Originally Posted by
PDXTom
The Alaska EQMs on AA marketed/operated flights are devalued relative to Alaska
https://www.alaskaair.com/content/mileage-plan/how-to-earn-miles/airline-partners/american-airlines?lid=airline-partnersartners-american
On Alaska, codes M, L, V, S, N, Q, O, or G earn 100% of miles flown
On AA, of those codes, only , L ,or M earn 100%; G and V earn 75%; N, S earn 50%; and as noted above, lowly O, Q earn 25%
And bonus EQMs? Nope.
On Alaska, codes H or K earn 125%. On AA, H or K only earn 100%
On Alaska, codes Y or B earn 150%. On AA, still only 100%
Not surprising, Earning 1 EQM for each mile flown on partners is long past us, QF being the last one. It is the revenue component of the pseudo-revenue AS model.
A few things:
- You missed Saver X fares. They too earn 100% EQM on AS. Basic Economy fares, fare class B, on AA don't earn in Mileage Plan.
- Flights less than 500 miles on AA earn 500 EQM in Mileage Plan, just like sub 500 mile flights on AS.
- Y, B, H & K fares are likely more expensive than AS & AA discount J fares; both earn 150% EQM.
- The cost of acquiring EQM isn't necessarily more when earning less than 100% EQM.
- AA serves a few more airports than AS.
- You can still earn AS Elite status on segments with the requisite AS segments.
- AS markets some AA routes as standalone and in conjunction with AS segments, often cheaper than AA. Those AA segments marketed by AS earn 100% EQM too, although don't earn an AS segment.
Sure, it is always prudent to look over the partner earning charts so you know exactly what you will be earning. For sub 500 mile flights, sans AA B fares, the earnings, fare class is moot. What AA does offer is a plethora of y-up fares that book into PE, J & F. I was earning 100%-150% EQM on cheap y-up AA international PE & J fares when AA domestic flights didn't earn in Mileage Plan and 90K EQM with partners was the requirement for AS 75K. Now that AS & AA are alliance members with even closer partnership ties & cross-carrier benefits, there is still a lot of value to be had.
For 2023, I have 17 segments, mostly long-haul, booked with AA through March. One itinerary is 7 segments, 5 in full J and 2 in A. It will earn 42K EQM and have Flagship First dining in DFW, MIA, LAX? and Concorde Room access in LHR×2, all for $425 per segment. It isn't a mileage run. With AS, I have 3 segments booked. I will be pushing 100K EQM but will not have enough AS segments for MVPG.
James