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aa.com Economy / Coach Pricing Display & Choice Bundles (consolidated)

Old Dec 13, 2012, 3:04 pm
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AA is now offering three types of Economy fares via AA.com:

Choice (fare basis code ends in 1) = Lowest Fare, earn AA miles
Choice Essential (fare basis code ends in 2) = Change Fee (depends on detailed fare rules), 1 Checked Bag, Group 1 Boarding, Earn AA miles
Choice Plus (fare basis code ends in 7) = above Choice Essential benefits plus 50% Bonus RDM, Same-Day Flight Change, Same-Day Standby, Premium Beverage, No Change Fee, Earns base miles plus 50% bonus miles
Business/First as Choice Plus, plus 3 checked bags, No change fee (domestic only), priority baggage delivery at carousel, 50% class of service bonus miles

(Updated 1 Mar 2015)

See this page at aa.com for bundled services.

AmericanAirlines has posted some comments and clarifications in Post 144.

Originally Posted by hillrider
(1Mar 2015) The fee for the "choice plus" bundled extra now ranges from $80-80 each way, up from $80.

Choice plus extras are comprised of:
  • 1 checked bag
  • Group 1 Boarding
  • No change fee (any difference in fares would still apply; valid for American Airlines operated flights)
  • Same-day flight change
  • Same-day standby
  • Premium beverage on board
  • Earn 50% more AAdvantage miles
See these related links:

AA.com: Tailor Your Travel | Enhance Your Travel with Combined Features

FT: AA economy fare basis now ends with a number
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aa.com Economy / Coach Pricing Display & Choice Bundles (consolidated)

 
Old Dec 12, 2012, 9:19 am
  #61  
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: LAX
Programs: AA ExP, DL Diamond, AF Plat, AS 75K, Hertz #1 Gold, National Executive, SPG Gold
Posts: 197
Originally Posted by QueenOfCoach
I did a dummy booking and found it somewhat confusing.
I did a dummy booking JFK LAX. It was pretty straight forward for me

Originally Posted by newyorkgeorge
I just got the email and also saw the free change fee. Is this for EXPs only?
I think you need to choose one of the "choice essential" or " choice plus" to get the free change fee. It was $68 more for my dummy booking. acceptable.
pineapplejet is offline  
Old Dec 12, 2012, 9:22 am
  #62  
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As someone who travels a lot (like most of you) and books their own schedule (never have an never will allow a admin or anyone else to book for me) this is a GREAT improvement. AA website has been my favorite for a few years now, but this is just new enhancements that are meant to allow the customer to choose their experience depending on what is important to them. GENIUS revenue model, and I think its gonna work.

Hats off to the boys in AA management as this is a smart way to give the customer options beyond options.

Cheers,
AA777
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Old Dec 12, 2012, 9:23 am
  #63  
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Originally Posted by pineapplejet
I did a dummy booking JFK LAX. It was pretty straight forward for me



I think you need to choose one of the "choice essential" or " choice plus" to get the free change fee. It was $68 more for my dummy booking. acceptable.

IMHO, AA has not had much luck with these quippy monikers of late. Preferred vs. Preferred Plus created confusion and eventually had to be replaced. I'm not sure what is to be gained by "choice essential" vs. "choice plus" as marketing terms.
ESpen36 is offline  
Old Dec 12, 2012, 9:24 am
  #64  
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
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Programs: AA ExP, DL Diamond, AF Plat, AS 75K, Hertz #1 Gold, National Executive, SPG Gold
Posts: 197
Originally Posted by JAFU007
my email seemed to say that as an elite that there are no change fees period.
the message I got was:

As always, your AAdvantage elite status provides you with special benefits you will continue to enjoy each time you travel with us. In addition, you also have the flexibility to choose what matters to you most with our new travel options:
No Change Fee
An Extra Checked Bag
Same Day Confirmed Flight Change
Additional AAdvantage Miles And More

So it sounded to me that the elites get all the usual perks but if we want MORE (that's where the in addition part comes in) we can always pay to get those perks listed in bullets
pineapplejet is offline  
Old Dec 12, 2012, 9:24 am
  #65  
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Originally Posted by cphurley
Horrible... hanging on trying load business fares... can't see parts of the screen b/c others overlap. I mean - this is an embarrasment.
Yeah - Like the concept, not the execution. Mine just hangs and I cannot see anything.
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Old Dec 12, 2012, 9:25 am
  #66  
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: DFW
Programs: AA EXP, mid-tier with pretty much everyone else
Posts: 873
I cannot find how to sort things like I used to be able to.

Note: The booking engine didn't work well in Chrome for me, but in IE it worked very well.
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Old Dec 12, 2012, 9:26 am
  #67  
 
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Originally Posted by pineapplejet
I think you need to choose one of the "choice essential" or " choice plus" to get the free change fee. It was $68 more for my dummy booking. acceptable.
Agreed, I can see myself taking advantage of this when I expect my flight to change. A lot cheaper than full-fare. But what I found interesting is that the booking class didn't change for the searches I did. Whether free change fee or not, it was still "N" class. Would be nice to get at least a fare worth 1.0 EQP if paying the extra.
dmbtr3 is offline  
Old Dec 12, 2012, 9:27 am
  #68  
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: IAH, HOU
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Originally Posted by pineapplejet
the message I got was:

As always, your AAdvantage elite status provides you with special benefits you will continue to enjoy each time you travel with us. In addition, you also have the flexibility to choose what matters to you most with our new travel options:
No Change Fee
An Extra Checked Bag
Same Day Confirmed Flight Change
Additional AAdvantage Miles And More

So it sounded to me that the elites get all the usual perks but if we want MORE (that's where the in addition part comes in) we can always pay to get those perks listed in bullets
I was extremely excited for a few minutes about not having to pay a Change Fee as an EXP, since this is the reason my boss expects me to fly on Southwest. But it sounds like I'd still have to pay extra to have the "No change fee"...

Guess I'll have to do price checks for every trip and see where it lands.
mdt76 is offline  
Old Dec 12, 2012, 9:27 am
  #69  
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Texas
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Posts: 279
The "Choice Plus" option is priced right on the edge of where I would consider it. An extra $82 for DFW-BOS RT for ~3000 extra RDM plus no change fees... Valuing at $15/1000 miles, I am paying $37 for flexibility to change either flight.

As for the issues with the new format, I think the other FT thread is excessively critical. The Round Trip Pricing is quite helpful on international itineraries where the segment pricing suckers you in on the outbound and balloons on the return. With a few tweaks, it will suit me just fine!
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Old Dec 12, 2012, 9:28 am
  #70  
 
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I also got the email and got excited when I read "no change fees" for elites. However, when I checked it out, it's only under "Choice Plus," which costs money. So is it no change fee after you pay a higher price equal to the change fee?
FlyMeToTheLooneyBin is offline  
Old Dec 12, 2012, 9:28 am
  #71  
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 447
Originally Posted by Spock Seat
Did a dummy check BOS-NRT RT.

Departure: $1600 (BOS-NRT)
Return: $259 (NRT-BOS)

Yeah, okay......fix it.

Spock Seat
Are you sure it's not showing you correctly? It's almost the same way ITA pulls up fares.

Choose your first flight (all low fares based on choosing the cheapest option available from the return), then choose your selected return (cheapest would have stayed $1600 and shows included). If you opt for a different flight, it's +$259.

Very similar to ITA's pick by route option (not the complete trip option).
NYCQuaker is offline  
Old Dec 12, 2012, 9:29 am
  #72  
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
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It does not work well on Google Chrome as the Choose Flights page does not fully render. It is OK on Internet Explorer 8, Safari,5.1.7 and Firefox 16.0.2 (all on Windows 7).

I like the idea of showing the lowest round trip estimate according to your original selection, but it is a bit confusing when you go to select the return trip. It shows "Included" instead of a price for the return fare - that is for the flights that are within your original selection parameters. It also shows +$nnn where nnn is the additional fare over and above the original quote for additional features or more costly return trips. A negative fare difference will appear if the return trip causes the original quote to drop.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
LookingAhead is offline  
Old Dec 12, 2012, 9:29 am
  #73  
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: LAX
Posts: 6,769
I suppose the verbiage:

"As always, your AAdvantage elite status provides you with special benefits you will continue to enjoy each time you travel with us. In addition, you also have the flexibility to choose what matters to you most with our new travel options:

No Change Fee
An Extra Checked Bag
Same Day Confirmed Flight Change
Additional AAdvantage Miles And More
"

doesn't really say the "No Change Fee" is for elites, only that as elites you have benefits, but then, now you can add these "travel options." Oh well.
FlyMeToTheLooneyBin is offline  
Old Dec 12, 2012, 9:32 am
  #74  
dw
 
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Originally Posted by FlyMeToTheLooneyBin
I also got the email and got excited when I read "no change fees" for elites. However, when I checked it out, it's only under "Choice Plus," which costs money. So is it no change fee after you pay a higher price equal to the change fee?
Yes, but the new fare bundle one step up (which waives change fees) is only $68 more roundtrip, vs a $150 change fee.

What is especially appealing is that apparently you can cancel before departure for flight credit, for the full value of your ticket (including the extra $68 you paid for the bundle).
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Old Dec 12, 2012, 9:34 am
  #75  
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Originally Posted by pineapplejet
So it sounded to me that the elites get all the usual perks but if we want MORE (that's where the in addition part comes in) we can always pay to get those perks listed in bullets
I read it the exact way. The "in addition," gives it away.
hillrider is offline  

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