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Can you still book Qatar Airways Qsuite awards with American AAdvantage miles?
Ben Smithson is a senior writer for TPG and is based in London. Originally from Australia and a qualified lawyer with a financial services background, he has almost a decade of experience writing about a broad range of travel and loyalty topics.
July 17, 2024 • 7 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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Quick summary
Qatar Airways' Qsuite remains a highly regarded business-class product, offering privacy and premium amenities.
Booking Qsuite with miles through certain loyalty programs is now more challenging, especially for nonstop flights between North America and Doha.
Some availability exists at favorable rates if you include a domestic U.S. connection before the long-haul segment.
Alternative partner airlines such as Iberia, Finnair and Etihad also offer business-class awards to the Middle East at similar rates.
What to consider
Nonstop Qsuite awards between North America and Doha are scarce, with most seats released only far in advance.
Adding a domestic segment can improve availability due to married-segment logic used by Qatar Airways.
Taxes and fees can vary significantly, especially if your itinerary includes British Airways, which imposes high surcharges.
What you'll miss from the article
Detailed strategies for finding and booking Qsuite awards, including tips on routing and maximizing availability.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
The Qsuite experience features suites with sliding doors and high walls (offering incredible privacy), dine-on-demand food and drinks, and an excellent ground experience at Hamad International Airport (DOH) in Doha. In short, flying Qsuite is a terrific way to travel.
But it gets even better.
The product has typically been bookable using points and miles, especially when booked in advance and with some flexibility in your dates. For many U.S.-based travelers, this has centered around the American Airlines AAdvantage program, which has traditionally offered Qsuite redemptions at reasonable prices — even using a published award chart.
However, TPG readers have recently questioned if this business-class suite is still bookable with AA miles. Keep reading to find out more, as well as tips on how to redeem your AA miles for maximum value.
BENJI STAWSKI/THE POINTS GUY
The basics of booking Qsuite with AA miles
AAdvantage has adopted dynamic pricing for flights operated by American Airlines. For now, though, redemptions operated by Oneworld and other partner airlines still use a zone-based award chart, and the redemption rates are terrific. These airlines include Qatar, British Airways, Qantas, Cathay Pacific and Iberia.
You will need just 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.
You could also add a flight between Doha and one of several African cities that Qatar serves for just 5,000 more miles each way in business class. This means you can fly one-way between the U.S. and Africa for just 75,000 AAdvantage miles and minimal taxes and fees.
Suppose you don’t live near a Qatar Airways gateway. In that case, you may be able to find an itinerary that allows you to connect domestically in the U.S. on American or Alaska Airlines for the same cost.
AA.COM
Can you still book Qsuite with AA miles?
Qatar Airways’ approach to releasing award seats has been unpredictable for some time. However, some unique events in the past two years may help to explain the current state of play:
In early 2022, Qatar Airways announced it would adopt Avios as the loyalty currency for its Privilege Club program. Privilege Club aligned pricing with other programs that use Avios, like British Airways Executive Club; you can easily move Avios between the programs in any direction at a 1:1 rate at no cost.
In July 2022, American began flying to Doha for the first time. Therefore, it started offering award seats on its flights in addition to those operated by Qatar Airways.
Qatar hosted the 2022 World Cup, which brought enormous demand for flights to Qatar’s hub in Doha. As a result, cash fares during the event were high, and award availability was scarce.
Business-class award seats on Qatar Airways were always capacity-restrained. However, in 2023, it became virtually impossible to book this award seat through partner airline programs like AAdvantage and British Airways Executive Club.
This was a major change, especially since American charges 300,000 miles for its own business-class flight (compared to a 70,000-mile partner award operated by Qatar).
AA.COM
Right now, only a handful of business-class awards are available on nonstop Qatar Airways flights between North America and Doha in either direction at the 70,000-mile rate, and these are all at the end of the schedule next year.
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However, we did find a good amount of business-class availability for 70,000 AAdvantage miles if you first take a domestic flight on American Airlines and then connect to a long-haul Qatar Airways flight to Doha.
For example, in February 2025, no seats from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Doha are available on the nonstop service.
AA.COM
However, if you add a domestic stop, suddenly, there are a handful of February dates at the 70,000-mile price.
AA.COM
If you see an itinerary with under $20 in taxes and fees, it will have a combination of American Airlines and Qatar Airways flights. If you find a route with taxes and fees over $1,000, it will include a transatlantic flight in British Airways business class (then Qatar Airways to Doha). Ideally, avoid British Airways in favor of Qatar because of its enormous carrier-imposed surcharges.
You may need to play around with dates to find the prices you want that avoid British Airways, and there is more availability in 2025 than in 2024. We are seeing the best availability connecting to Qatar Airways flights in the following airports:
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
Dulles International Airport (IAD)
George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
O'Hare International Airport (ORD)
AA.COM
So, if you can book connecting flights at these low prices, why can't you book the Qatar flights alone? It appears that Qatar Airways uses married-segment logic when making awards available. This logic states that there is less demand for connecting itineraries than nonstop itineraries, so more seats are made available.
Economy-class seats on Qatar Airways using AA miles are widely available on most routes; Qatar does not have a premium economy product.
Additionally, several Oneworld airlines — including Finnair and Iberia — now fly between the U.S. and Doha via Europe; availability is excellent in business class across the next 12 months. These flights cost 70,000 Avios.
You can also redeem AAdvantage miles for flights Etihad operates to the Middle East. Etihad offers a terrific business-class product, especially on the new A350 aircraft. Although Etihad is a smaller airline than Qatar, it flies from several of the same U.S. gateways. As with Qatar, availability from the U.S. to Zayed International Airport (AUH) isn’t fantastic, but some seats are available in advance.
You may also find success using the married-segment logic to search for itineraries beyond Doha to other destinations in the Middle East, South Asia or Africa.
Unfortunately, we are no longer seeing additional Qsuite business-class seats from North America being released at the last minute to book with AAdvantage miles.
Finally, consider booking Qsuite awards from other regions, like Europe. These are still readily available and bookable online using American miles or through other partners, like British Airways.
How to earn AAdvantage miles
Beyond flying with American (and its partners), one of the easiest ways to earn American AAdvantage miles is through American Airlines credit cards. For example, for a limited time you can apply for the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® and earn 70,000 bonus miles after spending $7,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening. (see rates and fees). This card also comes with an array of perks to make your travel with American even more comfortable.
Unfortunately, nonstop Qatar Airways Qsuite redemptions using AAdvantage miles between the U.S. and Doha are largely unavailable unless you book 11 months in advance. The good news is that if you try adding a domestic American Airlines segment first, the availability is better in business class for the 70,000-mile rate.
You could also consider booking AAdvantage award flights on these routes operated by partner airlines like Iberia, Finnair and Etihad for the same low price (pending availability).
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.
