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US Airways miles can get you to the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent on Qatar Airways flights in Business Class. Qatar Airways flies to seven American cities with ample Business Class award space to Doha and beyond.
I’ve talked a lot about using US Airways miles lately with good reason: The US Airways® Premier World MasterCard® is currently offering 40,000 bonus miles after first purchase and you can currently transfer 20,000 Starpoints to 30,000 US Airways miles for all of July.
These mile earning opportunities create ample opportunity to get great deals on any one of the many airlines within the oneworld alliance on US Airways’ famously cheap award chart.
To the Middle East and India, the oneworld partner on which you want to redeem your US Airways miles is Qatar Airways for its ample award availability and great product in business class.
Qatar Airways joined oneworld in October last year.
- Qatar Airways Joins the oneworld Alliance
- Qatar Award Space Now Bookable with British Airways Avios Online and American Airlines Miles
Qatar Airways currently has tons of availability in business class from US airports to its hub in Doha as well as many other destinations in the Middle East and India.
- How can you use US Airways miles to book Qatar Airways flights to the Middle East and India?
- Where is the United States does Qatar Airways fly?
- Where can you search for Qatar Airways availability?
- How can you book Qatar awards?
- How many miles will you need and how can you get them?
Using US Airways Miles on Qatar Airways Flights
US Airways miles can be used to fly any oneworld airline plus a handful of US Airways’ former Star Alliance partners.
A roundtrip Business Class award from the United States to the Middle East or India (which is part of the South & Central Asia region) costs 120,000 US Airways miles.
Where in the United States Does Qatar Airways Fly?
Qatar flies to and from seven cities in the United States: Chicago (ORD), Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Houston (IAH), Miami (MIA), New York (JFK), Philadelphia (PHL), and Washington, DC (IAD).
If you don’t live in one of these cities, you can connect on US Airways and American Airlines flights from your home airport to these Qatar gateways for zero extra miles.
Where to Search for Qatar Airways Availability
The second counter-intuitive truth about miles is that where you search for award space is NOT related to the miles you are using to book the award.
Even though we are using US Airways miles, ba.com is the best place to search for award space on Qatar Airways flights. For a full guide on how to search for award space on ba.com, make sure to check out my post:
Using the British Airways search tool, I found availability in Business Class between Doha and all of Qatar’s American gateways, often with 2+ award seats.
- Chicago:
- Dallas/Fort Worth:
- Houston:
- Miami:
- New York:
- Philadelphia:
- Washington, DC:
Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays seemed to have the best availability for flights on Qatar. On my searches, New York (JFK) had the worst award space to Doha of Qatar’s American gateways.
Award availability to India was a little harder to come by, but still available. Flights to Kolkata were readily available from Washington, DC on Qatar.
Award space to Mumbai was also available on Qatar Airways flights in Business Class. Ignore the British Airways flights on top because of their huge fuel surcharges.
Award space on Qatar Airways to the Middle East and India is available to and from many cities including man destinations newly available to oneworld with Qatar’s joining.
Booking the Award
To book an award with Qatar Airways flights, call US Airways at 1-800-428-4322.
I just put a roundtrip Business Class award on hold from Washington, DC to Kolkata, India. I simply told the agent the dates, flight numbers, and cabin class of all flights, and she accurately priced the award at 120,000 miles plus a total of $94.49 in taxes and fees. If I were booking this award, I would pay the taxes and fees with my Barclaycard Arrival PlusTM World Elite MasterCard®, so I could redeem Arrival miles for an offsetting statement credit.
The call was quick and, as usual, the agent thanked me for making it easy by having all the flight numbers and segments ready to go when I called in.
Getting the Miles
The US Airways® Premier World MasterCard® is currently offering 40,000 bonus miles after first purchase.
Recap
Qatar Airways joining oneworld back in October 2013 unlocked many more Middle East and Indian destinations and much more award space previously unavailable to people with oneworld miles.
By using the British Airways search tool, you can find great award availability on Qatar Airways and use US Airways miles to book it. For 120,000 miles, you can fly business class to and from one of the seven US cities Qatar flies to.
If you are short on time or having trouble putting together your dream trip, you can always ask for a helping hand from our Award Booking Service.
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Scott, I am curious if you have heard anything about applying to the US Air card if you already have one? If so, I’d be curious to hear about it. I put it in my last application basket and despite repeated calls to Barclays, could not get approved for the card because apparently their policies had changed to not give more than one card to person. Wondering if it might be better for me to cancel my current card and try to get in one more application before the end of the year.
Thank you for this article. I was wondering how to use best use my US Airways miles, until now!!!
@Gaurav – that’s odd, I got targeted for another card about a month ago – but then the two cards had slightly different benefits and offers. The first one was 35,000 and this is 40,000 – haven’t yet got the miles (only completed spending and paying fee this week) but hopeful that it will result in some more miles.
Guarav, that’s just not true. My BF applied (and was instantly approved) for a new USAir card just last week with the previous one still open.
Thanks Lisa, Anthony. My initial thoughts were also that they were feeding me a line but after hearing it from four agents I began to believe it. I’ll probably cancel my card to be on the safe side and try to reapply in six months or so.
Are one-way awards possible for Qatar?