Right now there’s wide open availability from 11 U.S. cities on Qatar Airways to book mileage awards in their QSuites business class – to Doha and beyond, whether you’re looking at the Middle East, Maldives, or Africa. Use it to get to India or Pakistan, too.
Qatar has one of the best business class product in the world in its ‘QSuites’ that offer doors and movable partitions that allow two and even four passengers to travel together in their own space. Their QSuite is a fantastic hard product, and service and food in the air are outstanding.
Right now there’s amazing award availability from all of the U.S. cities that they serve, looking out to the end of their schedule (May 2025).
You can use this for travel from the U.S. to Doha and onward to the Mideast, India, the Maldives and even to Africa. This award space was first spotted by @findflightsforme.
Qatar Airways has long made award space available in waves, usually booked far in advance. With the launch of Avios as their currency, they committed to release business class awards when opening their schedules. That entrenches the habit of making space available as soon as the booking window opens, for travel nearly a year out. In practice, however, they seem to open space in occasional batches, rather than each day as a flight loads, so it’s important to be on the lookout for events like this.
- You’ll find space wide open in May 2025 from Atlanta; Boston; Chicago O’Hare; Dallas – Fort Worth; Houston; Los Angeles; Miami; New York JFK; San Francisco; Seattle and Washington Dulles. Decent availability, sporadically, across cities and dates starting in January 2025 as well.
- British Airways Executive Club and Qatar Airways Privilege Club both charge 70,000 Avios for U.S. – Doha, though pricing may vary on connecting itineraries. JetBlue charges 70,000 each way for business class to Doha from the Northeast and 80,000 on other flights.
- British Airways is a transfer partner of Chase, American Express, Capital One and Bilt while Qatar is a transfer partner of Amex and Citi. And BA and Qatar have more closely aligned their pricing. Chase, American Express and Citi transfer to JetBlue, albeit Amex at less than 1:1.
Credit: Qatar Airways
For what it’s worth, if you’re flying to Doha I’d suggest turning it into a 48 hour stopover – just enough for a visit to the Museum of Islamic Art.
Note that this award space seems bookable with Avios programs (Qatar, British Airways, Iberia) it does not appear available via American AAdvantage or Alaska’s Mileage Plan. For some reason, as it has been for other Qatar availability, the space does appear bookable via JetBlue.
Credit: Qatar Airways
If you want to buy up to al Safwa first class lounge access in Doha (~$165 per person) you’ll need to redeem Qatar Airways points as this is only available on tickets issued by Qatar. I believe that this is my favorite lounge in the world in terms of aesthetics.
People often comment that the lounge looks like a museum. It doesn’t just look like one! They have pieces on loan in the lounge from the Museum of Islamic Art.
The food is good. There are buffets everywhere as well as a sit-down dining restaurant with good champagne. There are dessert rooms.
And there are nap rooms. The spa though has treatments for pay, which I’ve always found odd.
Qatar Airways business class represents one of the best value uses of miles. It’s worth locking in a trip a year from now in my view if possible.
@ Gary — IN MAY 2025? How can you book that far out?
There’s less and less reason to pursue AA award miles. The aspirational J/F partner awards were almost the only thing making chasing the program worthwhile. And the best awards (Qatar, JAL, Qantas) basically don’t exist anymore.
I cycled through all US cities to DOH around 3am this morning with an AA award. One — literally one – errant J ticket in September. Zero on JL. Don’t even bother checking Qantas more than once or twice a month anymore.
If AA does not get its partner act together, I’ll be going to BA next year, as at least avios awards seem to flow freely. Already regretting not doing the status match via DL to BA this year. So may start sooner than that anyway.
@Gene – you can with Avios
@CMT,
I booked two F tickets yesterday US-HND for next week. You can still book some great seats with AA and can do so without BS carrier imposed fees like BA.
One thing to be aware of, is that historically Qatar Airways has been famous for equipment switching or substitutions. So when you originally booked that flight that showed availability for the renowned Qsuites Business Class, your flight, when you finally take it a year later, has had an equipment substitution that still is configured with the old business class configuration, not what you thought you would be getting. Additionally, especially in the current world we live in, a great deal can change over the course of one year. Just make sure when you book, that everything is refundable, miles and money.
There will be more open seats as customers in the U.S avoid flying this airline because of the financial aid they are providing to Hamas and allowing the leader of this group to live in their country.
@Brodie — agree, if you can book 1-2 weeks close in, there are still some occasional good J/F deals on JAL with AA miles. Less often, also with QA and QR. But occasionally. However, “forget about it anymore”, for those who need to plan in advance — unless you’re willing to usually spend more miles to fly AA for their lessor product, instead of one of the far superior partner airlines.
Plus, even if one has the ability to be flexible and travel short notice on a Partner airline, it’s often difficult logistically with destinations like Maldives and Africa, where it can be challenging to clear payments with operators and resorts/camps that quickly. (That’s much less of an issue with TYO obviously.)
@Bob did you not know that Bibi was propping up Hamas for years as Tactic to avoid a 2 state solution. You’re brainwashed by mainstream media.
I was checking march JFK DOH squires and show no awards on BA site, usual routine to LHR/LGW instead on BA metal. Qatar has direct award seats but at 140k each way .
How much for a ticket?
@ Gary — Booked US-DOH one way for April for 80k B6 + DOH-DPS for 40k AA! Have to figure out a return later, or maybe never return if Oranage Hitler is in office instead of prison.
@Jerry – blaming Netanyahu for Hamas is silly, if anything it’s the other way around. Hamas attacks drove the Israeli electorate to the right, which was always the intent, to block Israeli peacemakers from normalizing the lives of Palestinians and relations in the Mideast. Their goal was the destruction of Israel, not two states.
Israel was subject to literally hundreds of terror attacks during the second intifadah, following the 2000 Camp David Summit where Israel offered a Palestinian State with nearly everything Palestinians had asked for.
Even so, Ehud Olmert offered an even more generous plan in 2008.
Hamas responds to peace efforts with violence, and that scares the Israeli population into voting for more conservative candidates who do not seek to risk a peace.
Yep, I find business class seats on itineraries I want in late March-early April on BA.com, but they don’t show up on AA.com. When I call to secure a reservation, AAgents tell me they don’t see the space. “Call back later and maybe we’ll have the seats for you then.”
Yeah, right.
@ Gary — No doubt we will eventually learn that Bibi knew that the Oct 7 attack was coming and did nothing, just so he could destroy Hamas.
@Gene people still believe Roosevelt knew Pearl Harbor was coming and allowed it…
Gary, I think I speak for a lot of people when I say there needs to be regime change in both Gaza and Israel. The acts of Hamas over the years have been abominable. But what’s frustrating is that Israel holds all of the cards. They have an overwhelming military and intelligence complex, and they also have the moral obligation to guide innocent civilians out of the war zone and into safe areas with food and medical attention. But they don’t. And I can’t explain why. That’s where the majority of the protests against Israel come from — btw I love this blog.
Thank you Gary for your reality check when anti-Semitic voices creep up. Hamas and Intifada is what gave a rise to the Israeli political right and ultra conservative voices. Hamas wants Palestine from river to sea as a one state with no Jews.
@Gary – Are you saying that Israel did not foster Hamas to create a counterpoint to the PLO? I’d thought that it was pretty clear cut that Israel did indeed do so to divide the Palestinians into warring groups. This isn’t a judgement on whether that was a good idea but I do think that Israel owning this a little by admitting they opened Pandora’s Box would win Israel some favor in the international community, favor which they could use rather badly considering even the ICC is after Bibi.
@Calidude – “Hamas wants Palestine from river to sea as a one state with no Jews.” and it has been this way for more than 75 years, recall that Arab nations rejected the original UN partition which created a Palestinian state. Palestinian Arab groups boycotted the UN over the creation of a Palestinian state that also allowed for a Jewish one.
Very disappointing that so far there’s been no way to use AA Advantage miles for QR J for any time so far in 2025. By this time the last two years they had already released a lot of J space on QR using AA miles. Is that over?
@gary Lets not forget that Jews, muslims, and christians lived there peacefully for centuries before zionism took hold.
Tell me what happened to Shareen Abu Akleh, the journalist who was murdered despite wearing a bullet proof, clearly marked “Press” vest and helmet. CNN investigation concluded an IOF sniper intentionally killed her. Where is the accountability ? Where is Western media on this ? ZIonists were the first to use terrorism as a tactic in Deir Yassin and other areas which led to the Nakba.
The level of propaganda Israel is able to create and feed its citizens is probably more the reason that country has shifted more to the right. Netanyahu has always strongly been against 2 states and propped up Hamas to weaken the PA. The settler terrorism in the West Bank which deliberately goes unchecked, and even encouraged, without being talked about in western and mainstream media is disingenuous. Anyone who is occupied is going to resist that occupation.
IOF has murdered unarmed palestinians with impunity for decades. This not all one-sided.
@jerry – “Jews, muslims, and christians lived there peacefully for centuries before zionism took hold.” do you have any knowledge of the history of the region? let’s just look at mandatory palestine, read up on the 1920 Nebi Musa riots, the 1921 Jaffa riots, and the 1929 Hebron and Safed massacres and the 1936 – 1939 Arab Revolt
@gary I said for centuries, you are beginning in 1920. Britain gave the illusion they wanted to help – by expelling the jews and “europe’s problem”. The Arabs welcomed them until it became clear that it was a settler colonial project. The Arabs stood up, but by then it was too late.
BTW you ignored everything else I said.
The Arabs never welcomed anyone… but it was Turkish territory, then British territory. The Jews who lived there called themselves Palestinians. The Arabs called themselves Arabs. Only after trying to kill the Jews, and failing in 1948, the Arabs started calling themselves Palestinians – a word that is not even pronounceable in Arabic.
Everyone can make their own decisions. I won’t be flying terrorist airlines, for all the champagne in the world.
@Gary,
Was Hamas also responsible for the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps massacre by Israel?
Hamas wasn’t even around back then.