Can you continue to e-book Qatar Airways Qsuite awards with American AAdvantage miles?

Qatar Airways’ award-winning Qsuite has lengthy been among the many world’s finest business-class merchandise.

The revolutionary design options sliding-door suites, excessive partitions (providing unbelievable privateness), dine-on-demand meals and drinks, and a very good floor expertise in Hamad Worldwide Airport in Doha (DOH). Briefly, flying Qsuite is a terrific strategy to journey.

However it will get even higher.

The product has usually been bookable utilizing factors and miles, particularly when booked prematurely and with some flexibility in your dates. For a lot of U.S.-based vacationers, this has centered across the American Airways AAdvantage program, which has historically provided Qsuite redemptions at affordable costs — even utilizing a printed award chart.

Nonetheless, TPG readers have lately questioned if Qsuites are nonetheless bookable with AA miles.

Right here is the present state of play, and tricks to redeem your AA miles for optimum worth.

The fundamentals of reserving Qsuites with AA miles

AAdvantage has adopted dynamic pricing for flights operated by American Airways. For now, although, redemptions operated by Oneworld and different companion airways nonetheless use a zone-based award chart, and the redemption charges are terrific. These airways embrace Qatar, British Airways, Qantas, Cathay Pacific, and Iberia.

Associated: The perfect web sites for looking out Oneworld award availability

You will want simply 70,000 American Airways miles plus minimal taxes and costs to fly Qatar Qsuite one-way between the U.S. and the Center East or Indian subcontinent.

You possibly can additionally add a flight between Doha and considered one of a number of African cities that Qatar serves for simply 5,000 extra miles every manner in enterprise class. This implies you may fly one-way between the U.S. and Africa for simply 75,000 AAdvantage miles and minimal taxes and costs.

Suppose you do not stay close to a Qatar Airways gateway. In that case, you could possibly discover an itinerary that means that you can join domestically within the U.S. on American or Alaska Airways for a similar price.

Are these awards out there?

Qatar Airways’ method to releasing award seats has been unpredictable for a while. Nonetheless, some distinctive occasions up to now 18 months could assist to clarify the present state of play:

• In early 2022, Qatar Airways introduced it will undertake Avios because the loyalty forex for its Privilege Membership program. Since then, this has led to some altering costs of awards bookable with Avios. Privilege Membership aligned pricing with different applications that use Avios, like British Airways Government Membership; you may simply transfer Avios between the applications in any course at a 1:1 fee without charge.
• In July 2022, American started flying to Doha for the primary time. So, it began providing award seats on its flights along with these on flights operated by Qatar Airways.
• Qatar hosted the 2022 World Cup, which introduced huge demand for flights to Qatar’s hub in Doha. In consequence, money fares in the course of the occasion had been excessive, and award availability was very scarce.

Enterprise-class award seats on Qatar Airways had been all the time capacity-restrained. Nonetheless, earlier this yr, they grew to become nearly not possible to e-book via companion airline applications like AAdvantage or British Airways Government Membership.

This was a serious change, particularly with American charging 300,000 miles for its personal flight in enterprise class (in comparison with a 70,000-mile companion award operated by Qatar).

It was an analogous story with different companion airways like British Airways, as I can not see Qatar’s availability between the U.S. and Doha via these applications.

Even members of Qatar Airways’ personal Privilege Membership program are solely provided business-class seats to and from the U.S. as “Flexi” awards— for which the airline prices twice the variety of Avios (170,000 per flight) as the same old saver stage.

Are there any options?

Sadly, on the handfuls of searches I ran on the time of publication, I didn’t see any Qsuite (or Qatar enterprise class) availability to or from North America utilizing AA miles.

That mentioned, given the unpredictability of how Qatar Airways releases award seats — each to its members and companions — the present scenario will not be everlasting.

It isn’t all unhealthy information, although. Economic system class seats on Qatar Airways utilizing AA miles are extensively out there on most routes — although Qatar doesn’t have a premium economic system product.

Moreover, a number of Oneworld airways — together with British Airways, Finnair and Iberia — now fly between the U.S. and Doha by way of Europe; availability is great in enterprise class throughout the following 12 months. That is nonetheless charged on the identical 70,000-mile fee. Simply do not forget that British Airways imposes gas surcharges by itself flights, so chances are you’ll want to keep away from BA itineraries.

You may as well redeem AAdvantage miles for flights Etihad operates to the Center East with a terrific business-class product, particularly on the brand new A350 plane. Etihad is a smaller airline than Qatar but it surely flies from a number of of the identical U.S. gateways. Like Qatar, availability from the U.S. to Abu Dhabi Worldwide Airport (AUH) is not incredible, however some seats can be found prematurely.

Flyertalk members have reported some success by looking for connecting itineraries that embrace a home leg throughout the U.S. on American or Alaska earlier than persevering with on a long-haul Qatar flight.
You may additionally discover success looking for itineraries past Doha to different locations within the Center East, South Asia or Africa.

For those who’re tremendous versatile along with your journey plans, you can additionally wait till the final minute, as there tends to be respectable Qatar Airways availability on standard routes for 70,000 American miles.

Lastly, contemplate reserving Qsuite awards from different areas, like Europe. These are nonetheless available and bookable on-line utilizing American miles or different companion miles like British Airways Avios.

earn AAdvantage miles

Past flying with American (and its companions), one of many best methods to earn American AAdvantage miles is thru American Airways bank cards. For instance, you may apply for the Citi® / AAdvantage® Government World Elite Mastercard® and earn 70,000 miles after you spend $7,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening (see charges and costs). This card additionally comes with an array of perks to make your journey with American much more snug.

You may as well switch Bilt Rewards factors on to your American AAdvantage account at a 1:1 ratio. Nonetheless, notice that these transfers can take as much as 24 hours, so chances are you’ll need to put your Fairly award on maintain for those who’re planning to high up your American account on this style.

Lastly, you may earn AA miles via numerous different non-flying actions, together with the AAdvantage purchasing portal, the AAdvantage eating program and the SimplyMiles platform.

Learn extra: earn miles within the American Airways AAdvantage program

Backside line

Sadly, Qatar Airways’ Qsuite redemptions utilizing AAdvantage miles between the U.S. and Doha are largely unavailable when booked at the very least every week prematurely. Whereas you might have some success including a short-haul sector earlier than (or after) the long-haul flight, this didn’t yield success in our searches.

That mentioned, Qsuite flights to or from the U.S. can grow to be out there final minute, and you’ll nonetheless discover them when touring from different areas to Doha and past. You possibly can additionally contemplate reserving AAdvantage award flights on these routes operated by companion airways like Iberia, Finnair or Etihad for a similar low value (pending availability).