Panic is setting in! AA Points purchased.

[andyperth]

I have been eagerly awaiting booking two Business class seats back from BCN - PER sep 19th 2016 with AA points
I have 120000 points...rang AA AUS today and they say nothing available yet... aaaargh.

• :shock:
  

Does anyone know how QATAR go about releasing AWARD seats in Business class and how I can achieve my goal?
I feel like I am so close...and dont want to screw up now with our first bus flight back from Spain.

Thank you in advance..

 

[Isochronous]

Do QR flights show in the AA online booking engine? Or phone only?

 

[Blackswan]

Do QR flights show in the AA online booking engine? Or phone only?

I think availability can be checked via BA - and then you have to call.

 

[dalereardon]

You will need to get a free BA.com account to find the flights yourself - don't rely on agents to find the flights for you.

Also I believe CX is flying to Spain starting next year sometime and their availability is normally good.

Dale.

 

[grussellt]

I have been eagerly awaiting booking two Business class seats back from BCN - PER sep 19th 2016 with AA points
I have 120000 points...rang AA AUS today and they say nothing available yet... aaaargh.

• :shock:

Does anyone know how QATAR go about releasing AWARD seats in Business class and how I can achieve my goal?
I feel like I am so close...and dont want to screw up now with our first bus flight back from Spain.

Thank you in advance..

If you buy another 20000 miles each you could fly MAD-LHR-DXB-SYD-PER in FIRST on September 19. You can also put flights on hold until your points are available. BCN-MAD on IB should not be a problem. Enjoy.

 

[Alanslegal]

If you buy another 20000 miles each you could fly MAD-LHR-DXB-SYD-PER in FIRST on September 19. You can also put flights on hold until your points are available. BCN-MAD on IB should not be a problem. Enjoy.

Good luck finding QF F flights though - especially if travelling in a pair.

 

[grussellt]

There is F availability showing (for 2 people) but some is not bookable and could only be described as phantom. A cross-check on QFF is worthwhile.

 

[yohy?!]

great avatar andyperth

always best to confirm the availability with AA before buying the points, they will hold the itinerary for you before you purchase in future. hope it works out well this time.

 

[andyperth]

great avatar andyperth

always best to confirm the availability with AA before buying the points, they will hold the itinerary for you before you purchase in future. hope it works out well this time.

Thanks mate...Star Trek fan...esp the Borg.
I did some checking weeks ago and F and economy were showing....and then came the AA bonus points offer so I felt I should jump in quick! Oh well. Now everytime I try dates on BA it come back with nothing...I was really hoping to get J on QATAR from Barcelona but we are in Italy for 2 weeks prior to our possible trip to Spain so we could stay on and fly from anywhere in Italy... even if Im coming up blank on that option too. Do you think that QATAR will release anything (I have messaged them and awaiting response)?

 

[Flippantflyer]

Thanks mate...Star Trek fan...esp the Borg.
I did some checking weeks ago and F and economy were showing....and then came the AA bonus points offer so I felt I should jump in quick! Oh well. Now everytime I try dates on BA it come back with nothing...I was really hoping to get J on QATAR from Barcelona but we are in Italy for 2 weeks prior to our possible trip to Spain so we could stay on and fly from anywhere in Italy... even if Im coming up blank on that option too. Do you think that QATAR will release anything (I have messaged them and awaiting response)?

If I were you I'd book the BCN-DOH flights now (2 J showing on 19th). Then wait, and hope for some connecting DOH-OZ flights to turn up. They'll be flying into PER, MEL, SYD and ADL by then right? There are award seats showing in June/July to Syd and Adelaide, so may just be that they haven't released September yet? Certainly not an expert on QR availability, but I reckon that's the punt I'd take (presuming you'll then need to pay the $175 change fee later then though to extend the award).

You got any velocity points? If so, you could try use them to fly Madrid-Abu Dhabi and then use those 120,000 points for Etihad First back via SYD or MEL...

 

[Spizz]

There are award seats showing in June/July to Syd and Adelaide

Where are you seeing this as I have checked both BA and QF website for Qatar availability for ADL-DOH or DOH-ADL for their new direct service and still can't see any award seats.

 

[andyperth]

If I were you I'd book the BCN-DOH flights now (2 J showing on 19th). Then wait, and hope for some connecting DOH-OZ flights to turn up. They'll be flying into PER, MEL, SYD and ADL by then right? There are award seats showing in June/July to Syd and Adelaide, so may just be that they haven't released September yet? Certainly not an expert on QR availability, but I reckon that's the punt I'd take (presuming you'll then need to pay the $175 change fee later then though to extend the award).

Thanks for the tip. I did consider grabbing those two to DOH and waiting but didn't know about the award extension option(thought they might want another 60K!!), so... I asked AA to check some Italy- AUS (Spain is out for this trip)possibilities and ended up with Milan to PER via Abu Dabi on Etihad...the stinger for me was that they were asking for 75000 points each. I dont get how BCN-PER is 60000 on Qr yet this is 75??... Anyway, I got the CC out and bought some more points- Still a really good deal...saving half the cost of J ticket... but still, quite misleading (to me at least). Anyone understand why the points diff (so I know for next time)?

 

[grussellt]

This trip has priced out as two awards: Europe-Middle East and Middle East to Australia. The programme rules need to well understood to get best value. Exceptions to "no travel Oz to Europe via Middle East as one award" include transit via DOH on QR and via DXB on QF.

 

[andyperth]

This trip has priced out as two awards: Europe-Middle East and Middle East to Australia. The programme rules need to well understood to get best value. Exceptions to "no travel Oz to Europe via Middle East as one award" include transit via DOH on QR and via DXB on QF.

Thanks for that.. Where can I find the rules that spell this out?... I can only find vague references such as "Participating airlines and schedules may change over time. If no participating carrier offers direct service between origin and destination zones, certain awards may be unavailable or multiple awards may be required."(from AA Oneworld chart page) The chart on the other hand says between Europe and South Pacific - 60,000... so how do we know which airlines have these exceptions?

 

[serfty]

Check the 'wiki' on this FlyerTalk page - it is kept up to date and normally accurate (look under exceptions).

oneworld and Other Airline (Partner) Awards info ...

 

[andyperth]

Many thanks to Everyone who helped out- I hope others have found this useful too.

 

[Alanslegal]

Many thanks to Everyone who helped out- I hope others have found this useful too.

The rules/exceptions have been around forever but glad you have (finally) learnt them by booking.