This paper evaluates the bit-error rate and spectral efficiency performance provided by the convolutional coded Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) configurations whose global rates are modified mainly by changing the numbers of code and non-coded bits mapped on a QAM symbol. The Bit Error Rate (BER) performance provided are compared to the ones of the convolutional coded modulations which map only code bits and have the same configuration rates, aiming to show that coded configurations mapping non-coded bits as well, ensure a target BER value at smaller values of the Signal/Noise Ratio (SNR) than the ones mapping only code bits The paper also presents an approximate method to compute the BER of the configurations mapping both code and non-coded bits, which is validated by computer simulations and is shown to provide good accuracy in the range of BER values of practical interest.