I'm looking at booking a cash flight to the US on AA metal for me (BA silver) and a companion, and I'm pretty confused as to what the difference will be if I book an AA basic economy fare (which is about £100/passenger cheaper than standard economy). I've looked at https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...d.html?2034834 but I am not sure I've understood everything!

It looks like the baggage allowance, tier points and Avios earning are unchanged, and I should be able to select MCE seats. Looking at: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...omy-fares.html it seems that the big difference will be in boarding group, where we would go from group 3 to group 8; but this seems ambiguous according to the table on: https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/...ng-process.jsp

In terms of cancellation/change fees under current covid rules, if I understand correctly it's the same for basic economy as other economy, and in particular you can cancel for a voucher (but not a refund); this seems to definitely be the case if purchased as a BA flight, while on AA it looks like basic economy from Europe to the US is currently changeable but perhaps not cancellable, according to: https://www.americanairlines.co.uk/i...sp#flexibility

Have I understood this correctly (especially boarding priority)? Is there a reason to book as a BA ticket rather than an AA ticket (maybe more flexible?), or vice versa?