Qatar Airways Business Class To Various US Cities From $1,625…..But There’s A Catch

Qatar Airways A350

TravelingForMiles.com may receive commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on TravelingForMiles.com are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. TravelingForMiles.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers.

Some links to products and travel providers on this website will earn Traveling For Miles a commission which helps contribute to the running of the site – I’m very grateful to anyone who uses these links but their use is entirely optional. The compensation does not impact how and where products appear on this site and does not impact reviews that are published.

Qatar Airways has some of the better Business Class cabins on the market (especially in its newer aircraft) and, right now, you can book those cabins for travel to the US at some pretty amazing fares. With New York pricing at under $1,700, Atlanta and Washington D.C. pricing at under $1,800 and cities like Boston, Dallas and Chicago pricing at under $1,900 this is a great opportunity to try out the Qatar Airways Business Class product….but there is a little catch.

All the great fares that I’ve found originate in Cairo and let’s face it, Egypt isn’t particularly high on most people’s “places to visit” list right now. Still, if you can get past the fact that you need to travel to Cairo to pick up one of these fares then you could net yourself a truly great deal and, if you pick the correct route, try out the fantastic Qatar Airways A350 Business Class product too.

qatar-airway-business-classQatar Airways A350 Business Class – Image courtesy of Qatar Airways

I’ve listed the better fares by destination city below together with expected mileage earnings should you choose to credit your flights to American Airlines’ AAdvantage program (you use the links below to skip down to the destination of your choice).

I’ve also noted the number of Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQD) that flyers will earn if they book travel in 2017 – all these fares will earn over 33% of the EQD requirement for top-tier Executive Platinum status.

You can view the AAdvantage earnings rates for flights booked though Qatar Airways here.

Fares are available for travel from now through to June 2017

Note: All the fares appear to be available on QatarAirways.com at the time of writing but seats on each flight are limited so you may have to play around with dates if the fares start to sell out.

New York – From $1,626

Example month: September 2016

JFK-SEPT

Example Fare:

CAI-DOH-JFK-1625

Things To Note:

  • If you search carefully enough you should be able to find routings that don’t involve long layovers – as can be seen in the routing above.
  • This is one of three routes on which passengers get to travel on the Qatar Airways A350

Estimated AAdvantage Earnings:

JFK-TABLE

Note: The above redeemable mileage earnings (RDM) are based on a passenger with no AAdvantage status. Going forward American Airlines will still be awarding status bonuses for travel booked through airline partners so, if you have AAdvantage status, you will need to add the following bonuses to the redeemable miles you’ll earn:

  • Gold – 25%
  • Platinum – 100%
  • Executive Platinum – 100%

This means that anyone holding middle or top-tier status with American Airlines can earn almost 35,000 redeemable miles on this trip.

Washington D.C. – From $1,734

Example month: April 2017

IAD-APR

Example Fare:

CAI-DOH-IAD-1734-LAYOVER-AIRCRAFT

Things To Note:

  • It looks like this fare comes with at least one long layover so, if you don’t like the idea of 9 hours at an airport, it may be prudent to book a fare with an even longer layover and stay overnight.
  • The Qatar Airways 777 Business Class cabin is in a 2-2-2 so, if you want aisle access without anyone having to crawl over you, book one of the two centre seats.
  • Note that the last leg of the journey is on an Airbus A320….not as good as a wide-body but should still offer lie-flat seating.

Estimated AAdvantage Earnings:

IAD-TABLE

Note: The above redeemable mileage earnings (RDM) are based on a passenger with no AAdvantage status. Going forward  American Airlines will still be awarding status bonuses for travel booked through airline partners so, if you have AAdvantage status, you will need to add the following bonuses to the redeemable miles you’ll earn:

  • Gold – 25%
  • Platinum – 100%
  • Executive Platinum – 100%

This means that anyone holding middle or top-tier status with American Airlines can earn over 35,000 redeemable miles on this trip.

Atlanta – From $1,757

Example month: March 2017

ATL-MAR

Example Fare:

CAI-DOH-ATL-1757-LAYOVER-AIRCRAFT

Things To Note:

  • It looks like this fare comes with at least one long layover so, if you don’t like the idea of 9 hours at an airport, it may be prudent to book a fare with an even longer layover and stay overnight.
  • The Qatar Airways 777 Business Class cabin is in a 2-2-2 so, if you want aisle access without anyone having to crawl over you, book one of the two centre seats.
  • Note that the last leg of the journey is on an Airbus A320. This may not be as good as a wide-body but it should still offer lie-flat seating.

Estimated AAdvantage Earnings:

ATL-TABLE

Note: The above redeemable mileage earnings (RDM) are based on a passenger with no AAdvantage status. Going forward American Airlines will still be awarding status bonuses for travel booked through airline partners so, if you have AAdvantage status, you will need to add the following bonuses to the redeemable miles you’ll earn:

  • Gold – 25%
  • Platinum – 100%
  • Executive Platinum – 100%

This means that anyone holding middle or top-tier status with American Airlines can earn over 35,000 redeemable miles on this trip.

Boston – From $1,802

Example month: October 2016

BOS-OCT

Example Fare:

CAI-DOH-BOS-1802-LAYOVER-AIRCRAFT

Things To Note:

  • This fare comes with at least one long layover so, if you don’t like the idea of 9 hours at an airport, it may be prudent to book a fare with an even longer layover and stay overnight.
  • This is one of three routes on which passengers get to travel on the Qatar Airways A350
  • The last segment of the journey is operated by an Airbus A320. This may not be as good as a wide-body but it should still offer lie-flat seating.

Estimated AAdvantage Earnings:

BOS-TABLE

Note: The above redeemable mileage earnings (RDM) are based on a passenger with no AAdvantage status. Going forward American Airlines will still be awarding status bonuses for travel booked through airline partners so, if you have AAdvantage status, you will need to add the following bonuses to the redeemable miles you’ll earn:

  • Gold – 25%
  • Platinum – 100%
  • Executive Platinum – 100%

This means that anyone holding middle or top-tier status with American Airlines can earn almost 34,000 redeemable miles on this trip.

Chicago – From $1,843

Example month: November 2016

ORD-NOV

Example Fare:

CAI-DOH-ORD-1843-LONG-LAYOVER

Things To Note:

  • While this is an excellent fare it also appears to come with two long layovers in Doha – I couldn’t find any way around this but if anyone else does then let us know in the comments under this post.
  • The Qatar Airways 777 Business Class cabin is in a 2-2-2 so, if you want aisle access without anyone having to crawl over you, book one of the two centre seats.

Estimated AAdvantage Earnings:

ORD-TABLE

Note: The above redeemable mileage earnings (RDM) are based on a passenger with no AAdvantage status. Going forward American Airlines will still be awarding status bonuses for travel booked through airline partners so, if you have AAdvantage status, you will need to add the following bonuses to the redeemable miles you’ll earn:

  • Gold – 25%
  • Platinum – 100%
  • Executive Platinum – 100%

This means that anyone holding middle or top-tier status with American Airlines can earn over 36,000 redeemable miles on this trip.

Philadelphia – From $1,850

Example month: October 2016

PHL-OCT

Example Fare:

CAI-DOH-PHL-1850

Things To Note:

  • If you search carefully enough you should be able to find routings that don’t involve long layovers – as can be seen in the routing above.
  • This is one of three routes on which passengers get to travel on the Qatar Airways A350

Estimated AAdvantage Earnings:

PHL-TABLE

Note: The above redeemable mileage earnings (RDM) are based on a passenger with no AAdvantage status. Going forward American Airlines will still be awarding status bonuses for travel booked through airline partners so, if you have AAdvantage status, you will need to add the following bonuses to the redeemable miles you’ll earn:

  • Gold – 25%
  • Platinum – 100%
  • Executive Platinum – 100%

This means that anyone holding middle or top-tier status with American Airlines can earn almost 35,000 redeemable miles on this trip.

Dallas – From $1,976

Example month: February 2017

DFW-FEB

Example Fare:

CAI-DOH-DFW-1976-LAYOVER-AIRCRAFT

Things To Note:

  • It looks like this fare comes with at least one long layover so, if you don’t like the idea of 9 hours at an airport, it may be prudent to book a fare with an even longer layover and stay overnight.
  • The Qatar Airways 777 Business Class cabin is in a 2-2-2 so, if you want aisle access without anyone having to crawl over you, book one of the two centre seats.
  • Note that the last leg of the journey is on an Airbus A320. This may not be as good as a wide-body but it should still offer lie-flat seating.

Estimated AAdvantage Earnings:

DFW-TABLE

Note: The above redeemable mileage earnings (RDM) are based on a passenger with no AAdvantage status. Going forward American Airlines will still be awarding status bonuses for travel booked through airline partners so, if you have AAdvantage status, you will need to add the following bonuses to the redeemable miles you’ll earn:

  • Gold – 25%
  • Platinum – 100%
  • Executive Platinum – 100%

This means that anyone holding middle or top-tier status with American Airlines can earn an incredible 39,406 redeemable miles on this trip.

Miami – From $2,012

Example month: October 2016

MIA-OCT

Example Fare:

CAI-DOH-MIA-2012-LONG-LAYOVER

Things To Note:

  • This is another example of a fare that appears to require two long layover in Doha – If I was booking this I’d overnight in Doha in each direction.
  • The Qatar Airways 777 Business Class cabin is in a 2-2-2 so, if you want aisle access without anyone having to crawl over you, book one of the two centre seats.

Estimated AAdvantage Earnings:

MIA-TABLE

Note: The above redeemable mileage earnings (RDM) are based on a passenger with no AAdvantage status. Going forward American Airlines will still be awarding status bonuses for travel booked through airline partners so, if you have AAdvantage status, you will need to add the following bonuses to the redeemable miles you’ll earn:

  • Gold – 25%
  • Platinum – 100%
  • Executive Platinum – 100%

This means that anyone holding middle or top-tier status with American Airlines can earn over 38,000 redeemable miles on this trip.

Bottom Line

Not only are these great Business Class fares but they offer the chance to earn an incredible amount of Elite Qualifying Miles, Redeemable Miles and, if you’re booking for 2017, Elite Qualifying Dollars. That makes the fares incredibly useful to anyone looking to tie up American Airlines status for next year or for anyone looking  to get a great boost to elite status qualification in 2017….especially with the good EQD earnings these fares offer.

As I mentioned at the start, all these fares should be bookable through QatarAirways.com or though the online travel site of your choice. If the fares have been snapped up for your chosen dates then a little bit of flexibility should help.

Featured image: Gerard van der schaaf via Flickr