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)
Aug 10, 2018, 12:43 pm
#331
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,600
I rang AA and asked about CGK-KEF as a through flight via DOH and LHR. Quoted price was 35K miles + $66.90 in taxes.
I originally paid $83.80 in taxes and the phone rep said difference in taxes will be automatically refunded to my card on file.
It has been 10 days and I still don't see a refund of taxes yet. Is this normal?
(The last time I had an refund adjustment in taxes, I saw the difference refunded within 3 days)
I originally paid $83.80 in taxes and the phone rep said difference in taxes will be automatically refunded to my card on file.
It has been 10 days and I still don't see a refund of taxes yet. Is this normal?
(The last time I had an refund adjustment in taxes, I saw the difference refunded within 3 days)
Aug 10, 2018, 7:43 pm
#332
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: ADL
Programs: QFF, AAdvantage, All
Posts: 1,137
Aug 12, 2018, 3:59 pm
#333
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
Sorry for misunderstanding your post, thanks for clarifying.
Aug 12, 2018, 4:08 pm
#334
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
I know this :
1) I can fly PHL-DOH-JNB for a single one way Business ticket using 75K AA miles on Qatar.
2) AA doesn’t show Qatar availability but BA does although sometimes it is “phantom”.
3) Despite earlier reports to the contrary, this “exception” using AA miles on Qatar through DOH to get to Africa is definitely viable.
4) Once I find availability on the BA site, I must call an intelligent AA rep to ticket the itinerary and it may or may not be able to be placed on hold for up to 5 days
5) There are at least 2 Bus seats available every day of the week for next summer despite chat that Qatar may be known to hold back on award release Fri-Sun.
6) The availability in 5 above was garnered via the BA website BUT is only available perse “segmentally” (i.e. PHL to DOH and then DOH to JNB. There was ZERO availability from PHL-DOH-JNB. Is this what “married” means?
My question :
If I see availability on all segments and call AA, will I get this trip for 300K miles for 2 people?
1) I can fly PHL-DOH-JNB for a single one way Business ticket using 75K AA miles on Qatar.
2) AA doesn’t show Qatar availability but BA does although sometimes it is “phantom”.
3) Despite earlier reports to the contrary, this “exception” using AA miles on Qatar through DOH to get to Africa is definitely viable.
4) Once I find availability on the BA site, I must call an intelligent AA rep to ticket the itinerary and it may or may not be able to be placed on hold for up to 5 days
5) There are at least 2 Bus seats available every day of the week for next summer despite chat that Qatar may be known to hold back on award release Fri-Sun.
6) The availability in 5 above was garnered via the BA website BUT is only available perse “segmentally” (i.e. PHL to DOH and then DOH to JNB. There was ZERO availability from PHL-DOH-JNB. Is this what “married” means?
My question :
If I see availability on all segments and call AA, will I get this trip for 300K miles for 2 people?
Per the oneworld.com Interactive Network Map, PHL-DOH-JNB is not a valid routing on QR -- so if you wanted that exact routing for 2 people, it would have to be four one-way awards.
Similarly, IAD-DOH-JNB is not a valid routing. But JFK-DOH-JNB is, so try to book that instead.
Similarly, IAD-DOH-JNB is not a valid routing. But JFK-DOH-JNB is, so try to book that instead.
Aug 12, 2018, 4:13 pm
#335
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, UA, GE
Posts: 5,123
Can't you just try to purchase an itinerary on the QR website like PHL-DOH-JNB or IAH-DOH-JNB? If the operating airline sells it my guess is it is a valid award itinerary.
Aug 12, 2018, 4:17 pm
#336
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
Hello All,
I wasn't able to answer this question with a search. I booked an award via AA on Qatar from JFK-MCT via Doha. My JFK-DOH flight is booked into business, but the AA agent said only economy is available on the DOH-MCT leg.
The DOH-MCT flight does not operate a business cabin, but only Economy and First. There is availability in First, but the AA agent said they cannot book those seats without charging the higher mileage rate for the entire trip.
I would think this situation is akin to a domestic US flight. Qatar operates Economy and First on it's regional planes in the same way us carriers operate only two cabins domestically. The Agent did not understand the analogy.
Should I call back and push for the F seats on the connection, or is it typical to be booked into economy for similar award connections from business?
I wasn't able to answer this question with a search. I booked an award via AA on Qatar from JFK-MCT via Doha. My JFK-DOH flight is booked into business, but the AA agent said only economy is available on the DOH-MCT leg.
The DOH-MCT flight does not operate a business cabin, but only Economy and First. There is availability in First, but the AA agent said they cannot book those seats without charging the higher mileage rate for the entire trip.
I would think this situation is akin to a domestic US flight. Qatar operates Economy and First on it's regional planes in the same way us carriers operate only two cabins domestically. The Agent did not understand the analogy.
Should I call back and push for the F seats on the connection, or is it typical to be booked into economy for similar award connections from business?
Aug 12, 2018, 4:18 pm
#337
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,600
For something simple like PHL-DOH-JNB, it will be ok since QR publishes a PHL-JNB fare
Aug 12, 2018, 4:20 pm
#338
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
BA agents would sometimes do the same thing on AA two cabin flights with Avios redemptions (they would look at a domestic award and see only "coach" and "first" cabins and try to price first as three times the value of coach when attempting to price a business award).
Aug 12, 2018, 4:21 pm
#339
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, UA, GE
Posts: 5,123
That an airline will sell an itinerary does not mean that that itinerary would be valid for an award. It could be selling based on constructed routings or end-ord-end ticketing et al
For something simple like PHL-DOH-JNB, it will be ok as long as QR offers a PHL-JNB fare
For something simple like PHL-DOH-JNB, it will be ok as long as QR offers a PHL-JNB fare
Aug 12, 2018, 4:56 pm
#340
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
Aug 12, 2018, 5:46 pm
#341
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,600
PHL-JNB via DOH is a published fare and would be eligible - that does not mean that all fares offered on the website will be
Aug 12, 2018, 8:26 pm
#342
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 137
So, to make sure I've got this right: JFK - SIN on QR would need to be booked as two separate awards and not one, right, because it's not transpacific? So that should total up to 110k AA miles for business class? Asking because awardhacker reflects the miles cost from JFK - SIN on QR as 70k for J, which I believe is erroneous.
And, as a general rule of thumb, is it pretty much required that the ex-JFK QSuites flights be booked 331 days out, the moment it is visible to AA agents? Or is it the kind of thing where you could maybe get lucky searching 4-6 months in advance of the flight?
And, as a general rule of thumb, is it pretty much required that the ex-JFK QSuites flights be booked 331 days out, the moment it is visible to AA agents? Or is it the kind of thing where you could maybe get lucky searching 4-6 months in advance of the flight?
Aug 13, 2018, 3:38 pm
#344
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 139
Any recent data points on securing AA Award Travel for JFK-DOH on QR702 (Qsuites)? BA shows zero availability, but i am only just starting to monitor as well as running AwardNexus searches... Looking to travel March/April 2019....Thank you!
Aug 14, 2018, 9:35 pm
#345
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,632
aa.com showing some QR awards
Some QR flights are showing on aa.com award searches. I am seeing DEL-DOH, DOH-LHR; but not DOH-JFK (even though I know from ba.com and qantas.com that DOH-JFK is available for that date).
If I ask for DEL-JFK it offers me DEL-DOH-LHR on QR and then AA or BA for LHR-JFK. Still, this is something, and DOH-US flights may appear soon.
I wouldn't have expected AA IT to be able to pull off such an astonishing feat in such a short time (several years after competitor UA, partner BA, etc implemented searching of all or most partner awards).
If I ask for DEL-JFK it offers me DEL-DOH-LHR on QR and then AA or BA for LHR-JFK. Still, this is something, and DOH-US flights may appear soon.
I wouldn't have expected AA IT to be able to pull off such an astonishing feat in such a short time (several years after competitor UA, partner BA, etc implemented searching of all or most partner awards).
Last edited by SeeBuyFly; Aug 14, 2018 at 9:43 pm