One World Mileage Gripe
 

I am getting really tired of the virtually non-existent benefit of One-World in Europe. I recently got an Air Lingus (Irish) ticket instead Ryan Air (as in dirt cheap) ticket within Europe specifically for the miles, and when I checked in I was told that there were NO miles (and therefore I am no closer to 100k for the year) despite this being a there and back on the same day ticket - which one might expect to give miles. They even had the cheek to suggest that I could have paid a couple of hundred dollars more for the benefit of miles. Yea right - tell my boss that I got 500 miles and the airline got a couple of hundred bucks - I do have a mortgage to pay and I'd rather not lose my ability to pay that mortgage.......Now I know darn well that I could have looked this up on a chart on the web and found this bad news out from the fare basis. But it was a company issued ticket and I did not even know the fare basis. I also know from experience that BA is mean on miles so I am not totally dumb. But we are reaching a state where there is virtually no point in being loyal to One World in Europe. I do get to go into the lounge to eat a soggy sandwich and down a liver destroying alcoholic drink, but that is about the only benefit - assuming one actually arrives at the airport well in time before the flight. So, bottom line for me is that I will go out of my way not to use One World in Europe. Am I irrational? Thoughts?

OneWorld doesn't decide which inventories get which amount of miles. Blame Aer Lingus, not OW.

You get access to some of the best lounges in Europe thanks to OW, can buy tickets through other airlines to save money (see the thread on buying intra-European BA and IB tickets via AA.com to save), have easier connections, etc.

I would suggest trying another airline alliance and seeing if this gives any better benefits. Inasmuch as this it not likely to change in the near future, b!tching about it won't make the situation any different. You should let your money do the talking and go elsewhere. If you stay, you have little choice but to accept this.

I'm going to Italy in a few days. The LHR-FCO/VCE-LGW parts are on AB. i could have gotten mininal miles, paid for for business, or just gotten this last part as an award, and accepted the realities. I chose to do the latter.

Cheers.

Hi,

You do get free lounge access in Europe with your AA/OW status and generally free alcohol and free snacks or sandwiches ( compared to the pay for drinks/snacks ( only limited free snacks in the AA Admiral Clubs).

Aer Lingus does have very limited mile earning fare codes ( so does BA in Y for us BA Exec Club holders in termis of qualifying points on cheap Y fares ie none)

Overall the benefits of having status in an alliance is worth having .

Regards

TBS

I think how many/whether AA miles you get for EI flights is decided by AAdv.

I would agree with the OP that the rules for getting miles are excessively complex. It would be nice if they were simpler, like all flights in the alliance get miles, EQM, EQP, and EQS as if they were AA flights. But then we would be able to have a real life instead of spending all our time here trying to figure out how to get those miles. :D

Aer Lingus pays AA hard cash for the AA miles we earn on their flights. I may wish they'd give more miles, but I can understand why lower fares don't earn many (or any). And it's not as if the rules were a secret, or even obscure: look up airline and one-letter fare class in a table, read out percentage.

You think wrong. :D

I'm not aware of any BA fares that do not earn miles, but most coach fares only earn 25% miles. If you can book an AA codeshare on the same flight, you will earn full miles.

FTers always need to check on airline fare codes and miles earnings
 

"The only way to fly," to quote Wally Bird, if we are concerned with earning AA miles, is to be sure to look up the far class and earnings we are thinking about before we purchase the ticket, or pay the price later. Too often, we read here where a member has not earned miles after flying AA overseas (e.g. O international,) CX (most coach fares,) flying some obscure unpublished discount consolidator or group fare, or earned a percentage of what they expected (e.g. a 25% miles earning fare, also earning only 0.5 points per mile awarded.)

The links on aa.com to all AA airline partners is here.

Flying oneworld partners on their tickets marked with the following fare clases can earn, in coach (but this is not all-encompassing! as andrzej pints out below,) anywhere from

AA: 0 miles (Tickets between North America and Europe, India, Asia and Latin America booked in O and Transatlantic tickets booked in Q are not eligible for mileage credit.)

EI: 0 miles (any fare code other than Y, H or K US - Ireland; Y, H or B Ireland - UK except LHR; Y, K, H, B Ireland - Europe, including LHR; Y and H intra-Ireland. They make it easy, eh? But EI has gone the LCC route in most areas it serves.)

BA: 0 miles (all ConUS - LON) or 25% of miles flown (K, L, M, N, O, R, G, Q, S or V)

CX: 0 miles (all coach fare classes other than B, Y and H)

AY: C, D, I, J, Y, B, A (discount economy class on AY!,) H, K, M, V, G, L, N, S, Q, O, T or W all earn 100% ^


IB: 30% of miles flown (B, H, K, M, Q, V, G, L, N, O and S)

LA: B, Y, H, K, L, M, V, W, G, N, O, Q and S earn 100% ^

QF: 50% (M, V, L, R, G, O and S)

Sometimes we can even get unpublished fare codes on the above-mentioned airlines - I have flown on at least a couple, zero miles on LA flying SCL-PMC-PUQ-USH - an international flight - and return. I needed to fly those for particular reasons, but it certainly wasn't for the miles.

It's a good start with the above but not complete.

I just booked LIM-CUZ-LIM flight with LAN and no miles. Any LAN flight wholly within Peru regardless of fare code does not earn AA miles. I knew that before I booked but I really had no other choice. It sucks, but that's what LAN decided.

I'm sure others will chime in with more exceptions.

The point is that if one is concerned with earning mileage and it's necessary to regain status, one should spend few minutes on aa.com AAdvantage page and read all the mileage earning rules.

Excellent point! Reading the entire terms and conditions, and asking if one is not sure, is the best way.

I did expect miles on my LA flight SCL to USH, as it was not domestic Chile, but... it turned out the code was an arcane one not published and my award was nada. I'd have made the flight regardless, to catch my ship to South Georgia and Antarctica.

Not true. Until Dec 01 2005 LP flights within Peru booked in M class or higher earned miles, now it's K or higher (basically just Y B H K). Details here.

I stand corrected, but for 500 miles I'm not about to pay twice as much or more for 1 hour flight. :D

There is nothing complex regarding the mileage earning. Just go to the AA site and look up the valid classes for the airline you are travelling on. If the booking is on one of the classes listed, then miles will be earned.

Dave