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)
Jul 11, 2018, 1:28 pm
#243
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 4
Hi all 
Please forgive my age and apparent stupidity but I have spent the last 4 hours reading through another AA /Qatar redemption forum and after I typed in my question, they wouldn’t take it because I wasn’t a member. So, now I am a member but I wasn’t redirected back to the forum but found this and it shall do.
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?
Thank you all for your patience.
Nonna
Please forgive my age and apparent stupidity but I have spent the last 4 hours reading through another AA /Qatar redemption forum and after I typed in my question, they wouldn’t take it because I wasn’t a member. So, now I am a member but I wasn’t redirected back to the forum but found this and it shall do.
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?
Thank you all for your patience.
Nonna
Jul 11, 2018, 3:32 pm
#244
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 4
Hello all
Please forgive my age and apparent stupidity but I have spent the last 4 hours reading through this forum and I am still confused.
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?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Nonna
Please forgive my age and apparent stupidity but I have spent the last 4 hours reading through this forum and I am still confused.
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?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Nonna
Jul 11, 2018, 3:48 pm
#245
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 2,257
Hello all
Please forgive my age and apparent stupidity but I have spent the last 4 hours reading through this forum and I am still confused.
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?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Nonna
Please forgive my age and apparent stupidity but I have spent the last 4 hours reading through this forum and I am still confused.
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?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Nonna
I didnt verify 5) but i can presume you know what you are doing.
Regarding 6), BA site starts becoming wonky if you dont check availability leg by leg.
You should be able to get all your segments by calling AA, at 150K AA miles per person, assuming there are 2 J award seats available for the dates you want.
Jul 11, 2018, 3:50 pm
#246
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,630
...
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?
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?
The above could be due to (a) QR restrictions, or (b) ba.com weirdness. So the best thing is for you to call AA and see if you are actually able to book it for 75K per person each way. If they say nothing is available, ask if they have checked segment by segment---the best agents will do it both ways, but not all agents will.
PS These segments are not married, but maybe they are divorced. I've seen that happen when booking Etihad, I had to pay for 2 awards.
PS These segments are not married, but maybe they are divorced. I've seen that happen when booking Etihad, I had to pay for 2 awards.
Jul 11, 2018, 6:20 pm
#247
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Lubbock, TX
Programs: AA Plat
Posts: 35
I just booked DFW-DOH-SEZ and SEZ-DOH-IAH with corresponding domestic segments with a similar award availability on BA.con. The agent had significant difficulty booking the award (especially the DOH-IAH segment). After being told several times on the phone that the availability wasn’t available, I firmly asked that they look again. Third time was the charm and they were able to book it. SEZ is in Africa and it cost 300k miles for 2 tickets in J.
Jul 12, 2018, 8:44 am
#249
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
Re: SEZ RTW
I just booked DFW-DOH-SEZ and SEZ-DOH-IAH with corresponding domestic segments with a similar award availability on BA.con. The agent had significant difficulty booking the award (especially the DOH-IAH segment). After being told several times on the phone that the availability wasn’t available, I firmly asked that they look again. Third time was the charm and they were able to book it. SEZ is in Africa and it cost 300k miles for 2 tickets in J.
Jul 12, 2018, 10:49 am
#250
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,630
.
Last edited by SeeBuyFly; Jul 12, 2018 at 12:23 pm
Jul 13, 2018, 10:16 am
#252
Join Date: Jul 2018
Programs: AA Plat pro; Marriott Gold
Posts: 3
AA Award Flight on Qatar in Business - No Business Cabin on Connecting Flight
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?
Jul 13, 2018, 10:18 am
#253
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,437
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.
Jul 13, 2018, 10:21 am
#254
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,437
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?
