Can you still book Qatar Airways Qsuite award tickets using American AAdvantage miles?

Qatar Airways’ award-winning Qsuite has long been one of the best business products in the world.

The Qsuite experience features suites with sliding doors and high walls (which provide great privacy), on-demand food and drinks, and a great ground experience at Hamad International Airport (DOH) in Doha. In short, flying Qsuite is a great way to travel.

But it gets even better.

Products can often be booked with points and miles, especially when booked in advance and with some flexibility in your dates. For many US-based travelers, this boils down to American Airlines AAdvantage Programtraditionally provided Qsuite Rewards at a reasonable price — even using the published prize chart.

However, TPG readers recently asked whether this business suite is still bookable with AA miles. Read on to learn more, as well as tips on how to Redeem your AA miles for maximum value.

The Basics of Booking Qsuite Tickets with AA Miles

AAdvantage has applied dynamic price for flights operated by American Airlines. However, currently, award redemptions operated by Oneworld and other partner airlines still use the regional award chart and The exchange rate is amazing!These airlines include Qatar, British Airways, Qantas, Cathay Pacific and Iberia.

Related: The best sites to search for Oneworld award availability

You need just 70,000 American Airlines miles plus minimum taxes and fees to fly one-way on Qatar Qsuite between the United States and the Middle East or the Indian subcontinent.

You can also add a flight between Doha and one of the many African cities Qatar serves for just 5,000 miles each way in business class. This means you can fly one-way between the United States and Africa for just 75,000 AAdvantage miles with minimal taxes and fees.

Let’s say you don’t live near a Qatar Airways gateway. In that case, you can find an itinerary that allows you to connect domestically in the US on American or Alaska Airlines for the same cost.

Can you still book Qsuite with AA miles?

Qatar Airways’ approach to award seat issuance has been unpredictable for some time, but a few specific events over the past two years may help explain the current situation:

• Early 2022, Qatar Airways announced that it will adopt Avios. as the loyalty currency for its Privilege Club program. Privilege Club has aligned its pricing with other programs that use Avios, such as British Airways Executive Club; you can easily move Avios between programs in any direction at a 1:1 ratio without any fees.
• In July 2022, Americans start flying to Doha for the first time. As a result, the airline began offering award seats on its own flights in addition to those operated by Qatar Airways.
• Qatar World Cup 2022 organizationbringing huge demand for flights to Qatar’s hub in Doha. As a result, cash ticket prices during the event are very high and the chances of getting a prize are very scarce.

Business class on Qatar Airways has always been limited in capacity, but in 2023, booking business class through partner airline programs like AAdvantage and British Airways Executive Club will be nearly impossible.

This is a big change, especially since American charges 300,000 miles for its business class flights (compared to the 70,000-mile partner award operated by Qatar).

Currently, there are only a handful of business class awards available on Qatar Airways nonstop flights between North America and Doha in both directions for 70,000 miles, and all of them are available at the end of the schedule next year.

However, we still found a large number of business class tickets for 70,000 AAdvantage miles if you first fly domestically on American Airlines and then connect on a long-haul Qatar Airways flight to Doha.

For example, by February 2025, there will be no seats left from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Doha on a nonstop flight.

However, if you add a domestic stop, suddenly there are some days in February that cost 70,000 miles.

If you see an itinerary that costs less than $20 in taxes and fees, it will include flights on American Airlines and Qatar Airways. If you see an itinerary that costs more than $1,000 in taxes and fees, it will include a transatlantic business class flight on British Airways (then Qatar Airways to Doha). It’s best to avoid British Airways and favor Qatar because Huge surcharges imposed by carriers.

You may need to change your dates to find the price you want without flying through British Airways, and there will be more flights in 2025 than in 2024. We see the most connecting flights with Qatar Airways at the following airports:

• Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
• Dulles International Airport (IAD)
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
• O’Hare International Airport (ORD)

So if you can book a connecting flight for this low price, why can’t you book the Qatar flight alone? It seems that Qatar Airways uses Married Segmentation Logic when offering awards. This logic states that there is less demand for connecting journeys than for non-stop journeys, so there are more seats 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 — currently fly between the US and Doha via Europe; business class availability is good for the next 12 months. These flights cost 70,000 Avios.

You can also Redeem AAdvantage miles for Etihad operated flights to the Middle East. Etihad offers a great business class product, especially on its new A350 aircraft. Although Etihad is a smaller airline than Qatar, it flies from some of the same US gateways. Like Qatar, availability from the US to Zayed International Airport (AUH) isn’t great, but some seats are available in advance.

You may also have success using the married segmentation logic to search for itineraries beyond Doha to other destinations in the Middle East, South Asia, or Africa.

Unfortunately, we are no longer seeing any last-minute Qsuite business class seats from North America available for booking with AAdvantage miles.

Finally, consider booking Qsuite awards from other regions, like Europe. These awards are still available and can be booked online with American miles or through other partners, like British Airways.

How to earn AAdvantage miles

Aside from flying with American (and its partners), one of the easiest ways to earn American AAdvantage miles is through American Airlines Credit CardFor example, you can apply for Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® and earn 70,000 bonus miles after spending $7,000 within the first three months of account opening (see prices and fees). This card also comes with a host of benefits that make your travel with American more comfortable.

Citi is an advertising partner of TPG.

Finally, you can earn AA miles through a variety of other non-flying activities, including AAdvantage Shopping Portalthe AAdvantage Dining Program and SimplyMiles Platform.

Read more: How to Earn Miles in American Airlines’ AAdvantage Program

Last line

Unfortunately, non-stop Qatar Airways Qsuite redemptions using AAdvantage miles between the US 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 leg first, availability is better in business class for 70,000 miles.

You can also consider booking AAdvantage award flights on these routes operated by partner airlines like Iberia, Finnair and Etihad at similarly low prices (subject to availability).