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The Points Guy believes that credit cards can transform lives, helping you leverage everyday spending for cash back or travel experiences that might otherwise be out of reach. That's why we publish a variety of editorial content and card comparisons: to help you find a great card to turn your goals into reality.
Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
Guides
Sweet Spot Sunday: Fly Qatar business from the U.S. to South Africa for 75,000 miles
Katie Genter is a digital nomad who has traveled full time since June 2017. She writes and edits stories about points and miles, and loyalty programs, often letting her personal experiences color these stories.
October 16, 2022 • 12 min read
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don't cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
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Quick summary
Redeeming miles for Qatar Airways business class between the U.S. and Africa offers strong value, with a one-way award to South Africa requiring a moderate mileage amount and minimal taxes and fees.
Qatar Airways' Qsuite product is highlighted for its comfort and unique seating options, especially for couples or groups.
Award availability can be limited, so flexibility with travel dates and U.S. departure cities is recommended when searching for flights.
Step-by-step instructions are provided for booking these awards, including tips for checking seat maps and selecting preferred seats.
What to consider
Some offers mentioned in the article are no longer available.
Award space for these flights can be scarce, requiring frequent searches and flexibility with routes and dates.
Transferring hotel or rent-based loyalty points to the airline program is possible, but may not always offer the best value.
What you'll miss from the article
Detailed booking walkthroughs, including how to identify Qsuite-equipped flights and optimize award searches.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
In particular, I enjoy stretching my redemption to southern Africa to visit Johannesburg or Cape Town. The miles cost of this one-way in business class is just 75,000 American Airlines miles. And, for a one-way from the U.S. to South Africa, taxes and fees come out to just under $42.
Today I’ll tell you more about this redemption and give step-by-step instructions for booking.
Why it’s special
ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY
All of Qatar’s long-haul business class products are enjoyable. I’ve always enjoyed my Qatar Airways business class flights, from the food and drinks to the cabin service.
Best of all, you can typically fly its premier Qatar Qsuite business class product on flights between the U.S. and Doha (and on some other routes too). Flying Qsuite is a memorable experience, especially if you’re traveling as a couple and can snag two of the center seats that cabin attendants can make into a double bed. ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY
You could redeem 70,000 American Airlines miles plus minimal taxes and fees to fly Qatar Qsuite one-way between the U.S. and the Middle East or Indian Subcontinent.
While that’s a great way to redeem American Airlines miles in itself, you can add a flight between Doha and several African cities served by Qatar for just 5,000 more miles.
This means you can fly one-way between the U.S. and Africa for just 75,000 AAdvantage miles and minimal taxes and fees. And if you don't live near a Qatar Airways gateway, you may be able to find an itinerary that allows you to connect domestically in the U.S. for the same cost.
The easiest way to check whether your flight has Qsuite seating is to take a look at the seat map. I use ExpertFlyer (owned by TPG’s parent company, Red Ventures) to do so. For example, a Qsuite A350-900 flight from Philadelphia to Doha would look like this: Qatar A350-900 Qsuite business class seat map. EXPERTFLYER.COM
Meanwhile, a non-Qsuite A350-900 flight from Doha to Cape Town would look like this: Qatar A350-900 business class seat map without Qsuite. EXPERTFLYER.COM
Of course, there are other ways to fly in business class to Africa using points and miles too. Check out our post on the best ways to get to South Africa on points for more info.
ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY
Thankfully, booking this award is straightforward. And now that you can cancel and redeposit AAdvantage awards until departure for no cost, there’s no harm in booking an award even if you aren’t sure you’ll be able to take the flight.
That said, I don’t recommend transferring points into AAdvantage to speculatively book awards. After all, you may be left with devalued miles if you end up needing to cancel your award.
You can search for award availability even if you don’t have the necessary miles. After all, if you follow the steps below, you won’t be asked to sign in until the fifth step. Just note that award space is difficult to come by right now, so check back regularly if you can't find flights on your desired route.
Here’s how to find award availability and book this sweet spot.
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Step 1: Start your search on American’s home page
On American Airlines’ homepage, select the “One way” option (even if you want to fly round-trip, searching and booking one-ways may be easier) and click Redeem miles. Enter your origin, destination and dates and select the number of tickets you want. Then, click search.
AA.COM
The next page will hopefully show some results. If not, consider searching for fewer passengers or alter your origin, destination or dates.
Next, you’ll want to limit your search to specific airlines. If you are flying from a city served by Qatar in the U.S., you may want only to select Qatar when selecting airlines. But, if you want or need to connect within the U.S., you should also choose the airline you want to connect on. AA.COM
By selecting only Qatar Airways (or Qatar Airways and your connecting airline), you’ll eliminate other pesky options. And doing so will help as you move on to the next step and search for availability on different dates.
Step 3: Use calendar search to check alternate dates (if needed)
Next, click on Calendar to see a calendar of award availability. Then, click on the “Show all classes” drop-down and select “Business/First.” Doing so will pull up a calendar search that only shows dates with business class awards operated by the airlines you selected in the previous step. AA.COM
If this calendar search doesn’t provide any itineraries you like, you may want to go back to Step 1 and search for a ticket from a different airport or another destination (such as Johannesburg instead of Cape Town).
I recommend searching from a U.S. airport served directly by Qatar, including:
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD)
Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport (DFW)
Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
Miami International Airport (MIA)
New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
Step 4: Select your award and check the trip summary
If you click on a date on the calendar, you’ll see all the awards available for that day. AA.COM
Click on the award you want to book and check the trip summary. Then click "Log-in" and continue.
Step 5: Log in, check your passenger info and select seats
You’ll need to log in on the next screen. Here, you will need to enter the passenger information and trip contact information. Then click continue. AA.COM
After your ticket is issued, I recommend calling American Airlines to get the Qatar confirmation number. Then, you may be able to select your seats on Qatar’s website. If you want specific seats that show up as blocked on the ExpertFlyer seat map, you’ll need to call Qatar and ask them to unblock them. Qatar typically blocks the Qsuite quad seats for couples and larger groups.
Finally, you can review your itinerary one final time and check the cost in both miles and cash. AA.COM
Then you’ll need to pay for the taxes and fees on your award. I recommend using a credit card that provides travel protection even when you only use your card to pay for taxes and fees. My go-to choice is the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, but the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is also a good choice.
Earning enough American Airlines miles may not be an issue for some American Airlines loyalists. But for many travelers, the most challenging part of booking this award may be earning enough American Airlines miles. After all, the only major transferrable currencies that you can transfer to American Airlines are Marriott Bonvoy and Bilt Rewards.
Transferring Marriott Bonvoy points
You can transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to AAdvantage. THE POINTS GUY
You can transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to American Airlines AAdvantage at a 3:1 transfer ratio. And Marriott will give you a bonus 5,000 miles for every 60,000 points you transfer. But, even with the bonus miles, this transfer ratio can be challenging to swallow.
After accounting for the 5,000 bonus miles for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points transferred, you’d need to transfer 180,000 Marriott Bonvoy points to book just one one-way award. To put this into perspective, you could book a week at many mid-tier property with this amount of points.
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card: Earn 95,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 in purchases within the first three months of card membership. ($650 annual fee, see rates and fees)
Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card: Earn 125,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first three months of card membership. ($250 annual fee, see rates and fees)
Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card: Earn three free night awards after you use your new card to make $6,000 in eligible purchases within the first six months of card membership. Redemption level up to 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for each bonus free night award, at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy. Certain hotels have resort fees. ($125 annual fee, see rates and fees)
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card: Earn 100,000 welcome bonus points after spending $3,000 in the first three months from account opening. ($95 annual fee)
Marriott Bonvoy Bold Credit Card: Earn 30,000 bonus points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. (no annual fee)
If you pay your rent with Bilt Rewards or spend on the Bilt Mastercard, you can transfer your points 1:1 to AAdvantage. Points transfer from Bilt to AAdvantage instantly.
Of course, you can also use the cobranded American Airlines credit cards to earn more American Airlines miles. You could sign-up for a new card or spend on a card you already have.
Here’s a few American Airlines cobrand cards to consider:
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®: For a limited time earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $3,500 on purchases in the first four months of account opening ($99 annual fee that’s waived the first year)
Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 100,000 miles after you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening. ($595 annual fee, see rates and fees)
Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 65,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first four months of account opening ($99 annual fee that’s waived the first 12 months, see rates and fees)
It’s relatively easy to find Qatar Airways business class awards. Sure, you may need to be slightly flexible with your travel dates and U.S. gateway, but you can often find award availability with persistence.
Redeeming 70,000 American Airlines miles for a one-way Qatar Qsuite flight between the U.S. and the Middle East is a great deal, especially considering you’ll need to pay minimal taxes and fees on this award. And as you've seen in this post, it doesn’t cost much more to go all the way to South Africa from the U.S.
For rates and fees of the Amex Bonvoy Brilliant, click here
For rates and fees of the Amex Bonvoy Bevy, click here
For rates and fees of the Amex Bonvoy Business, click here
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
