, 2018, 10:50 pm
#424
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: AAdvantage, UA Mileage Plus, IHG Rewards Club
Posts: 379
I was trying to book JFK - DOH - JNB via QR, but was told by the AA agent that the connection time in DOH for the day I selected (on a Tuesday in 2019) is too short (about 55 mins), and that it’s not a legal routine. I think she said that the min connection time is 1 hr 25 mins.
Might there be any way I can circumvent this? We tried looking at other flights for the same date I was looking at, but no dice unfortunately.
Might there be any way I can circumvent this? We tried looking at other flights for the same date I was looking at, but no dice unfortunately.
Oct 7, 2018, 1:46 am
#425
Join Date: May 2005
Location: PHX
Programs: AA Gold, WN A+ & CP, HH Diamond, Hyatt Platinum, National Executive Elite
Posts: 3,245
I was trying to book JFK - DOH - JNB via QR, but was told by the AA agent that the connection time in DOH for the day I selected (on a Tuesday in 2019) is too short (about 55 mins), and that it’s not a legal routine. I think she said that the min connection time is 1 hr 25 mins.
Might there be any way I can circumvent this? We tried looking at other flights for the same date I was looking at, but no dice unfortunately.
Might there be any way I can circumvent this? We tried looking at other flights for the same date I was looking at, but no dice unfortunately.
Oct 7, 2018, 1:55 am
#426
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,571
I was trying to book JFK - DOH - JNB via QR, but was told by the AA agent that the connection time in DOH for the day I selected (on a Tuesday in 2019) is too short (about 55 mins), and that it’s not a legal routine. I think she said that the min connection time is 1 hr 25 mins.
Might there be any way I can circumvent this? We tried looking at other flights for the same date I was looking at, but no dice unfortunately.
Might there be any way I can circumvent this? We tried looking at other flights for the same date I was looking at, but no dice unfortunately.
If it is not available, I would suspect that the real reason is something else- e.g. married sector availability and that the agent is assuming the wrong reason
There is no way to circumvent MCT other than booking 2 separate award tickets and taking the risk of a missed connection and the impact that this would have
Oct 7, 2018, 5:51 am
#427
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: AAdvantage, UA Mileage Plus, IHG Rewards Club
Posts: 379
1hr 25 minutes is correct for connection of flights to the USA, but doesn't seem correct for flights from the USA - normal connection time is 45 minutes
If it is not available, I would suspect that the real reason is something else- e.g. married sector availability and that the agent is assuming the wrong reason
There is no way to circumvent MCT other than booking 2 separate award tickets and taking the risk of a missed connection and the impact that this would have
If it is not available, I would suspect that the real reason is something else- e.g. married sector availability and that the agent is assuming the wrong reason
There is no way to circumvent MCT other than booking 2 separate award tickets and taking the risk of a missed connection and the impact that this would have
Oct 7, 2018, 1:31 pm
#428
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,571
QR 1363 - depart 02:05 arrive 10:00
QR 1367 - depart 06:40 arrive 14:35
as well as 2 from JFK-DOH
QR 704 - depart 09:45 arrive 06:05
QR 702 - depart 21:00 arrive 17:40
Can have 20 hours in Doha if desired ( subject to award availability )by taking QR704
Oct 7, 2018, 2:50 pm
#429
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: DFW (Highland Village)
Programs: AA Lifetime GLD, SPG Lifetime GLD
Posts: 384
I'm hoping to grab a DFW-DOH-DPS award ticket in J on Thursday using my AA miles. AwardNexus currently shows availability but I have to wait until the 331 day mark. Couple of questions if I'm able to book this.
1) Since this is two awards do I have to collect my luggage in DOH and recheck or can my luggage be checked all the way from DFW to DPS
2) If they can be combined how? And regardless of combination, do I have "protection" on the DOH-DPS leg in the event DFW-DOH has severe enough issues to cause a material delay. My DOH layover would be around 10 hours.
3) Award tickets are not eligible for the free hotel that QR typically offers business class fliers, correct?
thanks
1) Since this is two awards do I have to collect my luggage in DOH and recheck or can my luggage be checked all the way from DFW to DPS
2) If they can be combined how? And regardless of combination, do I have "protection" on the DOH-DPS leg in the event DFW-DOH has severe enough issues to cause a material delay. My DOH layover would be around 10 hours.
3) Award tickets are not eligible for the free hotel that QR typically offers business class fliers, correct?
thanks
Oct 7, 2018, 2:56 pm
#430
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,571
You can make a single booking - you just will get charged the price for the 2 awards - you will then have all the benefits of a through booking. Just phone and book DFW-DOH-DPS
QR does not, iirc, provide free accommodation on award tickets.
QR does not, iirc, provide free accommodation on award tickets.
Oct 8, 2018, 6:29 am
#431
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: AAdvantage, UA Mileage Plus, IHG Rewards Club
Posts: 379
There seem to be 2 flights a day from DOH-JNB
QR 1363 - depart 02:05 arrive 10:00
QR 1367 - depart 06:40 arrive 14:35
as well as 2 from JFK-DOH
QR 704 - depart 09:45 arrive 06:05
QR 702 - depart 21:00 arrive 17:40
Can have 20 hours in Doha if desired ( subject to award availability )by taking QR704
QR 1363 - depart 02:05 arrive 10:00
QR 1367 - depart 06:40 arrive 14:35
as well as 2 from JFK-DOH
QR 704 - depart 09:45 arrive 06:05
QR 702 - depart 21:00 arrive 17:40
Can have 20 hours in Doha if desired ( subject to award availability )by taking QR704
But! I managed to actually complete the booking by HUCA. It seems that the original agent who told me that the MCT was the issue is incorrect. More likely, AA themselves couldn't see the second flight from DOH-JNB because of the 331-day rule (or the seats were not released to AA yet).
Oct 9, 2018, 3:56 pm
#432
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: FAT
Posts: 146
I might have so screwed up- my middle name appears on my US passport but I don't see it on my Qatar Airways eticket (next spring, no rush here). I booked with American last month using AA miles, I don't recall if I even told them my middle name and now I see the note from QR that the name must match the passport. Am I going to have problems since my middle name is on my passport and not my ticket? Who would I even contact to fix that?
Oct 11, 2018, 6:47 pm
#433
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 269
I didn't want to let the cat out of the bag until it ticketed all of the way through -- as of now my wife and I are confirmed ORD-DOH-JNB on 8/23/19 and my family flies the same trip on 8/22/19. Availability never showed up on ba.com, Qantas, or any of the other methods of checking. When I Called in, I told the agent what flights I wanted and she seemed perplexed when the ORD-DOH segment didn't show availability in her system. I kept my mouth shut as I knew it wasn't showing up...she put me on a 5 minuted hold to talk to 'the helpdesk' -- I have ZERO idea what was done, said, or inquired about but after the hold she had availability and all of the tickets were issued. My mother-in-law called at a different time for her tickets so now this worked on two different itineraries for traveling two different days - 4 seats total.
Good luck everyone!!
Good luck everyone!!
Oct 11, 2018, 7:21 pm
#434
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,571
I'm glad someone won out. I've tried 5 times now. The closest I've gotten is to them seeing the flight but it errored out when she tried to grab seats. The agent said it was a computer glitch. Calling again today all I got was: "Qatar is blocking partners again (audible sigh) try calling back again tomorrow".
Oct 11, 2018, 8:05 pm
#435
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 269
OP stated that they got lucky and I did once see availability on the dates in question on BA for about 5 minutes. I called AA and was on hold, but when I refreshed on BA they were gone before anyone took my call. AA agent stated that they were unable to see anything again.
Just got to keep trying I guess.
Last edited by the188; Oct 11, 2018 at 8:49 pm