Last edit by: JDiver
Earning Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQD) on AA and partner airlines
Minimum Spend" requirement for each status tier began 1 Jan 2017
Minimum Spend" requirement for each status tier began 1 Jan 2017
In addition to the required EQM or EQS (same as 2016) to earn status in 2017 and onward one must also earn "Elite Qualifying Dollars" / "EQD" spend credit as follows (during the calendar year):
"Starting January 1, 2017, we’ll add Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQDs) to our earning requirements. Qualify in 1 of 2 ways:
- Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) + Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQDs)
- Elite Qualifying Segments (EQSs) + Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQDs)
EQDs will be awarded based on:
- Ticket price (base fare plus carrier-imposed fees, excluding any government-imposed taxes and fees) on American-marketed flights
- Flights marketed by oneworld® carriers, "Special Fares" such as some AA Vacations flights, Thank You Points purchased fares, etc. earn EQDs based on a percentage of the flight distance and the fare class purchased
With the addition of EQDs, the rule that 4 segments must be traveled on American or American Eagle during the qualifying year to receive elite status has been eliminated.
NOTE: EQD credit varies for "Special Fares" (e.g. "select flights" included in AAVacations packages), and the chart for those changed on 11 Jan 2017. See here.2019 Status qualification tiers and requirements: link
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aa.com: aa.com is updated to show EQM, EQD and RDM/AW for your convenience when booking and in your account for keeping informed about your accruals.
Another impact of EQD is on upgrade priority within status tiers instead of time of upgrade request (FYI only, not discussion here):
Change to upgrade priority to EQD-based priority
The way your upgrade request is prioritized changed in 2017. You’ll be listed according to the type of upgrade, by your elite status level followed by the number of EQDs earned in the last 12 months. The date of upgrade request will no longer be used except to break ties not resolved by higher priority levels. Applies both upgrade request and airport list if request goes to airport list.
Partners (AS and oneworld): accrual of EQM and EQD as reflected on charts on aa.com.
FAQ
Q. How will AA EQD be calculated?
Yes: Base fare plus carrier imposed fees, e.g. YQ etc. (Status buyup fees will count.)
No: Taxes, government or airport imposed fees, e.g. PSC, APD, TSA, etc. and ancillary fees (see below)
Q. How will flights on other oneworld carriers, AS, and "Special Fares" qualify for EQD?
Partner earning tables are here and special fare table here on aa.com.
Q. Will checked bag fees, seat purchases, LFBU and 500-mile upgrades, buy miles, or other products/service fees count toward earning award miles and EQDs? (AA FAQ)
No, only the base fare paid for your ticket including any carrier-imposed fees will count toward earning award miles and EQDs. Fees for other products or services will not be awarded miles or EQDs, including but not limited to the following: checked (or overweight) baggage fees, Admirals Club® memberships (or passes), Wi-Fi passes, in-flight food and beverage purchases, in-flight entertainment, unaccompanied minor fees, pet travel fees, 500-mile upgrades, mileage upgrade cash co-payments, Mileage Multiplier, BuyMiles, GiftMiles, ShareMiles or other mileage purchases, ticket change fees, ticketing fees, same-day confirmed flight change or standby fees and service charges. (Status buyup fees will count, however.)
Resources:
GLOSSARY:
EQD: Elite Qualifying Dollars (base fare + carrier imposed fees, - government imposed taxes and fees
EQM: Elite Qualifying Miles (accrual depends on fare basis, airline and base miles flown)
EQS: Elite Qualifying Segments (discrete segment marketed as AA)
Platinum Pro: new tier beginning 1/1/17 requiring $9,000 EQD and 75,000 EQM or 90 EQS in one calendar year
Links
Link to FT: JUST THE FACTS: EQD, status tier, other changes announced 6 Jun 2016
Link to AAdvantage Program Updates page on aa.com (including FAQ).
Link to Gary Leff's "View from the Wing" blog article on these changes.
Link to Ben "Lucky" Schlappig's take in "One Mile at a Time" on View From the Boarding Area
GUIDE: Earning EQD / Elite Qualifying Dollars on AA & partner airlines (as of 2019)
#421
Moderator: American AAdvantage, Travel Safety/Security & Texas, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: AUS / GRK
Programs: AA, HHonors, Hertz
Posts: 13,484
BA had a deal WAS/NYC - ATH about a month ago; biz for about $1500, but unfortunately I thought too long and by the the time I went to book it was mostly gone.
Premium Economy on partners seems to be a good way also. There's a help thread in the Mileage Run Discussion forum if you have specific questions (you post where you are, the EQM/EQD you're short, time you can take, $ you can spend) and people will answer your question:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/milea...lp-needed.html
#422
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: AA PPro, DL Gold, UA Silver, AS MVP Gold
Posts: 116
Concur and EQDs?
Forgive me in advance if this has been answered... I haven't traveled for work in awhile and we use Concur. Will EQDs still post based on fare paid (AA marketed) when booked through concur or will it fall under "special fares" for calculation? Can anyone who has booked business travel with Concur confirm this?
Thanks
Thanks
#423
Join Date: May 2016
Location: ORD
Programs: AA EXP, UA Gold
Posts: 98
Forgive me in advance if this has been answered... I haven't traveled for work in awhile and we use Concur. Will EQDs still post based on fare paid (AA marketed) when booked through concur or will it fall under "special fares" for calculation? Can anyone who has booked business travel with Concur confirm this?
Thanks
Thanks
#424
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: SoCal (ONT), PVD/BOS, JAX, RSW
Programs: AA/US PlatPro & 1.05MM, DL Plat (challenge), UA dirt
Posts: 3,189
LAX-DOH: 8306
DOH-SIN: 3857
8306 + 3857 = 12,163 (total one-way) x 2 = 24,326 (round-trip) x .2 (R class EQD earning rate) = 4865.2 (EQDs)
#425
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: AA PPro, DL Gold, UA Silver, AS MVP Gold
Posts: 116
#427
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: New York
Programs: AA, CX, Hyatt, Marriott
Posts: 1,484
Forgive me in advance if this has been answered... I haven't traveled for work in awhile and we use Concur. Will EQDs still post based on fare paid (AA marketed) when booked through concur or will it fall under "special fares" for calculation? Can anyone who has booked business travel with Concur confirm this?
Thanks
Thanks
#428
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Bangkok, Thailand. No longer Palm Coast, FL though still exiled, again, from the Bay Area.
Programs: Only the good ones
Posts: 5,153
Thanks for the data point as I have LAX-DOH-SIN and vv. coming up and I was basing estimations off of GCMap calculations. So I was thinking:
LAX-DOH: 8306
DOH-SIN: 3857
8306 + 3857 = 12,163 (total one-way) x 2 = 24,326 (round-trip) x .2 (R class EQD earning rate) = 4865.2 (EQDs)
LAX-DOH: 8306
DOH-SIN: 3857
8306 + 3857 = 12,163 (total one-way) x 2 = 24,326 (round-trip) x .2 (R class EQD earning rate) = 4865.2 (EQDs)
#429
Join Date: Nov 2015
Programs: AA Platinum Pro, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 20
EQD "Hacking"?
Hi all,
Apologies if this has been asked before, but I couldn't find anything searching. I had a crazy thought that just occurred to me:
Is there anything preventing me from booking an AA flight (on AA metal) using British Airways and crediting to AA? Looking at LAX-LHR. The tickets are priced identically being sold by both carriers for $624 round-trip in December.
The problem with LHR, of course, is the high taxes -- on this $624 flight, I only earn a measly $106(!!) of EQD credit. But by booking with BA, I would get 5% of total miles flown -- which is ~11k miles -- which would mean ~$550 of EQD. It reduces my EQM, but I need the EQD much more than the EQM. Does this strategy work???
And follow-up question: since I could also get an AA PNR, as an AA elite, could I still get complimentary MCE or even possibly use my SWUs?
Apologies if this has been asked before, but I couldn't find anything searching. I had a crazy thought that just occurred to me:
Is there anything preventing me from booking an AA flight (on AA metal) using British Airways and crediting to AA? Looking at LAX-LHR. The tickets are priced identically being sold by both carriers for $624 round-trip in December.
The problem with LHR, of course, is the high taxes -- on this $624 flight, I only earn a measly $106(!!) of EQD credit. But by booking with BA, I would get 5% of total miles flown -- which is ~11k miles -- which would mean ~$550 of EQD. It reduces my EQM, but I need the EQD much more than the EQM. Does this strategy work???
And follow-up question: since I could also get an AA PNR, as an AA elite, could I still get complimentary MCE or even possibly use my SWUs?
Last edited by gsimon; Oct 4, 2017 at 7:05 am
#432
Join Date: Jan 2006
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 313
Thank you!
#433
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: NYC
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 1,372
As long as the flight is a BA flight number, you will earn based on a percentage of the miles flown. So, yes, that would work.
You would not be able to apply a SWU to a flight ticketed by BA because—and this is a point that it would be great for everyone to know—when you but a ticket on AA and apply a SWU or miles upgrade, AA actually reissues your ticket. If AA did not issue the ticket, then they can't reissue the ticket, because they have no control over it.
You would not be able to apply a SWU to a flight ticketed by BA because—and this is a point that it would be great for everyone to know—when you but a ticket on AA and apply a SWU or miles upgrade, AA actually reissues your ticket. If AA did not issue the ticket, then they can't reissue the ticket, because they have no control over it.
#434
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: New York
Programs: AA, CX, Hyatt, Marriott
Posts: 1,484
https://www.aa.com/i18n/aadvantage-p...cial-fares.jsp
#435
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: New York
Programs: AA, CX, Hyatt, Marriott
Posts: 1,484
Hi all,
Apologies if this has been asked before, but I couldn't find anything searching. I had a crazy thought that just occurred to me:
Is there anything preventing me from booking an AA flight (on AA metal) using British Airways and crediting to AA? Looking at LAX-LHR. The tickets are priced identically being sold by both carriers for $624 round-trip in December.
The problem with LHR, of course, is the high taxes -- on this $624 flight, I only earn a measly $106(!!) of EQD credit. But by booking with BA, I would get 5% of total miles flown -- which is ~11k miles -- which would mean ~$550 of EQD. It reduces my EQM, but I need the EQD much more than the EQM. Does this strategy work???
And follow-up question: since I could also get an AA PNR, as an AA elite, could I still get complimentary MCE or even possibly use my SWUs?
Apologies if this has been asked before, but I couldn't find anything searching. I had a crazy thought that just occurred to me:
Is there anything preventing me from booking an AA flight (on AA metal) using British Airways and crediting to AA? Looking at LAX-LHR. The tickets are priced identically being sold by both carriers for $624 round-trip in December.
The problem with LHR, of course, is the high taxes -- on this $624 flight, I only earn a measly $106(!!) of EQD credit. But by booking with BA, I would get 5% of total miles flown -- which is ~11k miles -- which would mean ~$550 of EQD. It reduces my EQM, but I need the EQD much more than the EQM. Does this strategy work???
And follow-up question: since I could also get an AA PNR, as an AA elite, could I still get complimentary MCE or even possibly use my SWUs?