Qatar Airways Business Class (Spring/Summer 2024)
With Amex's new transfer bonus to British Airways, I thought this was a perfect time to flag some Qatar Airways business class award space.
I'll note that I also found award space on connecting flights to destinations such as the Maldives and Cairo. Please note that depending on your destination, the award rates and taxes/fees could increase.
Submit your Amex Gold referral links!
Now, let's get into it!
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Straight To The Points:
Routes: ATL/BOS/DFW/IAD/IAH/JFK/LAX/MIA/ORD/PHL/SEA/YUL-DOH
Operating airline: Qatar Airways
Class of service: Business class
Dates: May-June 2024
Seats available: 2
Cabin layout: 1-2-1
Book with (per person, one-way):
- *American AAdvantage: 70,000 miles
- *Alaska Mileage Plan: 85,000 miles
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles:
- 75,000 miles (BOS/ORD/PHL/SEA/YUL)
- 90,000 (DFW/IAH/LAX/SFO)
- British Airways Executive Club: 70,000 Avios
- Qantas Frequent Flyer:
- 104,500 points (BOS/IAD/JFK/PHL/YUL)
- 119,200 points (DFW/IAH/LAX/MIA/ORD/SEA/SFO)
- *Qatar Privilege Club: 70,000 Avios
*No surcharges
Taxes/fees (per person):
- US to DOH: ~$8
- DOH to US: ~$55
- YUL to DOH: ~$52
- DOH to YUL: ~$38
- Surcharges with BA/Qatar:
- US to DOH: ~$90-120
- DOH to US: ~$181
- YUL to DOH: ~$120
- DOH to YUL: ~$110
- Alaska Partner Fee: $12.50 per direction
Bank transfer partners:
- Alaska: Marriott
- American: Bilt, Marriott
- British Airways: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Marriott
- Cathay Pacific: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Citi, Marriott
- Qantas: Amex, Capital One, Citi, Marriott
- Qatar Airways: Citi, Marriott
Let me know if you book!
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Available Dates
ATL-DOH
May: 2, 13-15, 18, 20, 27
DOH-ATL
April: 22, 25, 30
May: 7-10, 21, 22, 26-31
June: 18-26
BOS-DOH
April: 29
May: 5, 9, 13-15, 22, 25-27
DOH-BOS
May: 1, 3, 12, 14, 17, 20, 22, 23, 25
June: 1-16, 24-26
DFW-DOH
June 2-16, 22-25
DOH-DFW
June: 7-12
IAD-DOH
April: 28
May: 3, 8, 15, 19, 22, 24, 27-31
June: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7-10, 24-26
DOH-IAD
Aprl: 17-19, 21, 26
May: 18, 19, 25, 26
June: 1-4, 6-12, 19, 23, 26
IAH-DOH
May: 4, 19, 20
June: 4-7, 10-15, 24-26
DOH-IAH
April: 18, 21-25
May: 8, 13, 14, 16, 22-25
June: 13, 15-27
JFK-DOH
May, 3, 8, 12, 26-31
June: 2-15, 24-26
DOH-JFK
May: 21-26
June: 6, 8, 14, 16, 18, 19, 23, 25, 26
LAX-DOH
June 24-26
DOH-LAX
May: 5, 9, 13, 14
June: 7, 8, 10, 12 ,13, 16, 18, 20, 23, 25, 27
MIA-DOH
May: 13, 14, 28-31
June: 4, 7, 8, 24-26
DOH-MIA
May: 14-16, 21, 23, 24, 27
June: 12, 17-20, 23-27
ORD-DOH
May: 9, 18, 27-31
June: 1-4, 9, 12, 14-16, 24-26
DOH-ORD
May: 15, 16, 18-31
June: 1-12, 19-27
PHL-DOH
May: 5, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 24, 25, 27
June: 1-16 24-26
DOH-PHL
April: 23, 24, 30
May: 2, 6-10, 15, 19, 20, 24, 26-31
June: 1-8, 13-27
SEA-DOH
May: 10, 23, 25, 27-30
June: 4-6, 9, 15, 24-26
DOH-SEA
May: 5, 6, 24-31
June: 1-8, 17, 19-27
YUL-DOH
April: 22, 27, 28, 30
May: 1, 6, 7, 12, 13, 19-27
June: 3-14, 24-26
DOH-YUL
April: 24, 25, 28, 29
May: 3, 6-8, 11, 12, 14-16, 23, 24, 27
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Flight Experience
Qatar Airways Qsuites provides one of the top two business class seats in the sky complete with direct aisle access and a privacy door. Occasionally, Qatar will swap out an aircraft with their Qsuites product so keep an eye on the cabin layout.
You'll have plenty of space to relax, sip on some fancy champagne, and enjoy a nice meal. Of course, if you need anything the crews have a great reputation for being more than happy to help.
Please note that award bookings in business class on Qatar Airways do have lounge access. You can visit the Al Mourjan Lounge or the new Al Mourjan Lounge at The Garden. You can also pay to visit the Al Safwa first class lounge.
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Best Ways To Book
Avios: More Dates, Great Rate, Amex Transfer Bonus
With Qatar Privilege Club, you can book up to 360 days from departure. With BA Executive Club, you can book up to ~355 days from departure. In fact, beyond 331 days out, Avios are often your only option to book.
If you have Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, or Citi points, you'll have a big advantage over those who only have American or Alaska miles. If you ever needed a reminder that points diversification is important, look no further.
With Amex's 30% transfer bonus to British Airways, you'd only need 54,000 Amex points to get the necessary 70,000 Avios for a one-way business class award to Doha. That's better than most options to Europe!
With the transfer bonus, you can even use fewer points to the Maldives than AA requires as you'll only need to transfer 66,000 Amex points to get 85,000 Avios.
Please note that while BA's award rates often match Qatar's, that's not always the case. You can use Qatar's Calculator to check the award rate for an origin/destination pairing for using Qatar Avios.
You can link your British Airways and Qatar accounts then move Avios between them by selecting Combine Avios.
American AAdvantage: A Great Option To South Africa, etc.
If you're sitting on American miles, this is a great way to book if you want to connect to Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, the Maldives, or other parts of the Middle East. You can also transfer Bilt points to top off your American account.
You'll need 70,000 miles for a one-way to the Middle East or Indian Subcontinent and 75,000 miles to Africa.
You can book up to 331 days from departure.
Alaska Mileage Plan: Decent For Middle East + Stopover
While 85,000 Alaska miles to the Middle East is a bit steeper, you can include a stopover in Doha on the way to/from your destination. However, the rate jumps to 120,000 miles (gross) if you want to visit Africa so it's mostly useful for trips to the Middle East.
You can book up to 330 days from departure.
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How To Book
If traveling from/to IAD or YUL between September and December 2023, you can run a search with American to find award space.
- Go to AA's site
- Select Advanced / Multi-city search (just click this link)
- Select Redeem miles
- Select One way or Round trip
- Enter From & To cities
- Select departure date(s)
- Choose the number of passengers
- Select Class as Business/First
- Click Search
- If you're searching for a nonstop, select Calendar then sort by nonstop.
- Once you know which dates have Finnair space, you can run a search from your home airport if you're not booking nonstop
If your dates are further out than 331 days from departure, you'll need to search with British Airways or Qatar Airways.
Additionally, please note that not everyone can search for award space on Qatar's site without Avios in their Privilege Club account. If that's the case, and you have some BA Avios, you can link your accounts and move some Avios to your Qatar account.
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Final Thoughts
Whether you want to visit the Middle East, the Maldives, Egypt, or wherever, Qsuites is a great way to get there. With how difficult it can be to book with AA miles these days, I hope you can take advantage of the option to book with Avios and lock in the award space early.
Happy Booking!
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