The Best Ways to Book Qatar Airways QSuites With Points and Miles
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Qatar Airways has consistently taken the airline industry by storm. With the CEO making controversial statements and the release of the new Qatar Airways QSuites business class, it’s no secret that Qatar Airways has made a name for itself.
Perhaps the biggest way Qatar Airways has impressed the frequent flyer world is the speed with which they’ve rolled out QSuites. This new flagship business class product is arguably the best business class around.
Award availability is generally solid, and the number of routes offering it continues to grow.
The most difficulty you’ll have is figuring out which planes have QSuites and which don’t. Not to worry, however — Upgraded Points has your back!
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A Look Inside Qatar Airways QSuites
Arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration, you’ll have direct aisle access no matter which seat you pick. You’ll also have access to some of the best inflight dining there is, featuring Arabic and Western cuisine.
You’ll also be graciously anointed with stylish amenity kits, fluffy bedding, comfy pajamas, and posh treatment at the care of Qatar Airways flight attendants!
We’ll get more into this in the later sections.
How to Fly Qatar QSuites (Business Class) Using Miles
It’s important to note that Qatar Airways operates 2 types of long-haul business class products. We want to focus on booking QSuites, which are the best and newest business class seats.
You’ll need to pay attention to book this correctly. For example, Qatar Airways offers 3 flights from Doha to Singapore, 2 of which feature QSuites (QR 944/945 and QR 946/947).
To find out which flights offer QSuites, you have to get a hold of the seat map. The best way to do so is with ExpertFlyer, a paid service that costs $9.99/month or $99 for 12 months.
Here’s what QSuites looks like with a 1-2-1 configuration:
Here’s what the Qatar Airways old business class looks like:
Alternatively, you can try to use the free service of SeatGuru, but we find ExpertFlyer more reliable.
Here are all the current QSuites route offerings:
| Route (from shortest to longest) | Frequency |
| Doha (DOH) – Mumbai (BOM) | Daily (QR 556/557) |
| Doha (DOH) – Bengaluru (BLR) | Daily (QR 572/573) |
| Doha (DOH) – Colombo (CMB) | Daily (QR 668/669) |
| Doha (DOH) – Munich (MUC) | Twice daily (QR 59/60 and 57/58) |
| Doha (DOH) – Berlin (BER) | Twice daily (QR 81/82 & 77/78) |
| Doha (DOH) – Stockholm (ARN) | Daily (QR 171/172) |
| Doha (DOH) – Frankfurt (FRA) | Twice daily (twice daily (QR 67/68) |
| Doha (DOH) – Amsterdam (AMS) | Daily (QR 273/274) |
| Doha (DOH) – Paris (CDG) | Daily until March 30, 2019 (QR 37/38) |
| Doha (DOH) – London (LHR) | 3 times daily (check regularly for aircraft changes) |
| Doha (DOH) – Bangkok (BKK) | Daily (QR 830/831) |
| Doha (DOH) – Singapore (SIN) | 3 times daily (QR 942/943, 944/945, 946/947) |
| Doha (DOH) – Hong Kong (HKG) | Twice daily (QR 815/816 and 817/818) |
| Doha (DOH) – Shanghai (PVG) | Daily (QR 870/871) |
| Doha (DOH) – Tokyo-Narita (NRT) | Daily (QR 806/807) |
| Doha (DOH) – Tokyo-Haneda (HND) | Daily (QR 812/813) |
| Doha (DOH) – Boston (BOS) | Daily (QR 743/744) |
| Doha (DOH) – New York City (JFK) | Twice daily (QR 703/704 and 701/702) |
| Doha (DOH) – Philadelphia (PHL) | Daily (QR 727/728) |
| Doha (DOH) – Washington D.C. (IAD) | Daily (QR 707/708) |
| Doha (DOH) – Adelaide (ADL) | Daily (QR 914/915) |
| Doha (DOH) – Chicago O’Hare (ORD) | Daily (QR 725/726) |
| Doha (DOH) – Sydney (SYD) – Canberra (CBR) | Daily (QR 906/907) |
| Doha (DOH) – Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) | Daily (QR 729/730) |
| Doha (DOH) – Houston (IAH) | Daily (QR 713/714) |
| Doha (DOH) – Los Angeles (LAX) | Daily (QR 739/740) |
| Doha (DOH) – San Francisco (SFO) | 4 times weekly from December 15, 2020 (QR 737/738) |
| Doha (DOH) – Sao Paulo (GRU) – Buenos Aires (EZE) | Daily (QR 773/774) |
| Doha (DOH) – Auckland (AKL) | Daily (QR 920/921) |
As you will find out below, the best ways to book Qatar Airways QSuites do not actually include using Qatar Airways miles. Instead, the best ways are through airline partners.
Oneworld partners are eligible to book Qatar Airways flights, so long as Qatar Airways releases award availability to these partners. We’ll talk more about that in the sections below.
American Airlines AAdvantage Program
American Airlines employs a region-based award chart. We like using this program because it has some pretty cheap sweet spots, especially from the U.S. to the Middle East.
Here’s why we rank American Airlines at the top of our list:
- Easy to earn miles through welcome bonuses
- Excellent sweet spot on U.S. to Middle East routes
- Straightforward booking process
- Can hold awards for 5 days
- No fuel surcharges on Qatar Airways flights
Although American Airlines only has 1 transfer partner (Marriott), the best way to earn American Airlines miles is through the welcome bonuses on Citi and Barclays co-branded credit cards.
Here’s the award chart for Qatar Airways flights to/from the Middle East using AA miles:
Here are the steps to book:
- Visit British Airways’ website to search for award availability
- Log into your account using your Member ID and Password
- Click Spend Avios (located when expanding the Executive Club banner on the top of the page)
- Click Book a reward flight
- Enter your desired dates for travel, destination and origin cities, and check off the box that chooses Business/Club
- Locate your flight
- Write down the flight numbers, dates, and times.
- Call AA at 1-800-882-8880 and provide them with the information you wrote down.
- If you need to transfer your Marriott points to American or top off your AA miles balance, request to put your award on hold.
- Pay for applicable taxes and fees.
- Be sure to ask for the Qatar Airways record locator! This will allow you to select your seats in advance through Qatar Airways’ website.
Bottom Line: AA’s easy-to-use frequent flyer program, allowance for 5-day award holds, and great sweet spots for flights between America and the Middle East make it a no-brainer!
Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
If you are looking for the cheapest redemption cost, look no further than Japan Airlines. They use a distance-based award chart, so the optimal usage of miles will be at the longer end of a distance range.
With the exception of the incredibly short routes from Mumbai or Bangalore to Doha (where oddly enough British Airways Avios is the cheapest method to book QSuites), Japan Airlines will at all times be the cheapest mileage cost.
Their drawback, however, is the lack of transfer partners. The only transfer partner is Marriott, so the best ways to earn Japan Airlines miles might be more limited than, say, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles or British Airways Avios.
However, your mileage cost will be lower than Cathay Pacific and British Airways for the most part, so it might be worth it to transfer your Marriott points to JAL.
Hot Tip: Even with the recent devaluation on November 20, 2018, it is often still worth it to use Japan Airlines to book your QSuites flights.
Here’s how to use Japan Airlines miles to book your QSuites flight:
- Use British Airways to search for award availability
- Log in using your British Airways Member ID and Password
- Click Spend Avios underneath the Executive Club banner
- Click Book a Reward Flight
- Type in your desired travel dates, Business/Club, number of passengers, and route
- Write down all flight information
- Visit Japan Airlines
- Select your City and Language
- Log in with your JAL Mileage Bank ID and Password
- Select Award Ticket on the red banner next to Flight Status
- Select Book JMB Partner Airlines Award Ticket under the 2 main icons
- Select Qatar Airways from the dropdown menu
- Repeat the same award search to verify award availability
- Reserve your flights and pay for any applicable taxes and fees
It’s possible to skip the British Airways steps to searching award availability, but British Airways is reliable and easy to use, which acts as a foolproof mechanism.
Hot Tip: Be sure to look into Japan Airlines’ routing rules to help you optimize your trip even more!
If you’re sitting on a stockpile of Marriott points, using Japan Airlines to book your QSuites flights might be worth it.
Just keep in mind that the transfer times can be up to 7 business days for transfers to execute from Marriott to JAL.
Bottom Line: If you want to preserve your precious points/miles, using Japan Airlines miles might be best for you. Keep in mind you can only transfer Marriott points, which may take a while. Look into adding stopovers and open-jaws to truly optimize your trip!
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
Using Cathay Pacific Asia Miles is great if you have a lot of Citi ThankYou Rewards Points or American Express Membership Rewards points.
Asia Miles is a transfer partner with Citi, American Express, and Marriott.
Importantly, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles employs a distance-based award chart for Oneworld partners, similar to Japan Airlines. Cathay Pacific has 3 award charts, but we’ll focus on the single partner award chart in this guide.
Fuel surcharges will be passed on in this case, with around $600-$700 each way being the price tag for QSuites flights between America and the Middle East.
The best use of Asia Miles to book QSuites is to build it into a complex itinerary. What do I mean?
Here’s an example route starting in Los Angeles that you can fly using Asia Miles:
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Tokyo-Narita (NRT) on Japan Airlines 777 Sky Suite business class
- Osaka (KIX) – Hong Kong (HKG) on Cathay Pacific 777 business class (they fly A330’s too!)
- Hong Kong (HKG) – Doha (DOH) on Qatar Airways QSuites
- Doha (DOH) – Sydney (SYD) on Qatar Airways QSuites
- Sydney (SYD) – Singapore (SIN) on Qantas A330 business class
- Kuala Lumpur (KUL) – Hong Kong (HKG) on Cathay Pacific business class
- Hong Kong (HKG) – Los Angeles (LAX) on American Airlines 777 flagship business class
You can fly this 31,335-mile route between 6 countries, 6 airlines, with 65 hours of total flight time for only 210,000 Asia Miles.
I’ve always been a huge fan of Asia Miles for this specific purpose: complex Oneworld itineraries involving lots of partners and countries.
Compare this to the round-trip business class cost between Los Angeles and Doha, which costs 180,000 Asia Miles! For only 30,000 more Asia Miles, you get to fly double the amount of miles, visit 5 more countries, and try 5 more airlines!
The biggest challenge will definitely be searching for award availability.
Here’s a step-by-step booking guide for your Asia Miles to fly QSuites:
- Visit British Airways and follow the same steps listed in the American Airlines and Japan Airlines sections above to search for availability
- Once you have found award availability for all your flights and written down all the flight information including dates, times, and flight numbers, give Asia Miles a phone call at 866-892-2598
- Provide them with all your flight information
- Confirm your reservation and pay for taxes and fees
Bottom Line: Cathay Pacific Asia Miles presents an unbelievable value proposition for complex itineraries involving travel on multiple airlines to many countries.
British Airways Avios
The last method we’ll talk about is using British Airways Avios. We included this section not because of the industry-leading redemption rates, but because its a transfer partner with Chase Ultimate Rewards.
There are plenty of travelers who are Chase loyalists. Since Qatar Airways is a Oneworld partner, it’s difficult to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points here, as its focus has been on the Star Alliance.
British Airways is pretty much your only option, so if you’ve got lots of Chase Ultimate Rewards points to burn, you’ll find great use in this section.
Another plus is that your taxes and fees will be pretty minimal on short-haul/regional routes, ranging from $69 to $225 each way. Remember, fuel surcharges will be extremely high, in excess of $600+ one way on long haul routes from the United States.
Hot Tip: Avios are best if you just wanted to try QSuites on short-haul routes, like to/from Doha and Mumbai or Bengaluru.
Specifically, it will cost 20,000 Avios each way to fly from Doha (DOH) to either Mumbai (BOM) or Bengaluru (BLR). Not bad for a 3-hour flight!
While it is entirely possible and easy to use Avios to fly QSuites, we generally don’t recommend this method unless you are truly just sitting on a pile of Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
Even then, there are other ways to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
If you’re interested in flying from Doha to Mumbai or Bengaluru in QSuites, BA Avios are actually the cheapest.
If you’ve decided to use Avios to book QSuites, follow this easy process:
- Search for availability on British Airways
- Transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to British Airways
- Pay with miles and for any taxes and fees completely online.
Bottom Line: British Airways Avios are great here for Chase Ultimate Rewards loyalists who want to try QSuites on short-haul flights.
Great QSuites Redemptions & Points Required
Now that we’ve talked about some of the best frequent flyer programs for flying QSuites, let’s talk about what you came here for: the best QSuites redemptions!
There are 28 routes that either currently offer QSuites or will be offering it within 3 months.
Here’s a chart of the award redemption costs between Doha and the U.S. for some of their best routes:
| Route | JAL one-way (round-trip) | AA one-way (round-trip) | Cathay Pacific one-way (round-trip) | British Airways one-way (round-trip) |
| Boston (BOS) – Doha (DOH) | 80,000 (100,000) | 70,000 (140,000) | 75,000 (150,000) | 105,000 (210,000) |
| Philadelphia (PHL) – Doha (DOH) | 80,000 (100,000) | 70,000 (140,000) | 75,000 (150,000) | 105,000 (210,000) |
| New York City (JFK) – Doha (DOH) | 80,000 (100,000) | 70,000 (140,000) | 75,000 (150,000) | 105,000 (210,000) |
| Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Doha (DOH) | 80,000 (100,000) | 70,000 (140,000) | 75,000 (150,000) | 150,000 (300,000) |
| Chicago O’Hare (ORD) – Doha (DOH) | 80,000 (130,000) | 70,000 (140,000) | 75,000 (150,000) | 150,000 (300,000) |
| Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) – Doha (DOH) | 80,000 (130,000) | 70,000 (140,000) | 75,000 (150,000) | 150,000 (300,000) |
| Houston (IAH) – Doha (DOH) | 100,000 (130,000) | 70,000 (140,000) | 90,000 (180,000) | 150,000 (300,000) |
| Los Angeles (LAX) – Doha (DOH) | 100,000 (130,000) | 70,000 (140,000) | 90,000 (180,000) | 150,000 (300,000) |
Bottom Line: As you will see above, we can conclude that for flights between the U.S. and Doha, one-way flights using AA miles are cheapest, and round-trip flights using Japan Airlines miles are cheapest.
Here are a few great uses of Japan Airlines miles for QSuites:
- Washington, D.C. (IAD) – Doha (DOH) round-trip for 100,000 Japan Airlines miles
- New York City (JFK) – Doha (DOH) round-trip for 100,000 Japan Airlines miles
- Sydney (SYD) – Doha (DOH) round-trip for 130,000 Japan Airlines miles
Here are some examples of the best uses of American Airlines miles for QSuites:
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Doha (DOH) one-way for 70,000 AA miles
- Houston (IAH) – Doha (DOH) one-way for 70,000 AA miles
- Tokyo-Narita (NRT) – Doha (DOH) one-way for 40,000 AA miles
Here are some interesting ways to use Cathay Pacific Asia Miles for QSuites:
- Berlin (BER) – Doha (DOH) one-way for 30,000 Asia Miles
- Shanghai (PVG) – Doha (DOH) one-way for 50,000 Asia Miles
- Sao Paulo (GRU) – Doha (DOH) one-way for 75,000 Asia Miles
And here are some awesome redemptions using British Airways Avios for QSuites:
- Mumbai (BOM) – Doha (DOH) one-way for 20,000 Avios
- Bengaluru (BLR) – Doha (DOH) one-way for 20,000 Avios
- Frankfurt (FRA) – Doha (DOH) one-way for 37,500 Avios
- Hong Kong (HKG) – Doha (DOH) one-way for 60,000 Avios
How to Earn Enough Points for QSuites
If you’ve decided to book a flight on these industry-leading QSuites, you’ll be pleased to find that there are tons of avenues to earn points for QSuites.
With Marriott points, you can transfer them to Japan Airlines, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, and British Airways Avios at a 3:1 ratio. Furthermore, if you transfer 60,000 Marriott points, you will receive a 5,000-mile bonus, resulting in a total of 25,000 miles.
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles also transfer 1:1 to American Express and Citi. Be on the lookout for transfer bonuses with American Express (up to 30%) and Citi (up to 20%).
British Airways Avios also transfer at 1:1 to Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express. Watch for transfer bonuses with American Express (up to 40%).
Hot Tip: For even more ways to earn, check out our in-depth article on The Best Ways to Earn Qatar Airways Qmiles!
When Should You Search for Award Space?
QSuites generally have excellent award availability; this is especially true on new routes. For example, the upcoming route between Los Angeles to Doha starting on February 2, 2019, has tons of award availability.
Here’s a snapshot of the AA calendar view for nonstop QSuites award availability on the brand-new Los Angeles-Doha route:
As long as you can work in some degree of flexibility, you should not have a problem finding QSuites award availability. Just be sure to check the seat map on SeatGuru or ExpertFlyer before booking your flights!
If you’re looking for the most reliable award search engine and have your dates narrowed down to a small range, use British Airways to search for availability.
To see a calendar of award availability, you can use American Airlines or Qantas — they can be somewhat unreliable when it comes to showing award inventory, but it’s an option nonetheless.
What Makes QSuites a Great Redemption?
If you’re on this page, you probably already know that Qatar Airways’ QSuites is one of the best business class products in the world (if not the best). You can expect a luxurious inflight and ground experience here.
Let’s get into just how good QSuites is.
Business Class Double Bed
The QSuites double bed is arguably the most comfortable bed in the sky. Each of the seats in the business class cabin is arranged in a staggered 1-2-1 configuration with direct aisle access offered everywhere.
Seats are 21.5″ wide and recline to a fully-flat bed that is 79″ long! Even better, traveling with your family is made fun by the fact that you can reconfigure your seats to be a mini-cabin like this:
Al Mourjan Business Class Lounge
Enjoy a gigantic business class lounge complete with stellar dining options, a game room, and multiple floors of space! Signature dishes offered in the buffet are Arabic Middle Eastern foods such as baba ganoush and mezze.
QSuites BRIC’s Amenity Kit and The White Company Pajamas
This amenity kit features luxurious toiletries from BRIC’s, an eye mask, socks, and a fancy hard-shell carrying case, along with comfy pajamas are offered in QSuites from The White Company!
Priority Check-In and Boarding
You’ll be able to board ahead of everyone else when flying in QSuites!
Hot Tip: If you are interested in reading more about the Q Suites experience, check out our review of Qatar Airline’s QSuites Business Class on a Boeing 777 from Sydney to Doha.
Final Thoughts
With a brand-new all-star business class, Qatar Airways has successfully made its way into travelers’ minds as a hugely aspirational product.
Although it might be confusing to figure out which planes feature QSuites, it’s only going to get better with Qatar Airways ramping up the rollout of these awesome business class products.
Hi Stephen, thanks again for another great write up. Currently we have interest in only two routes flying the QSuites: Maldives to JFK & JFK to Tokyo. But doesn’t seem like that’s part of the routes you’ve mentioned above. I thought Qatar flies the Qsuites from the Maldives to JFK via DOH? Maybe I’m wrong. Also for the JFK to Tokyo, does this mean I have to break my redemption onto 2 (JFK to DOH & then DOH to NRT)? Thanks!
Hey Ethan,
Thanks for the feedback! Yes, they fly 3 times daily to MLE. The flight with QSuites is QR 674, so you will want to make sure you can fly on that plane. QR 676 is an A320 with a 2-2 configuration (no good!). The last flight, QR 672, as of now, is a reverse-herringbone business class in a 1-2-1 configuration (not QSuites, but not bad either).
About your JFK-DOH-NRT itinerary, you’ll need to break your redemption into 2 if you’re booking through AA, for example. AA doesn’t let you transfer to Asia via the Atlantic Ocean. Cathay Pacific Asia Miles doesn’t matter because it’s distance-based anyway. Hope this helps!
We were looking at this flight (DOH-MLE) for June 1…it looks from ExpertFlyer like 672 has been converted to the QSuites by then…can you confirm?
Hey Croc,
We are not able to predict Qatar Airways’ operational changes. If you see the correct seat layout, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy QSuites.
However there’s still a chance it may be swapped. You should be fine, though.
Thank you Stephen, that’s very helpful! Just to confirm, the QR 674, I can redeem that as one booking from MLE to JFK (with a connection in DOH) right?
Hey Ethan, yes you should be able to!
Hi! I have never gotten a straight answer on this and when I call to book it always seems to be more mile than I expected 🙂 . How many American miles should it take to fly from the east coast (DC) to Asia 2 on Qatar? I thought it was 75k/80k for the whole way but the agents always tell me it is that many just to get to Doha alone. Thanks!
Hi Christina, you may not travel to Asia 2 via the Middle East. Your travel must be transpacific only as per AA’s routing rules.
https://www.aa.com/i18n/aadvantage-program/miles/redeem/award-travel/oneworld-and-other-airline-partner-award-chart.jsp
Look at Asia Region 2, and you will see “Asia Region 2^”, and the footnote says “^Transpacific only”.
Hi there, thanks for this informative post I will definitely remain a long time reader.
I’m a noob who has found himself with 1.5Mil Amex points so I am trying to wrap my head around this whole industry.
Im confused as to why you used British airways first as opposed to going directly to Asia Miles website to find availability?
Hi Leo!
Thanks for reading, and congratulations on accruing all those AmEx points. British Airways has the best IT and is very user-friendly when it comes to searching for Oneworld flights. As a result, you just search on British Airways to confirm the award seats are indeed available. After that, you’ll call AA or Cathay Pacific Asia Miles or whatever airline to book your flights!
QR740 from LAX to DOH appears to be Qsuites for much of 2019 but then switches back to old product configuration after 10/26/19. Do you think that is accurate? or is their system just misrepresenting the configuration? I see the same on ExpertFlyer.
Hi Nicesharky,
There is a possibility that the QSuites will be reverted to the old business class after that date. However, we don’t currently have any guidance or information regarding this.
I kept my booking and noticed yesterday that the seat configuration changed to Qsuites for the LAX-DOH segments. I logged on and was able to confirm our Qsuites seat assignments! Can’t wait to try these!
Hi, I’m trying to book Sydney to Rome using AA points but there is no availability on Qatar.
I have tried through British Airways and American Airlines phone number and website.
I definitely want to travel Qatar as we have done so previously; why can’t I book using my AA points
Thank you!
Pamella
Hi Pamella! Award inventory does depend on your dates of travel, and routing – and we know from experience that Qatar availability can sometimes be hit or miss, especially on such a long segment such as the one you’re referencing from Sydney. If you would, can you let me know the dates you are searching and I can take a look for you to see what might (or might not) be available? I’d be glad to help. Thanks for reading. 🙂
Hi I am new to award redemption and I have read many articles about how to do it and I still find it overwhelming. Do u provide fee based service to assist in when to buy awadd points and subsequently assist in flight booking?
I would like to do Qatar business class form Sydney to Europe and maybe return via Japan Airlines business..
Hi Jamie,
Sorry, but we don’t have any fee based services. It can definitely be overwhelming at first, but keep reading and it will start to come together. If you have any specific questions we are happy to try to answer them for you.
I was booked on QR815 march 25 it was originally a QSuite config and now it’s changed to the old business. I wanted to cry 😢
Hi Jacqueline,
Oh no! That’s awful. That’s got to be frustrating. I hope you can enjoy the flight anyways.
Well guess what, I’ve looked up all other QR815 within the Month and MY FLIGHT was the only one that was swapped out from a Qsuite config. I should go buy a lottery ticket.
Oh Wow! Those are crazy odds!
I’m trying to book Qsuites from JFK or PHL (flexible) to DOH to MLE
I can’t seem to find availability in September for either, but if I see that maybe there is open seats on expert flyer – could I use call AA using that information? Or does availability open up closer to that time?
Hey Amanda,
Try to search using British Airways and call AA once you’ve found availability. Thanks for reading!
Are there any QSuites routes from Canada to Doha?
Hey Isaac,
At the moment, QSuites is only sometimes offered on flights between Montreal (YUL) and Doha (DOH). Please check ExpertFlyer for a 1-2-1 configuration as shown in this post. Additionally, remember that the aircraft is subject to change, especially since this isn’t a regular offering.
When using AA or Amex miles and flying from LAX through Doha, where are we able to fly on to, and what is the total mileage cost? I know that is vague but can we fly to CAI? IST? TLV? DAR? Great job with this blog. Extremely meticulous and well thought out.
Hey Shaun,
If you’re talking about maintaining the same award price and flying through Doha, you’ll have to go through an award region that is at least as expensive as your transit region. Since Doha is in the Middle East, you can fly to a different city in the Middle East or Africa. You can’t end up in Europe, for example, since Europe is a cheaper region.
Great article Stephen. Thanks for all the valuable info.
Between me and my wife we have accumulated about 600k AA points (accrual from credit card spend/bonuses and purchased miles when they were offering steep bonuses). We have started planning our next vacations to take benefit of Q suites and have currently booked RT tickets on Qatar to JNB.
The question I have is, am having great difficulty in finding any award availability in Nov from DFW to Hyderabad (HYD) on Qatar or even DFW to Qatar. Is it generally the case?
Does Qatar release more award seats on AA in the future ? How does that work ?
Hey Praneeth,
Thanks for reading. Award availability on Qatar is best from Chicago, Los Angeles, or Houston. You can try to search there or just continue to look for availability. Qatar QSuites is generally pretty attainable with award availability, but you just have to be a bit creative.
They may release more seats closer to departure (within 1 week of departure). Thanks for your support.
Great article! Thank you for the information. My husband and I are trying to fly the QSuites RT from Chicago to CPT (or anywhere honestly) in February 2020 but we want the middle section. I called AA to book with MileSAAver points, but all of the middle section seats were booked or blocked off. Do you know if I book a window seat through American if I can call and change my seat with Qatar to the middle section? Do they typically block them or do we think they are actually booked up 10 months in advance? Thanks for your help!
Hey Kate,
Yes, Qatar Airways typically blocks off most of the middle seats. They open up these seats closer to departure. Since almost all of the middle seats are blocked, there’s a high probability that you will be able to get a pair of seats when you check in at the airport.
I had the same issue with blocked seats……
Couldn’t picked middle seats on AA or Qatar Air website….
Solution- I googled Qatar Air USA number gave them a call and was able to book the middle seats…took about 3 minutes to complete.
Hope this helps
Hey Ricardo,
Calling Qatar Airways is one of the best ways to reserve your seats. Thanks for sharing!
Wow, I want to know more about that epic trip using Asia Miles. I may have to get another Amex card to top off my balance for something like that!
Hey Chris!
We definitely consider all the options and and there’s tons of ways to get huge, outsized value (we’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars in flights)!
Thanks for reading!
Hi Stephen,
so for what you mentioned was a “complex itinerary”, we call Asia Miles, and ask them for mile requirements for the aforementioned 6 flights, wont they see each individually which could end up costing a small fortune ?
thanks
Hey Amrit, you’ll need to tell them that you want to book a “oneworld multi-carrier reward flight”. You also want to make sure that there’s award availability for all your flights in your desired cabin class before calling. You can do so via ExpertFlyer, for example.
Does BA&AA use married segments with QR? Also, it seems to me that what AA shows on its calendar doesn’t match what BA shows on its calendar. LAX-SEZ shows 4 J awards seats on 3/13/20 via AA but BA doesn’t show that? Phantom? Or is AA’s calendar more reliable than BA’s. Or is there a glitch for QR on BA.com?
Hey Andrew, it’s a well-known issue that British Airways’ search engine has difficulty with connecting flights.
To get around this, you can search individual segments and cross reference with Qantas. Thanks for reading!
AA is relatively reliable for QR flights. But BA will still be best.
My wife and I flew Q-Suites BOS-DOH for 70k AA miles per ticket then Doh-ICN for 40k per ticket, spent a couple hundred bucks and flew from ICN to Jeju island then Jeju to Tokyo… Then we splurged and flew home JAL first class NRT-BOS for 80k AA miles per ticket.
Petty incredible that both of us had 2 Q-Suite flights and JAL First Class for 190k AA miles a piece…
This is an awesome article. Thank you for the detailed information. I tried booking QSuites back in Feb 2019 from Delhi back to US and I am trying to do the same for Labor day weekend, but neither BA not Qantas is showing any availability. Also, Qnatas usually doesn’t display DOH as a starting point. Any suggestions? I am trying to fly on Sep 2 from DEL-DOH and DOH to PHL or JFK or DFW. We are two passengers and I can’t wait to try the QSuites, if I can. I can use AA miles or JAL (tranfer from Marriott)
Adi,
As is the case with all excellent business class products, you’ll need to be flexible to successfully book. If not, you’ll have to plan very far out in advance (~11 months out). Use BA to search from Doha since Qantas won’t show any flights FROM Doha. If you fly TO Doha, you can use Qantas to search. Otherwise, stick with BA and AA. Thanks for reading!
I’m planning to travel to India in May 2020. I’ve 71K Citi points & 48K Capital One points. If I transfer to Asia Miles, I would have around 107,000 miles. I would like to visit an Asian country like Singapore or Hong Kong. Can you please help me book a oneway business class ticket to Hyderabad via Singapore, Hong Kong or any other country to spend 2 to 3 days en route to Hyderabad, India?
Hi Raju,
What city/country would you be starting your itinerary from? Knowing that will make all the difference in determining what routing will be possible for you with the number of points you have. Have you seen our post on the best ways to fly to India with points and miles? You can check it out here: https://upgradedpoints.com/best-ways-to-fly-to-india-with-points/
I am planning to travel LAX-DOH in NOV and trying to use AA miles to book QSuites but i am not able to find any flights. Somehow i am not able to find any flights from any of the US airports. I even called the AA and it was not showing for them as well. Any thoughts or suggestions on how to proceed?
Hey Amabarish,
As always is the case, you need to be as flexible as possible. QSuites are a very hot product, and many travelers plan up to 11 months in advance. If you’re looking for November flights (5 months away), you won’t have much luck. Best advice: Plan further out in advance or look again within 1-2 weeks of departure. Thanks for reading!
BA and AA are not showing any direct flights from LAX-Doha. They are all routing to Europe first with a connection to Doha. Any idea what the issue is?
Hi Michae,
Award availability is always subject to the airlines’ rules and inventory. As such, we always suggest to keep look for the itineraries you want and be flexible with dates. Thanks for reading!
Hey guys,
I’ve had a one-world award trip planned for many months now but at the crucial time of booking for an approx June/July 2020 trip I can’t find a single DOH-JFK flight in business available for awards. Is it possible that these are so rare that unless I’m there the moment they open they are all being booked by someone else. Literally can’t find any dates at all – even in the months prior.
Hey Kyah,
Thanks for reading. There’s something weird going on with Qatar Airways QSuites availability on North American routes right now. Please keep trying and hope for the best. Thanks!
I have been looking for QR space for any flights back to the US from Doha for April of next year and I have found zero availability for the first three weeks. Something is certainly going on.
Is there a time limit between stopovers/open jaws for a oneworld multi-carrier award? I’m trying to get from KUL – FRA (via DOH) and have onward travel to other European / African destinations over the next 6 months (I’m traveling full-time). Wondering if I can combine them — i.e. book the KUL – DOH – FRA over a couple of days in October, then book another routing (say, VLC – CPT) 3 months later
There’s no mention of it in their rules
https://www.asiamiles.com/en/terms-and-conditions/service/flight-award-oneworld-multi-carrier-awards.html
Hey Lindsey,
No restrictions besides the fact that all travel must be completed within 1 year of ticket issue.
Great article and very helpful as I’m planning our trip to India. Any idea why the Boston route is listed only until October 25th, 2019? Our trip is after that; do you anticipate the route being discontinued? Wondering if flying out of JFK might be the safer option to ensure Q suite. Thanks!
Hi Kristina, the QSuites is currently showing past October 25, 2019 via ExpertFlyer’s Seat Map. If you have ExpertFlyer, I would highly encourage you to check the schedule prior to booking again. Thanks for reading.
If I go to pretend book on the exact day and flight number I want in January on Qatar’s own website, it is showing QSuites. Will ExpertFlyer be more reliable even than that, or is it safe to assume availability? Thanks so much again.
Kristina,
We don’t suggest searching for availability using Qatar Airways’ website. The reason why is because they might reserve more QSuites for their own loyalty members. Unless you’re planning on booking using Qatar Airways Qmiles (which is a terrible idea), then we would suggest using AA or BA to search.
I’ve been checking AA’s website very day for 331 days out…Business awards show up at midnight (Dallas time or LA if that’s the departure city), and the Qatar Business awards show available, with flight numbers and times. When I select a flight and click “Continue” the system comes back with “the flight you selected is no longer available”. Yet, if I search again (all day long) those flights show available until midnight the next day, when the process starts over. This is true for all US gateway cities (JFK, IAD, ORD, etc). Am I missing something? Are these seats really available?
Hi Kevin, good question. You may want to try to call American Airlines to book these award tickets. Unfortunately, they have a history of failing when being booked online, despite the seats actually being bookable. Rest assured that this is a pretty quick process over the phone.
Stephen…. i’ve been trying to get the Qsuites for DAL-DOH and when i clickin the business/first Milesaver for 70k, when the flight show up it Will only display flight to DOH via LHR. When i click on economy milesaver then it Will show flight QR730.. do you know why? Not even in the first milesaver 115k would it let me (here it sends flight to FRA)
Rodrigo,
You need to find availability in the cabin that you want. So, finding economy awards on a specific flight doesn’t mean business or first class will be available. In fact, most flights will always have economy availability, but very few will have business or first. You’ll need to search harder for real non-stop award availability.
1) BA has no direct flights to Doha from any USA airport available on QATAR, i tried all airports (starting from Cleveland BUT searching from PHL/IAD/IAH/LAX/ORD etc to DOH) and no direct flights available from USA To DOH from tomorrow to as far as searching in 2020 that BA website allows. All flights go via LHR and it’s either BA on one or both legs…. If Qatar is there for LHR to DOH, Qsuites are not available. Something has to be wrong……Even called AA directly and agent on phone could not see any Business class seats at all…..Either something is wrong/has a glitch…or am i missing something?
2) From DOH to AMD (Ahmadabad) or Mumbai, again no Business class award seats available from tomorrow till May/June/July 2020…..Guess all freebies have snatched them i guess (When freebies/sale is there, U will see Indians like “flies on open sweets”
Pardon the Sarcasm but if there is an issue, let us know as neither BA search or AA website/phone call is finding any direct USA flight to DOH under Business award seat/Qsuites, nor is any Business seat available from DOH to AMD or MUM……..annoying and frustrating it is
Hi Rahul,
Please remember that QSuites are among the most competitive in the world to book using points and miles. If you can’t find any award availability far in advance. The best move is to book availability close-in just before departure.
Cities such as Houston and New York City (JFK) tend to have better award availability.
I have had the same issue trying to book business class on Qatar. The AA website will show it is available and then when I try to book it says there is an error and doesn’t allow me to book it. I am trying to book dates that are just coming into their system. I have called AA multiple times and they have been no help either. Someone told me it might be phantom space but when I have tried to book an economy ticket on flights from different departure cities to DOH I get the same error message. It always shows me the flight is available up until I actually try to book it. It sounds to me like Qatar isn’t really a partner with Oneworld. If they aren’t allowing people to book an award with AA miles then why are they even listed as a partner. It makes no sense to me.
Hi Stephen, thanks for the wonderful article again. I have a question: I want to travel in December from LAX to ATQ (Amritsar) on Qatar Qirways. The flight goes from LAX-DOH-ATQ. I have 180,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points that I can transfer to British Airways Executive Club. But I am not able to find any reward flight. How can I find the connecting reward flight for this route. Thanks!
Hi GD,
Unfortunately, the airlines very carefully regulate the number of award flights. Many of these people who booked these long-haul flights in amazing business class seats plan a full year in advance. Although your chances of getting that flight are slim, you can keep searching on British Airways or use American Airlines to view a monthly calendar.
More award seats might be released a few days before departure, but it’s unlikely. Thanks for reading.
Hi. I bought a one-way economy ticket from Chicago to Kuala Lumpur on Qatar Airlines. Can I use my friends’ or my AA miles to upgrade to business class?
Hello. You can use AAdvantage miles to upgrade on American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia flights but unfortunately you cannot use them to upgrade on Qatar.
Hi Stephen!
I realize this is an older post, and I’m sorry for keeping the thread going. From what it looks like, QR availability really does seem to be hit/miss (leaning more on the miss side). I’m trying to book two QSuites seats for the last week of December 2020/first week of January 2021, using AsiaMiles (as part of an RTW ticket (last leg is KHI-DFW via DOH)). Is 11 months out still the best timeframe to book? I have a daily search scheduled on AwardNexus via both BA and AsiaMiles, but no dice so far.
Thanks again for such a helpful and thorough writeup.
Sean,
The best advice is to book closer to departure. You’ll notice a good wealth of award space opening up on some routes, such as Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Chicago (ORD), and Boston (BOS).
RE: Chicago to SJJ (Sarajevo) on Qatar. If your destination is actually Europe, would your AA miles cost be 70,000 in biz (The mid-east coast) or some lesser amount? Thank you.
Hi Deb,
You’re actually not allowed to transit through a more expensive region when using AA miles. If you want to book ORD-DOH-SJJ, you’d have to split it up into 2 separate flights. You’ll pay the individual prices for each flight. That means 70,000 miles plus 42,500 miles for the entire itinerary.
Are there Qsuites on the Miami route? Got some biz class seats on hold, but how to confirm that?
Hi Eric,
When is your flight and what type of plane are you scheduled to fly on? QSuites routing from MIA to Doha is scheduled to operate from August 1 through October 24, 2020, on the A350-1000.
Are all ORD-DOH QR 725/726 flights Qsuites, even if Qatar’s site doesn’t identify them as Qsuites? I’m seeing those flights on the. 777-300ER. Does it mean they’ve been retrofitted and maybe the system hasn’t caught up to that yet?
Hi Meghan,
To figure out if the 777-300ER you’re looking at has QSuites, you’ll want to look at the seat map. I’m almost 100% sure that your flight has QSuites. If there are 4 seats across in a 1-2-1 configuration for the 777-300ER, you’re looking at QSuites. If there are 6 seats in a 2-2-2 configuration for the 777-300ER, you’re looking at an older business class, though this plane is usually only flown for shorter routes.
Hope this helps!
Hello!
Looking to book the easiest Qsuites US-MLE route, doesn’t matter which airport I’m departing from in the US. I just can’t get AA to give me availability, keep getting errors no matter what route (ORD/PHL/JFK/etc). Do I have to book US-DOH separate from DOH-MLE? I hope not, trying to do this for the 140k AA miles in biz and I thought the route qualified for that…thanks!
Hi Sarah,
For this specific route, you’ll need to find availability on both segments. Then and only then will you be able to book the U.S. to Male in business class.
Unfortunately, Doha to Maldives is rare to find.
But if you feel like you’d get value from a service that will optimize your award travel and offer ultra-personalized points wealth management, please feel free to contact me directly at [email protected] to inquire about a monthly subscription service as little as $97 per month
Thank you for the wealth of information here. What I’m really interested is using Asia Miles for 6 countries, 6 airlines itinerary. I will be retiring Oct 2021 and will have more flexibility, i currently don’t have all the miles needed yet. I am working on Chase UR points and Amex rewards. When is the best time to start looking for award availabilities for travel starting Dec. 2021 into 2022?
Also, does the itinerary allow for stopovers on each of those countries or side trips? While in HK, I would like to fly to Philippines and visit family before continuing to the next destination.
Hi Carmelita,
Thank you for your kind words, and thank you for reading!
When it comes to planning a multi-country itinerary as you’re describing, it’s important to note that every airline releases award availability differently.
It’s all about juggling many different trends to maximize success.
To answer your question about the stopovers/side trips, yes, stopovers are allowed in almost all situations. Because these are round-the-world trips, the airline almost expects you to stop for at least a few days to explore the new country!
After all, what’s the point in flying all over the world if you can’t see new cultures and have new experiences on the ground? 😉
If you’d like to look into an award planning or booking service, please reach out to me directly at [email protected], and we can discuss some options that would fit you.
Thanks!
So I cannot book with AA miles from DFW to BKK?
Hi Ronald,
Yes, you can use AA miles to fly from DFW to BKK.
This doesn’t seem to be working anymore. British Airways or AA does not show Qatar Airways on their bookings 🙁 It does not seem to be a proper way to use AA miles to book Qatar.
Hi Prahbu,
We can confirm that these 2 booking engines still work for Qatar Airways Qsuites searches. Keep searching! And remember, you can always pick up the phone to book your ticket if you find online availability but can’t seem to redeem your miles online.
I have 80,000 American Airlines points and would like to fly from Washington DC, USA to Mumbai, India in Business Class in December 2021. What would be my best bet? I have been trying for months to book via AA since they offer business class seats from the US to India @ 70,000 point miles on Etihad or Qatar, but cannot find anything. Can you please help me find another alternative? Thank you very much in advance.
Hi Kartik,
Unfortunately, you’re searching way too late in the game. During this time, there are blackout dates for the second half of December. On top of this, most of the award availability that is going to be released has already been released and booked by other travelers.
The best thing you can do is hope that Qatar Airways opens up more award space. Etihad Airways isn’t searchable on AA’s website, so you can use ExpertFlyer or Aeroplan’s website.