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 18, 2018, 2:33 am
#31
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 2,257
Yep. Did it two months out. Flight dates was in August. Maybe just have to wait for avaialbility to open up later (I wasnt tracking back then so dont know what was the general trend)
Jan 18, 2018, 7:31 am
#32
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 377
I'm searching for the opposite DOH-CPT right this minute. When I was planning this out, there was wide open availability on both my legs: CMB-DOH and DOH-CPT. Fast forward 1-2 months, and I can't find anything in J for DOH-CPT in December.
Jan 18, 2018, 10:25 am
#33
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: South Florida
Programs: AA EXP, HH Diamond, Marriott Platinium
Posts: 1,334
It looks like QR is not releasing award in advance as they used to, looking for December too and I'm having the same problem.
Jan 18, 2018, 11:40 am
#34
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 377
Jan 20, 2018, 12:02 pm
#36
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 21,600
Next problem is DOH-CPT, which is very difficult any time of the year. Try DOH-JNB, then add easy award seat JNB-CPT on BA/Comair.
Also, don't limit yourself to IAD. Try PHL-DOH, ATL-DOH, BOS-DOH or JFK-DOH.
But the bottom line is that finding Christmas available right now will likely be an exercise in futility.
Jan 20, 2018, 12:45 pm
#37
Join Date: Dec 2016
Posts: 11
Your first problem is that the ME3 typically don't release award seats for Christmas/NY travel this far out.
Next problem is DOH-CPT, which is very difficult any time of the year. Try DOH-JNB, then add easy award seat JNB-CPT on BA/Comair.
Also, don't limit yourself to IAD. Try PHL-DOH, ATL-DOH, BOS-DOH or JFK-DOH.
But the bottom line is that finding Christmas available right now will likely be an exercise in futility.
Next problem is DOH-CPT, which is very difficult any time of the year. Try DOH-JNB, then add easy award seat JNB-CPT on BA/Comair.
Also, don't limit yourself to IAD. Try PHL-DOH, ATL-DOH, BOS-DOH or JFK-DOH.
But the bottom line is that finding Christmas available right now will likely be an exercise in futility.
Jan 20, 2018, 12:56 pm
#38
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, UA, GE
Posts: 5,123
Your first problem is that the ME3 typically don't release award seats for Christmas/NY travel this far out.
Next problem is DOH-CPT, which is very difficult any time of the year. Try DOH-JNB, then add easy award seat JNB-CPT on BA/Comair.
Also, don't limit yourself to IAD. Try PHL-DOH, ATL-DOH, BOS-DOH or JFK-DOH.
But the bottom line is that finding Christmas available right now will likely be an exercise in futility.
Next problem is DOH-CPT, which is very difficult any time of the year. Try DOH-JNB, then add easy award seat JNB-CPT on BA/Comair.
Also, don't limit yourself to IAD. Try PHL-DOH, ATL-DOH, BOS-DOH or JFK-DOH.
But the bottom line is that finding Christmas available right now will likely be an exercise in futility.
Jan 21, 2018, 12:40 pm
#39
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,933
Also, once it does become available, make sure you check all days of the week if you see nothing on your preferred day of the week. In the past, QR has often made award seats to/from the USA only available for Mon-Thu departures, not Fri-Sun departures. I'm not sure if this type of availability pattern still applies or not.
Jan 21, 2018, 7:33 pm
#40
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 15
Would it work the opposite way as well? If I'm returning JNB - DOH - USA, could I add CPT - JNB to position for that flight? This is assuming no CPT - DOH availability opens up.
Jan 22, 2018, 4:40 am
#41
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, UA, GE
Posts: 5,123
The only restrictions that I see is the CPT-JNB flight has to arrive JNB less than 24 hours before the JNB-DOH flight departs and that QR uses BA/Comair as a code share partner (which they do).
Last edited by cheltzel; Jan 22, 2018 at 4:50 am
Jan 22, 2018, 5:17 am
#42
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,586
I used it on a CPT-JNB-LHR-ORD flight last July and it priced out as a single award ticket.
The only restrictions that I see is the CPT-JNB flight has to arrive JNB less than 24 hours before the JNB-DOH flight departs and that QR uses BA/Comair as a code share partner (which they do).
The only restrictions that I see is the CPT-JNB flight has to arrive JNB less than 24 hours before the JNB-DOH flight departs and that QR uses BA/Comair as a code share partner (which they do).
What matters is whether it complies with the requirements of AA awards
One of the general rules ( though sometimes doesn't get enforced ) is that the routing rules of the governing carrier permits the desired route
For CPT-LHR , QR's routing rules permit
CPT-BA/MN/QR/SA-JNB-DOH-BA/QR-LON
Since CPT-BA-JNB-DOH-QR-LHR is a permitted routing, it would be expected to be permitted.
If only CPT-DOH-LHR was permitted, then would have expected it not to be permitted despite that both are in OneWorld
Jan 22, 2018, 10:59 am
#43
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,760
I usually found buying a LCC ticket from Kulala.com works the best due to Kulala.com is 100% owned by Comair and if there is any delay they often put people on the BA flight number flights.
When the Rand was at 14 to 15 range, buying tickets were much cheaper as it was just a tad over the surcharge.
Jan 22, 2018, 11:02 am
#44
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,760
I used it on a CPT-JNB-LHR-ORD flight last July and it priced out as a single award ticket.
The only restrictions that I see is the CPT-JNB flight has to arrive JNB less than 24 hours before the JNB-DOH flight departs and that QR uses BA/Comair as a code share partner (which they do).
The only restrictions that I see is the CPT-JNB flight has to arrive JNB less than 24 hours before the JNB-DOH flight departs and that QR uses BA/Comair as a code share partner (which they do).
This routing would cost a lot more out of pocket cash than a CPT-DOH-US, or a CPT-JNB-DOH-US, whether the CPT-JNB is on BA flight number or a separately purchased LCC ticket.
DOH-CPT is much tougher to get than DOH-JNB. I second SFO777's suggestion to use Avios or buy an LCC ticket depending on how much you value your Avios. The JNB-CPT route is shuttle flight like one flight per hour thru out the day. Usually you can find inexpensive fares whether on Kulula.com or on Mango (SA's arm of LCC).
Jan 22, 2018, 11:28 am
#45
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,760
Has anyone recently successfully found DOH-MEL or SYD in J? It seems SYD does not have either F or J but MEL has enough Fs. However I honestly dont want to pay the price to be in A380F because the J has the same access to the bar and the F seats are not private. We had DOH-BKK before. 2 days before departure the flight was filled by a Doha family, so instead of just us and 1 extra passenger up to that point the whole F cabin was full. It wasn't a comfortable flight esp because it was the 2am departure.