The Best Ways to Book Qatar Qsuites with Points & Miles

Qatar Airways Qsuites has earned a reputation (and many awards) as the world's best business class – and rightfully so, if you ask us.

When it launched back in 2017, it became the first suite-style business class pod in the sky, complete with a fully closing door. That alone revolutionized business class, setting the bar for every other airline thanks to the immense space and privacy as well as great service and onboard dining, too. A few years and a pandemic later, it's still easily one of the best ways to fly – if not the best.

Fortunately, there are a handful of ways to use points and miles to book Qatar Qsuites. In fact, it's gotten much easier in the last year – especially if you have a stash of credit card points like Capital One Venture Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, or Amex Membership Rewards.

We're focusing on the best of the best ways for travelers to hitch a ride in Qsuites.

 

 

Read our full review of Qatar Qsuites!

 

What Routes Can You Fly in QSuites from the U.S.?

Qatar Airways flies to about a dozen different U.S. cities from their hub in Doha, Qatar (DOH). Of course, you can also connect onward to any of Qatar Airways' many destinations throughout Europe, the Maldives, South Africa, Thailand, and many more.

But before you start the booking process, it is important to know where you can hop on a Qatar flight in the U.S. Fortunately, you've got plenty of options.

 

 

As of publication, Qatar Airways flies to the following 13 North American cities:

• Atlanta (ATL)
• Boston (BOS)
• Chicago (ORD)
• Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)
• Houston-Intercontinental (IAH)
• Los Angeles (LAX)
• Miami (MIA)
• Montreal (YUL)
• New York City (JFK)
• Philadelphia (PHL)
• San Francisco (SFO)
• Seattle (SEA)
• Washington, D.C.- Dulles (IAD)

Generally, Qatar flies planes equipped with Qsuites to all these U.S. gateways. But that's not always the case. In our experience over the last few years, Philadelphia (PHL), Boston (BOS), Atlanta (ATL), Chicago-O'Hare (ORD), and sometimes Washington, D.C.-Dulles (IAD) are the most likely not to have Qsuites onboard.

To make matters worse, Qatar Airways has a knack for unannounced equipment swaps that could leave you on a Qsuite-less plane, despite having it locked in when you booked.

That means you'll want to double-check before booking anything … and watch your reservation as your trip draws near, just in case Qatar changes what plane you'll be flying.

 

Ensure Your Qatar Flight is Equipped with Qsuites Business Class

First things first: Check the plane type.

All of Qatar Airways' new Airbus A350-1000s have Qsuites on board, so that's a safe bet. You'll find these birds flying to Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), New York City (JFK), San Francisco (SFO), Los Angeles (LAX), and a few other U.S. gateways.

Almost all of the Boeing 777-300ERs and 777-200LRs that Qatar flies to and from the U.S. have Qsuites onboard, as well. And many – but not all – of their A350-900s now feature Qsuites.

Still, you'll want to confirm. To ensure you are booking a flight with Qsuites, head to Google Flights. If the route that you are looking at has Qsuites, you should see that indicated with the text “individual suite.”

 

 

But if you don't see that text listed, you may need to do a little more digging. You'll want to grab the flight number which is listed in the red square below. In this example, it is QR 744.

 

 

With that information in hand, you will want to head to either SeatGuru or ExpertFlyer. From here, you will enter the name of the airline, your travel date, and the flight number. ExpertFlyer will require you to enter the city pairs as well as choose a specific cabin.

 

 

From here, SeatGuru will pull up your specific flight. Just select “View map” to view the seat layout for the flight.

 

 

As you can see, this particular Boston (BOS) to Doha (DOH) flight on Nov. 6 is being operated by an Airbus A350-900 that does have Qsuites on board. First, you'll want to make sure that the cabin is in a 1-2-1 layout… but the arrangement looks a bit different than a normal business class cabin.

As you can see, rows 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 all face backward. And in the middle section of each row – also referred to as the couples or honeymoon suites – the partitions can be opened up so a group of up to four traveling companions can have their own pod.

This is what to look for to ensure you'll have Qsuites on your flight.

 

 

Here's what an older, non-Qsuites seat map looks like.

 

 

Unfortunately, SeatGuru isn't as reliable as it once was – TripAdvisor, which owns the site, has stopped updating SeatGuru. So just to be sure, you may want to plug in your flight information at ExpertFlyer and scope out the seat map. Qsuite-equipped cabins look like this:

 

 

Now you know what to look for, it's time to actually book Qatar Qsuites. Here are the best ways to do it with a few different points and miles currencies.

 

1. Use American Airlines AAdvantage Miles

While this list has grown, American AAdvantage miles are often the single best way to book a flight in Qsuites.

There are a lot of great ways to use American AAdvantage miles. That's why we think they're worth earning, whether you're a loyal AA flyer or hope to never set foot on one of their planes. After tweaking award rates this year when booking American flights, the airline could eventually raise award prices for redeeming AAdvantage miles on Qatar and other Oneworld partner airlines.

But for now, it's a great option: You’ll need 70,000 AAdvantage miles to book a one-way flight from the U.S. to Qatar’s hub in Doha (DOH), or vice versa. You can also continue onward elsewhere in the Middle East – to Muscat (MCT) in Oman, Dubai (DXB), or Amman (AMM) in Jordan- and still pay just 70,000 miles. Best of all, you can easily search and book Qatar Qsuites on the American Airlines website.

 

 

Want to get to the Maldives or Seychelles? Or even as far as India or Sri Lanka? It's still just 70,000 AAdvantage miles, with a connection in Doha on your way.

Or you could head from the U.S. down to South Africa (or anywhere else on the continent) and pay just 75,000 AAdvantage miles each way. It’s a massive sweet spot on the American Airlines award chart and one of the best deals in points and miles.

 

 

For the time being, American Airlines has one award chart for all redemptions on its partner airlines. Select your departure region to determine the number of points required. As you can see from the chart below, flying Qatar Qsuites from the U.S. to the Middle East or the Maldives (defined as part of “Indian Subcontinent”) would also cost just 70,000 AAdvantage miles.

 

 

Qatar Airways has a massive network so it’s easy to get just about anywhere in the world if you have American Airlines miles. But, as is often the case in the world of points and miles, just because it is possible, doesn't mean you'll be able to book it. There needs to be award availability to book, which often comes in waves. We're always on the lookout for these deals.

 

 

We send award alerts for Qatar Airways Qsuites availability to our Thrifty Traveler Premium+ members!

If you're starting from scratch, American's website makes it fairly easy to zero in on award space. Just search a nonstop Qatar Airways route, like Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to Doha (DOH), on AA.com and be sure to click “Redeem miles.” From there, click the calendar view, and filter for only nonstop flights in business class. All the dates in green have availability to fly Qsuites to Doha.

 

 

Your best bet is to be flexible with your dates if you want to book Qatar Qsuites with American Airlines AAdvantage miles – or any points and miles, for that matter.

 

Why You Should Book QSuites with AAdvantage Miles

Whether you're flying nonstop to Doha, elsewhere in the Middle East, to the Maldives, or all the way down to South Africa, it's the best deal on this list, period.

You can't beat AA's combination of low award rates and low taxes and fees. While you can't transfer points to AAdvantage from the big banks like American Express, Chase, or Capital One, it's easy enough to earn the miles you need to book Qsuites.

If you're really flexible, you may even be able to book a connecting flight within the U.S. on American before hopping on your Qsuites flight over the Atlantic – still for just 70,000 miles each way. It's tough to pull off … but if you can, it's a goldmine.

 

 

The one hitch with American AAdvantage miles is that you can only book flights 331 days in advance. So while you can book flights as far out as mid-March 2024 with your AA miles (as of publication), other airline programs on this list go as far out even further – into early April, even.

That may seem minor, but it opens a critical window to book Qsuites using another airline program's miles before flyers with AAdvantage miles have a chance.

 

How to Earn American Airlines Miles

No other airline makes it easier to pile up 100,000-plus miles than American. In fact, two cards can quickly earn you more than 100,000 AAdvantage miles – nearly enough for a roundtrip in Qsuites.

It starts with an easy-to-earn welcome offer bonus on the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®. Just for opening the card, making a single purchase, you can earn 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles. The card's $99 annual fee is not waived in the first year.

This is the biggest offer we have ever seen on the card, and these are some of the easiest miles you will ever earn.

 

 

Learn more about the AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard (this is not an affiliate link).

But what makes American Airlines unique is the fact that they have co-branded credit card relationships with two banks: Barclays as well as Citi.

That means you can also apply for the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®, which is currently offering 50,000 AAdvantage Miles after spending $2,500 within the first three months. The card’s $99 annual fee is waived in the first year. 

 

 

Learn more about the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®

 

This is significant because you can earn the welcome offer bonus on each card, netting you at least 100,000 American Airlines miles. And that’s more than enough to get you a one-way Qsuites flight anywhere Qatar flies them.

Read more: How You Can Quickly Earn American Airlines Miles (And Why You Should)

 

Transfer Points from Bilt Rewards

Bilt Rewards, the relatively new program that lets you earn points on rent payments, is a 1:1 transfer partner of American Airlines.

You can earn points much faster with the Bilt Mastercard. And it's even better on Bilt Rent Day, the monthly promos to earn double points on the first of each month.

Once you've got them, you can simply transfer Bilt points to American Airlines AAdvantage to book Qatar Qsuites.

 

 

If you have a monthly rent payment, Bilt is a no-brainer way to earn valuable transferrable points for that monthly expense.

Read More: Bilt Rewards Overhauls Rewards Program to Earn More Points on Rent Payments

 

Transfer Points from Marriott Bonvoy

If you need more AA miles in a pinch, Marriott could come to the rescue.

You can also transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to American Airlines AAdvantage at a 3:1 ratio. That means you’ll get 1 American AAdvantage mile for every 3 Marriott Bonvoy points you transfer. So a transfer of 30,000 Bonvoy points gets you 10,000 American Miles. That’s not a great deal, but it could make sense – especially if you’re flush with Bonvoy points.

 

2. Book with Qatar Avios

American AAdvantage miles might be the way to go if you're looking for the most affordable way to book Qsuites. But if you're looking for the easiest way, look no further than Qatar's own mileage program, Qatar Avios.

Qatar's frequent flyer program has slid underneath the radar for years. But after forming a deeper partnership with British Airways last year, Qatar adopted Avios … and that's a huge win.

For years, the only easy way to earn Qatar miles was by transferring Citi ThankYou points. But now that they both use Avios, you can combine miles between British Airways and Qatar. So in a roundabout way, Qatar is now a Chase transfer partner, Amex transfer partner, and a Capital One transfer partner too.

Read up on the latest Qatar and British Airways combo and how to transfer your points between them!

That's huge. You can now get the miles you need to book Qsuites from cards like the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, or The Platinum Card® from American Express.

Of course, using British Airways is an option, too – and it's not a bad one at all. But booking through Qatar instead comes with some big advantages.

 

 

Qatar charges a reasonable 70,000 miles (the same amount you’ll pay through American Airlines) and just under $100 for a one-way flight from the U.S. to Doha (DOH).

 

 

But if you want to connect onward flying Qsuites, it's not quite as economical as using AA miles … though it's still a great deal. Fees do add up with these redemptions with connections.

• Flying to Middle Eastern destinations like Dubai (DXB), Abu Dhabi (AUH) or Muscat (MCT) costs 75,000 miles.
• Other destinations like Amman (AMM) and Cairo (CAI) as well as major Indian cities go up to 80,000 miles each way.
• Getting to the Seychelles (SEZ) or Maldives (MLE) will run you 85,000 miles each way.
• Both Southeast Asia and South Africa typically cost 95,000 miles each way.

Read our full guide to booking flights with Qatar Avios!

You might see some substantially higher award prices through Qatar, too. That's because the airline releases some higher-priced awards to its own members using Qatar Avios. The easiest way to determine how many Qatar Avios you should need for the best deal is by using their QCalculator on the Qatar website.

 

 

Why You Should Book Qsuites with Qatar Avios

Because credit card transfer partners make it much to earn the miles you need to book these incredible suites.

Depending on what miles you've got, this may be the only viable path to make a Qsuites redemption a reality. But there's another advantage of booking through Qatar Avios that could make it your go-to even if you've got plenty of AA miles to spare.

That's because Qatar Avios allows you to book flights more than 360 days in advance – nearly a month longer than what you see when booking through American. So while you can currently only book Qatar flights as far out as mid-March of 2024 with American AAdvantage miles, you can book into late March or even April 2024 using Qatar Avios.

 

 

That opens up a crucial window to book these Qsuites before other travelers have a chance to snag them. In some cases, booking with Qatar Avios could be the difference between booking the business class awards you want … or seeing nothing at all.

While the award rates and cash surcharges aren't quite as low as you'll find when booking with American AAdvantage miles – especially for connecting flights – it's still very reasonable.

 

How to Earn Qatar Avios

You can of course earn Qatar Avios by flying cash flights on Qatar – or another Oneworld airline, then crediting your flights to Qatar. But it's much easier to simply transfer some credit card points to Qatar. And now, you've got tons of options.

Qatar's recent tie-up with British Airways gives you a path to transfer points from Chase, Amex, Capital One, and, of course, Citi, which is the only direct transfer partner. In each case, these points transfer on a 1:1 basis which means 1 credit card point gets you 1 Qatar mile. And in most cases (aside from Citi), these transfers should be instant.

We think most travelers would be best served with either the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card or the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

We think the Capital One Venture X Rewards card is truly one of the best cards out there for travelers. Currently, you can earn 75,000 Venture Miles after spending just $4,000 in the first three months of opening the card.

Considering you’ll earn at least 2x Venture Miles for every dollar you spend, you’ll actually accumulate 83,000 miles once you earn the bonus. That's more than enough for a one-way to many destinations in Qsuites. You'd just transfer those points over to British Airways, then again over to Qatar, when you're ready. Check out our post to see how to do these inter-airline transfers!

 

 

Learn more about the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

 

You can also earn Amex points to transfer over to British Airways and again to Qatar. One of the best ways to earn a ton of these points is the Platinum Card® from American Express, on which you can currently earn at least an 80,000-point welcome offer after spending $6,000 within the first six months. Better yet, check to see if you qualify for a 150,000-point bonus via CardMatch.

 

 

Learn more about the Platinum Card from American Express

 

3. British Airways Avios

We really didn't see this one coming.

When British Airways brought Qatar Airways under the Avios umbrella, it made some incredibly positive changes by massively reducing both award rates and cash fees. One-way flights in Qsuites from the U.S. to Doha that once cost 150,000-plus miles and $500 or more in fees now are nearly identical to Qatar: 70,000 miles plus about $100 in fees!

Plus, British Airways' distance-based pricing – where longer flights cost you more miles – is gone for these redemptions. It doesn't matter if you're flying from New York City (JFK) or Los Angeles (LAX) over to Doha. It costs the same!

 

 

So why does Qatar Avios have the advantage here? They're both Avios, right? If you want to connect elsewhere with Qatar, forget British Airways: You'll need to book those flights using BA Avios separately, meaning you'll wind up using far, far more miles.

 

Why You Should Book Qsuites with British Airways Avios

If you're just looking for a simple nonstop flight to Doha in Qsuites, you might opt for the simplicity of British Airways.

Otherwise, look elsewhere on this list.

 

How to Earn British Airways Avios

British Airways are among the easiest miles to earn thanks to credit card transfer partnerships.

You can transfer points from Chase, Amex, and Capital One directly to your British Airways account. Most importantly, these transfers are typically instant. And with a 1:1 transfer ratio, whatever points you've got can put a serious dent in your Qsuites tab.

Consider the 75,000-mile bonus on the Capital One Venture X Rewards card after spending $4,000 within the first three months. But one of our favorite ways to rack up Avios is with the best travel card for beginners: The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

Currently, you can earn a welcome bonus of 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 in the first three months.

And with 3x points per dollar spent for dining and 2x points for travel purchases, it’s really easy to rack up a ton of Chase points that can be instantly transferred to British Airways miles.

 

 

Learn more about the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card 

 

4. Use Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles

Alaska Airlines joined the OneWorld airline alliance last year, ending years of airline free agency. And, that came with the ability to book Qatar Qsuites with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles.

For a while, Alaska had a standalone award chart for Qatar Airways redemptions … but that changed late last year when the airline unveiled a new, “streamlined” award chart for all its airline partners. For now, the prices to book Qsuites have remained unchanged.

If you’re aiming to fly Qsuites business class, it’ll run you 85,000 miles each way, plus reasonable fees of around $20. Compared to the 70,000 AAdvantage miles or 70,000 Qatar Qmiles you’d use to book the exact same flight, that’s a decent option – though certainly not the best.

 

 

But there’s a quirk with the pricing here. In some cases, you’ll see much higher award rates, like this option to book a flight from Seattle (SEA) to Doha for a whopping 170,000 Alaska miles each way. It appears that Qatar is giving Alaska Mileage Plan members a crack at booking its higher-priced awards – if they’re willing to pay much more for it.

Avoid these if you can as you should be able to book Qatar Qsuites with Alaska miles for only 85,000 miles to the Middle East.

 

 

How to Earn Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Miles

Unfortunately, outside of Marriott Bonvoy transfers at a 3:1 ratio, Alaska Airlines is not a transfer partner of any of the major credit card points programs. That means outside of flying on Alaska Airlines, the best way to earn Alaska Miles is through their co-branded credit cards issued from Bank of America.

First, there is the Alaska Airlines Visa® Credit Card. And if you own a small business, there is the Alaska Airlines Business Credit Card.

 

5. Book a Cheap Fare Through the Chase or Amex Travel Portal

Business class fares are rarely cheap, but you can occasionally find a great deal flying Qatar Qsuites. Why not take that deal and make it free?

If you are sitting on a pile of Chase Ultimate Rewards points or American Express Membership Rewards points, it can make sense to book through Amex Travel or the Chase Travel Portal if cash prices are cheap.

Here's an example of how this works. Using Google Flights a while back, I was able to find a round-trip, business class ticket from Atlanta (ATL) to Dubai (DXB) for $2,233. The flight from Atlanta connects in Doha (DOH), flying Qsuites the entire way.

 

 

If you hold the Business Platinum Card® from American Express you will get a 35% points rebate when you book a business class flight on any airline through Amex Travel (up to 1,000,000 bonus points back per calendar year) – in addition to economy fares on your airline of choice. That's a great deal.

Normally, your Membership Rewards points are worth just 1 cent apiece when booking through Amex Travel. So as you can see, the flight costs $2,288 through Amex Travel or 228,767 points. But once you factor in that 35% rebate (getting 80,068 points back into your account), that brings the cost down to 148,699 Membership Rewards points – or just 74,350 points each way.

Read more: My Favorite Benefit of the Business Platinum Card from American Express

 

 

If you hold the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card your points will be worth 25% more when you book travel through the Chase travel portal. With the Chase Sapphire Reserve® they're worth 50% more.

So if you hold the Sapphire Preferred Card, you could book this fare for 183,013 points round trip – or 91,506 points each way. 

 

 

With the Reserve Card, your points will go further. You could book the flight for 152,511 points round trip – or 76,255 points each way. 

 

 

We've seen even cheaper prices on Qsuites fares over the years through our Thrifty Traveler Premium+ service, including roundtrip flights from New York City (JFK) to Eastern Europe for just $1,663. At that price, you could book with less than 111,000 points from the Chase Sapphire Reserve – or just over 108,000 points with that rebate from the Amex Business Platinum card.

And there's one big reason why you might want to book this way: Unlike normal airline awards, you'll earn miles booking with your credit card points like this. You'll even earn towards elite status!

Since Qatar is a part of the Oneworld alliance, you could credit those miles (and status) toward American – or better yet, Alaska Airlines.

 

Other Options for Booking Qatar Qsuites with Points & Miles

The five options we've laid out above are the best of the best ways to book Qsuites with points and miles. But that's not the end of the list.

There are other options to book Qsuites, whether you've accumulated miles with another airline or have points from Chase, Amex, Citi, or Capital One that you can transfer. But these options come with some serious cons that should make them a last resort rather than your go-to.

• Japan Airlines MileageBank: JAL's mileage program has great rates to fly Qsuites, starting at just 110,000 miles roundtrip between the U.S. and Middle East. But these miles are nearly impossible to earn unless you've got a huge stash of Marriott Bonvoy points to transfer.
• Cathay Pacific AsiaMiles: This is a decent option for redeeming Qsuites if you've got Amex points at your disposal – especially for mixed-cabin redemptions with a mix of business class and Qatar Airways First Class. But Cathay Pacific passes on some hefty fees of $500 or more on these awards, which makes other options more compelling.
• Qantas Frequent Flyer: Miles from Australia's flag carrier are another option, but it just keeps getting worse. Expect to pay 120,000 miles or more each way to fly Qsuites, with some extra taxes and fees, too.

 

Bottom Line

There are a handful of great ways to book Qatar Qsuites with points. Some are far better than others.

But recent changes with Qatar and British Airways have opened up the floodgates with some easy ways to earn the miles you need to book Qsuites.

Do your homework and figure out the best way for you to scratch Qsuites off your bucket list. There's no one right or wrong answer. Just make sure you confirm the flights you want are available before transferring any flexible credit card points – those transfers are a one-way street, and you won't be getting them back.

 

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