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Book Qsuites next fall with wide-open award space to Doha and beyond
Andrew Kunesh is TPG's Points & Miles editor. He has been active in the points and miles space since 2014, using them to travel far and wide around the world. He is originally from Chicago but moved to New York City after graduating from DePaul University. His work is featured on Credit Karma, UpgradedPoints, ValuePenguin and various other travel and finance publications. He currently holds Delta Diamond Medallion and Marriott Titanium status, and 20+ credit cards that each have a special place in Andrew's wallet.
December 17, 2020 • 13 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 business class is widely regarded as a top-tier international product, offering fully enclosed suites and high service standards.
Unusually high award-seat availability is open for Qsuite routes between the U.S. and Doha in fall 2021, with many dates across multiple U.S. gateways.
Award tickets can be booked using various airline loyalty programs, with some offering better value and lower taxes and fees than others.
Travelers should weigh the risks of booking international trips during the ongoing pandemic, as border closures and cancellation policies may impact plans.
What to consider
Some offers and award availability mentioned may no longer be current; always check for the latest updates before booking.
Award space is subject to change, and aircraft with Qsuite cabins could be swapped for other configurations at short notice.
Certain loyalty programs may impose significant fuel surcharges, which can reduce the overall value of your redemption.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed breakdown of specific U.S. routes and dates with open Qsuite award space, plus step-by-step booking strategies for maximizing value.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Qatar Airways' Qsuites product is often considered the gold standard of international business class. Its fully-enclosed suite gives you the utmost privacy, and the service offered on board is comparable to first class on other airlines.
With that in mind, it goes without saying that Qsuite is an excellent way to kick off your first post-pandemic trip abroad.
Right now we're seeing a ton of open Qatar Airways business-class award space next fall, with some U.S. gateways having seats available almost every day next October. This award space is normally hard to come by, so this glut of award space is a pleasant surprise.
You can use this award space to fly to Qatar Airways' hub at Doha (DOH) or to connect to other destinations like Mumbai (BOM) and Johannesburg (JNB). In this article, I'll give you a quick look at all the open award space we've found from Qatar's U.S. gateways in late 2021.
Let's dive in!
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Should I book award travel now?
There are risks involved with booking travel during the pandemic. (Photo by Vytautas Kielaitis/Shutterstock)
That's a good question, and there's no right or wrong answer.
On one hand, there are risks involved with booking travel during the coronavirus pandemic. Most international borders remain closed, and some may stay that way even after the coronavirus vaccine is widespread later in 2021.
If this happens to your destination of choice and the carrier you book your award ticket with doesn’t extend its cancellation fee waiver, you may have to pay a large cancellation fee.
Additionally, you also run the risk of the airline canceling your ticket due to low demand. In this case, you're generally offered an alternate flight or the ability to refund your miles. This isn't the end of the world, but it can be a major inconvenience if you've already booked hotels, rental cars and other parts of your trip.
That said, the vaccine news is encouraging and leads me to believe that travel will be safer and more practical by the end of next year. If you're comfortable with the risks, now could be a great time to lock in traditionally-hard-to-find award space and give yourself something fun to look forward to in a post-pandemic world.
Qsuites are one of the best business class tickets in the sky with fully enclosed suites. (Photo by Zach Griff/The Points Guy)
Now for the fun part: the award space!
As discussed, we're seeing a large number of open Qsuite award seats in late 2021. Most of this award space is in September, October and November of next year, but you may be able to find more availability earlier in the year too.
Below you'll find all of the open Qsuite award space we've found in Fall 2021 from the U.S. to Doha. If Doha isn't your final destination, use your favorite Oneworld search tool to find award space for a connecting destination.
Each of the flights below has at least one business-class award ticket at the end of next year (as of the time of writing, though availability can change at any time). Further, each of these flights is scheduled to be operated by a plane that's equipped with the Qsuite business class product. Just note that this could change if there's a last-minute equipment swap.
You'll generally get the best deal when you book Qsuites award tickets with American Airlines AAdvantage miles. A flight from the U.S. to Doha costs just 70,000 miles one-way and you'll pay minimal taxes and fees on the ticket.
You can book Qatar award tickets right on the American website — just search for your award ticket as usual. If your dates are flexible, use the website's calendar search feature to view a month's worth of award space at once.
(Image courtesy of American Airlines)
You can also use American's website to find connecting award tickets on Qatar award space. Generally, connecting tickets in the Middle East, India and Africa will show without issue.
(Image courtesy of American Airlines)
If you don't see the flight you're looking for, try searching leg-by-leg. So if you're looking for a ticket from New York-JFK to Mumbai (BOM) via Doha (DOH) and it isn't showing online, search for the JFK to BOM and DOH to BOM legs separately. A phone representative should be able to book this ticket for you if you find award space on each segment.
Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $5,000 within the first three months of account opening.
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $2,500 within the first three months of account opening.
CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®:Earn 65,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $4,000 within the first four months of account opening.
The information for the Citi AAdvantage Platinum and CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Alternatively, you can book with Qatar Airways Privilege Club Qmiles. You can transfer Citi ThankYou points to Qatar and use them to take advantage of Qatar's newly-revamped award chart. Unlike other award chart changes we've seen this year, the airline actually reduced prices across the board.
Here's a look at pricing on the airline's U.S. routes:
Atlanta (ATL) to Doha (DOH)
35,000 miles (previously 54,250 miles)
70,000 miles (previously 108,500 miles)
Chicago (ORD) to Doha (DOH)
35,000 miles (previously 54,250 miles)
70,000 miles (previously 108,500 miles)
Dallas (DFW) to Doha (DOH)
35,000 miles (previously 54,250 miles)
70,000 miles (previously 108,500 miles)
Houston (IAH) to Doha (DOH)
35,000 miles (previously 54,250 miles)
70,000 miles (previously 108,500 miles)
Los Angeles (LAX) to Doha (DOH)
35,000 miles (previously 54,250 miles)
70,000 miles (previously 108,500 miles)
Miami (MIA) to Doha (DOH)
35,000 miles (previously 54,250 miles)
70,000 miles (previously 108,500 miles)
Montreal (YUL) to Doha (DOH)
35,000 miles (previously 50,750 miles)
70,000 miles (previously 101,500 miles)
New York-JFK to Doha (DOH)
35,000 miles (previously 50,750 miles)
70,000 miles (previously 101,500 miles)
Philadelphia (PHL) to Doha (DOH)
35,000 miles (previously 50,750 miles)
70,000 miles (previously 101,500 miles)
Washington-Dulles (IAD) to Doha (DOH)
35,000 miles (previously 50,750 miles)
70,000 miles (previously 101,500 miles)
Like American, you can book Qatar Airways award tickets online — just search for a flight and toggle the "Book an award ticket" option at the top of the screen.
(Image courtesy of Qatar Airways)
Some members are reportedly unable to search for Qatar award tickets without sufficient miles in their account, so you'll need to call Qatar for a quote if your account is restricted.
Citi ThankYou points transfer to Qatar at a 1:1 ratio, so 1,000 Citi points is 1,000 Qatar miles. You can earn Citi ThankYou points with the following credit cards:
Citi Premier® Card: Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first three months of account opening.
Citi Prestige® Card: Earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases within three months of opening your account.
The information for the Citi Prestige has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issu
It's worth noting that you can use other Oneworld miles to book Qatar Airways award tickets too. That said, many of these programs — namely British Airways Avios and Cathay Pacific Asia Miles — add huge fuel surcharges to Qatar award tickets. In some cases, these are well over $500 one-way.
This can take away from the overall redemption value, giving you less value for your points. I recommend staying away from using these types of miles when booking Qatar Airways award tickets if possible.
Qatar's Qsuite is one of the best business-class products in the sky, and it's rare to see this much open award space at once. This can be an excellent way to lock in your 2021 travel early — just make sure you're comfortable with the risks associated with booking travel during the coronavirus pandemic.
Featue photo by Zach Griff/The Points Guy
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.
