Originally Posted by
FlyingTrojan
I find some of the additions very interesting. Particularly for "Choice Plus" and the free premium beverage. How are they going to keep track of this? Will it be on the boarding pass?
A good explanation (recommended) that touches on this and details out what the $68 Essentials and $88 Plus bundles include is on this blog:
http://thepointsguy.com/2012/12/amer...light-changes/
Essential: For an additional fee of $68 roundtrip, these fares will include 1 checked bag [in addition to what you might already be entitled to], Group 1 priority boarding and no change fees.
[...]Plus: These fares cost [...] $88 above Choice/Regular Fares and have the same three perks as Choice Essential plus a 50% AAdvantage mileage bonus (not Elite Qualifying Miles), waived same-day confirmed flight changes, same day standby and a premium beverage (including alcohol).
So the underlying fare is the same, they're just pre-selling a bundle of stuff on top of it.
For the moment these bundles are available from AA only (no travel agents, including corporate, and unclear if AA.com only or also from AA reservations) at the moment of purchase, not even as an add-on to an existing reservation.