Jan 27, 2016, 7:50 am
Last edit by: JDiver
Earning AA Award ("Redeemable") Miles / RDM earning as of 01 Aug 2016
on American Airlines and its partner airlines
on American Airlines and its partner airlines
Note: Earning RDM / Award Miles changed 1 Aug 2016 -
Award Mile changes: American Airlines announced 1 Aug 2016 they have implemented a revenue-based scheme for earning what American is calling Award Miles (previous AA terms have included "Prize-winning miles", also frequently referred to as Redeemable Miles (RDM) in this forum).
This means miles that can be spent on awards are now earned on the basis of price paid (base fare plus carrier-imposed fees such as fuel surcharges, not including government-imposed fees and taxes such as airport passenger service fees, etc.) times a factor determined by one's status. This change applies only to AA-"marketed" flights -- that is, flights booked with an "A" flight number -- with exceptions described under "Special Fares".
Partner-marketed flights (flights with a flight number other than an "AA" one) continue to earn based on miles. See below. This change applies to all flights flown on or after 1 Aug 2016, regardless of when the ticket was purchased.
Elite Qualifying Miles / EQM are merely mile posts to count for status qualification as of 01 January 2016. NOTE: some airline partner EQM changes occur 1 Aug 2016. See here. These are no longer Redeemable.
Bonus Miles: The earning of Bonus Miles (which are always Award or Redeemable Miles, never Elite Qualifying), has changed as a result of the new system. Cabin service / fare class bonus miles may be earned on flights marketed by AA airline partners; see the mileage earning chart for 1 Aug 2016 for each airline partner on aa.com.
See Earning AA Elite Qualifying Miles / EQM on AA, oneworld, partners 2016 for more about earning EQM.
Link to aa.com page "AAdvantage program updates".
Award Miles (also called Redeemable miles)
Earning as of 01 Aug 2016 and beyond
Earn miles
To earn AAdvantage® miles when you fly on American and American Eagle marketed flights (including flights sold as AA codeshare flights operated by other airlines):
Calculating award miles
For travel beginning August 1, 2016, you'll earn miles based on ticket price (base fare plus carrier-imposed fees, not including government-imposed taxes and fees). The more you spend, and the higher your elite status, the more you'll earn.
Or, as mchensel said in another post, to clarify:
AAdvantage® member – 5 miles for every U.S. dollar*
Gold member – 7 miles/U.S. dollar* (5 miles + 2 miles, 40% bonus)
Platinum member – 8 miles/U.S. dollar* (5 miles + 3 miles, 60% bonus)
Platinum Pro member - 9 miles/U.S. dollar* (5 miles + 4 miles, 80% bonus)
Executive Platinum member – 11 miles/U.S. dollar* (5 miles + 6 miles a 120% bonus)
*dollar spent on basic fare and carrier imposed fees only - not government fees or taxes, ancillary fees such as baggage, upgrade, changes, etc.
NOTE: You can earn a maximum of 75,000 award miles per E-Ticket. Note that a single PNR might have more than one E-Ticket, and various kinds of changes may cause an E-Ticket to be re-issued, which we believe resets the maximum mileage counter.
Earning award miles for travel on most flights marketed by partner airlines is based on a percentage of the flight distance and the fare class purchased. Updated tables were posted 15 Jul 2016 and reflect new award earning rates on partner / fare class combinations.
See here.
Elite bonuses on partners: Earning on flights marketed by Alaska and almost all oneworld partners will also use those same elite status bonus ratios (40%/60%/80%?/120%), as announced by AA on 1 Aug 2016. See here.
Special Fares: AA has specified a set of "Special Fares", which includes AA Vacations. NOTE: Award Miles earning varies for "Special Fares" (e.g. AA Vacations), and the chart for those changes on 11 Jan 2017. See here.
Initial reports have revealed interesting cases which apparently fall under that final "fare isn't disclosed" catch-all, and therefore earn according to the Special Fares mileage-based table:
Again, these reports are few and preliminary. Further data points to confirm or refute these, or to add to the list, are welcome.
Elite Bonuses on Special Fares: The Special Fares page also says, "AAdvantage elite member bonuses will be applied in addition to the percentages shown for award miles." These bonuses are the same as for partner flights.
See the "Special Fares" earning chart (and note the chart for those changes on 11 Jan 2017). See here.
BE SURE to read the FAQs here.
Sample calculation
AAdvantage member flying round-trip on an American marketed flight from Dallas (DFW) to London-Heathrow (LHR) (NOTE: All $ figures are USD / U.S. Dollars)
In the example below, in Costa Rican Colones so used only for illustrative purposes, the airport and countered fees and taxes would be excluded from RDM calculations:
Bonus miles
Bonus (award) Miles are no longer earned as before - see earnings for EQM, A/RDM (and for 2017 EQD) here and from other partner activities such as hotel stays, auto rentals, purchases from AA shopping portal vendors and partners, credit cards, etc.
(NOTE: Bonus miles are Award / Redeemable, not Elite Qualifying, miles)
Earning as of 01 Aug 2016 and beyond
Earn miles
To earn AAdvantage® miles when you fly on American and American Eagle marketed flights (including flights sold as AA codeshare flights operated by other airlines):
- Buy an eligible published fare ticket in an eligible booking code
- Fly an eligible route
- Specific flights, routes or cities that are excluded from earning miles or award travel are listed as exceptions if applicable.
Calculating award miles
For travel beginning August 1, 2016, you'll earn miles based on ticket price (base fare plus carrier-imposed fees, not including government-imposed taxes and fees). The more you spend, and the higher your elite status, the more you'll earn.
- AAdvantage® member – 5 miles for every U.S. dollar
- Gold member – 7 miles/U.S. dollar (40% bonus)
- Platinum member – 8 miles/U.S. dollar (60% bonus)
- Platinum Pro member (New in 2017) - 9 miles/U.S. dollar (80%bonus)
- Executive Platinum member – 11 miles/U.S. dollar (120% bonus)
Or, as mchensel said in another post, to clarify:
AAdvantage® member – 5 miles for every U.S. dollar*
Gold member – 7 miles/U.S. dollar* (5 miles + 2 miles, 40% bonus)
Platinum member – 8 miles/U.S. dollar* (5 miles + 3 miles, 60% bonus)
Platinum Pro member - 9 miles/U.S. dollar* (5 miles + 4 miles, 80% bonus)
Executive Platinum member – 11 miles/U.S. dollar* (5 miles + 6 miles a 120% bonus)
*dollar spent on basic fare and carrier imposed fees only - not government fees or taxes, ancillary fees such as baggage, upgrade, changes, etc.
NOTE: You can earn a maximum of 75,000 award miles per E-Ticket. Note that a single PNR might have more than one E-Ticket, and various kinds of changes may cause an E-Ticket to be re-issued, which we believe resets the maximum mileage counter.
Earning award miles for travel on most flights marketed by partner airlines is based on a percentage of the flight distance and the fare class purchased. Updated tables were posted 15 Jul 2016 and reflect new award earning rates on partner / fare class combinations.
See here.
Elite bonuses on partners: Earning on flights marketed by Alaska and almost all oneworld partners will also use those same elite status bonus ratios (40%/60%/80%?/120%), as announced by AA on 1 Aug 2016. See here.
Special Fares: AA has specified a set of "Special Fares", which includes AA Vacations. NOTE: Award Miles earning varies for "Special Fares" (e.g. AA Vacations), and the chart for those changes on 11 Jan 2017. See here.
Some fares (such as bulk or consolidator fares) earn award miles and Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQDs) at a modified rate based on a percentage of the distance flown as determined by the booking code.
Special fares are often purchased through a specialized agent, third party or as part of a package including air transportation and lodging.
Examples:
Special fares are often purchased through a specialized agent, third party or as part of a package including air transportation and lodging.
Examples:
- Bulk fares
- Cruise fares
- Consolidator fares
- Discounted or inclusive tour packages
- Vacation packages, including American Airlines Vacations® (AAV) packages
- Other tickets where the fare isn't disclosed, excluding bookings made through priceline.com or hotwire.com where the carrier isn't disclosed before buying
- At least some purchases made with Citi TYPs and the like
- At least some reissues, whether changed beforehand or due to IROPS
Elite Bonuses on Special Fares: The Special Fares page also says, "AAdvantage elite member bonuses will be applied in addition to the percentages shown for award miles." These bonuses are the same as for partner flights.
See the "Special Fares" earning chart (and note the chart for those changes on 11 Jan 2017). See here.
BE SURE to read the FAQs here.
Sample calculation
AAdvantage member flying round-trip on an American marketed flight from Dallas (DFW) to London-Heathrow (LHR) (NOTE: All $ figures are USD / U.S. Dollars)
Code:
Elite status Base fare Carrier imposed fees Miles/USD Award miles earned AAdvantage member $1,436 $458 5 9,470 Gold $1,436 $458 7 13,258 Platinum $1,436 $458 8 15,152 Executive Platinum $1,436 $458 11 20,834
Bonus miles
Bonus (award) Miles are no longer earned as before - see earnings for EQM, A/RDM (and for 2017 EQD) here and from other partner activities such as hotel stays, auto rentals, purchases from AA shopping portal vendors and partners, credit cards, etc.
(NOTE: Bonus miles are Award / Redeemable, not Elite Qualifying, miles)
Certain airline ticket types aren't eligible for mileage accrual regardless of the booking code. These include, without limitation:
- All tickets issued as AAdvantage® awards
- Charter flight tickets
- Companion tickets
- Infant tickets
- Items occupying a purchased seat
- Other free ticket promotions including free or reduced rate tickets
- Tickets purchased through a travel agency where the airline is not disclosed prior to purchase, such as Priceline or Hotwire
- Tickets issued subject to special provisions
- Travel agency/industry reduced rate tickets"
Updated 07 Jan 2017 - JDiver with thanks to spammersarescum
Historical information moved to ARCHIVE thread, link to same renewed. JDiver
Signed in members with 90 days / 90 posts can edit this Wikipost; wiki contents may be printed by using the
(lower right wiki corner)
GUIDE: Earning AA Award / Redeemable Miles / RDM on AA, partners 1 Aug 2016
Aug 4, 2016, 1:12 pm
#151
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Little Rock, AR
Programs: AA EXP, UA GLD, Hilton Diamond, Marriott GLD, Admiral Club
Posts: 23
I flew August 1st and my miles finally were posted on my account this afternoon. My fare total (excluding taxes and carrier imposed fees) was $471. I flew 2 segments yesterday:
Segment 1 EQM Miles 642 Base Miles 700 Bonus Miles 840 Total 1,540
Segment 2 EQM Miles 508 Base Miles 535 Bonus Miles 642 Total 1,177
Total for both segments is 2,717 miles
As an EXP I expect my total miles after my round trip would be 471 x 11 = 5,181 miles. I fly back tomorrow morning so I should have 2,464 miles on my return.....right?
I think I understand Base miles as what a non-status member would get and the bonus miles is multiplier (120% for EXP)
Segment 1 EQM Miles 642 Base Miles 700 Bonus Miles 840 Total 1,540
Segment 2 EQM Miles 508 Base Miles 535 Bonus Miles 642 Total 1,177
Total for both segments is 2,717 miles
As an EXP I expect my total miles after my round trip would be 471 x 11 = 5,181 miles. I fly back tomorrow morning so I should have 2,464 miles on my return.....right?
I think I understand Base miles as what a non-status member would get and the bonus miles is multiplier (120% for EXP)
Segment 3 EQM Miles 500 Base Miles 115 Bonus Miles 138 Total 253
Segment 4 EQM Miles 678 Base Miles 560 Bonus Miles 672 Total 1,232
Segment 5 EQM Miles 552 Base Miles 465 Bonus Miles 558 Total 1,023
Total Miles earned - 5,225. My fare (without fees) was $471.63. With the 11 multiplier the miles should be 5,187. Not sure where the extra miles came from but I will not complain. As a comparison, my miles under the old system would have been 5,760. Jury is still out because one of my legs were short hops that would have gotten me a 1,000 minimum as EXP an flying three segments is atypical.
Last edited by Hook'Em; Aug 4, 2016 at 1:28 pm
Aug 4, 2016, 4:03 pm
#152
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: TPA
Programs: BA Silver; Hilton Gold; IHG Diamond Ambassador; Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,811
Finished my trip yesterday:
Segment 3 EQM Miles 500 Base Miles 115 Bonus Miles 138 Total 253
Segment 4 EQM Miles 678 Base Miles 560 Bonus Miles 672 Total 1,232
Segment 5 EQM Miles 552 Base Miles 465 Bonus Miles 558 Total 1,023
Total Miles earned - 5,225. My fare (without fees) was $471.63. With the 11 multiplier the miles should be 5,187. Not sure where the extra miles came from but I will not complain. As a comparison, my miles under the old system would have been 5,760. Jury is still out because one of my legs were short hops that would have gotten me a 1,000 minimum as EXP an flying three segments is atypical.
Segment 3 EQM Miles 500 Base Miles 115 Bonus Miles 138 Total 253
Segment 4 EQM Miles 678 Base Miles 560 Bonus Miles 672 Total 1,232
Segment 5 EQM Miles 552 Base Miles 465 Bonus Miles 558 Total 1,023
Total Miles earned - 5,225. My fare (without fees) was $471.63. With the 11 multiplier the miles should be 5,187. Not sure where the extra miles came from but I will not complain. As a comparison, my miles under the old system would have been 5,760. Jury is still out because one of my legs were short hops that would have gotten me a 1,000 minimum as EXP an flying three segments is atypical.
Aug 4, 2016, 4:28 pm
#154
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: TPA
Programs: BA Silver; Hilton Gold; IHG Diamond Ambassador; Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,811
I was thinking the rounding would be after they multiplied; seems silly not to. But you're right -- that would certainly be a simple and reasonable explanation.
Aug 4, 2016, 11:00 pm
#155
Join Date: Nov 2010
Programs: AA EXP (owe), BA Silver (ows), AB Silver (owr), WN A+/CP, IHG Spire AMB, Avis First
Posts: 1,414
So I have a weird ticket, trying to figure out if the last segment is worth flying.
It's a BA ticket (125-) with 3 segments:
7/8 VIE-LHR J (BA 697)
7/8 LHR-SJC I (BA 279)
8/28 ORD-DUS O (AA 242)
Total ticket price was 1.6K US$. The ORD-DUS segment has a base fare of $29.
Obviously I've flown the BA segments already.
I don't need anymore EQM this year, so the only point of flying this segment would have been for the RDM. Anyone have any idea how it would credit? When I look up the PNR on the AA site, it thinks that the ticket cost $1.6k, but with the AA segment only.
It's a BA ticket (125-) with 3 segments:
7/8 VIE-LHR J (BA 697)
7/8 LHR-SJC I (BA 279)
8/28 ORD-DUS O (AA 242)
Total ticket price was 1.6K US$. The ORD-DUS segment has a base fare of $29.
Obviously I've flown the BA segments already.
I don't need anymore EQM this year, so the only point of flying this segment would have been for the RDM. Anyone have any idea how it would credit? When I look up the PNR on the AA site, it thinks that the ticket cost $1.6k, but with the AA segment only.
Aug 4, 2016, 11:44 pm
#157
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,607
So I have a weird ticket, trying to figure out if the last segment is worth flying.
It's a BA ticket (125-) with 3 segments:
7/8 VIE-LHR J (BA 697)
7/8 LHR-SJC I (BA 279)
8/28 ORD-DUS O (AA 242)
Total ticket price was 1.6K US$. The ORD-DUS segment has a base fare of $29.
Obviously I've flown the BA segments already.
I don't need anymore EQM this year, so the only point of flying this segment would have been for the RDM. Anyone have any idea how it would credit? When I look up the PNR on the AA site, it thinks that the ticket cost $1.6k, but with the AA segment only.
It's a BA ticket (125-) with 3 segments:
7/8 VIE-LHR J (BA 697)
7/8 LHR-SJC I (BA 279)
8/28 ORD-DUS O (AA 242)
Total ticket price was 1.6K US$. The ORD-DUS segment has a base fare of $29.
Obviously I've flown the BA segments already.
I don't need anymore EQM this year, so the only point of flying this segment would have been for the RDM. Anyone have any idea how it would credit? When I look up the PNR on the AA site, it thinks that the ticket cost $1.6k, but with the AA segment only.
Aug 4, 2016, 11:51 pm
#158
Join Date: Nov 2010
Programs: AA EXP (owe), BA Silver (ows), AB Silver (owr), WN A+/CP, IHG Spire AMB, Avis First
Posts: 1,414
Passenger x 1
1,082.00 USD
Taxes
172.66 USD
Carrier-imposed fees
301.50 USD
Total (all passengers)
1,556.16 USD
Aug 5, 2016, 12:53 am
#159
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,607
I got the carrier imposed fees for AA by pricing out that itinerary on ITA and looking at the breakdown
Based on today's exchange rates from the base EUR currency, the carrier imposed fees in USD are
BA $169
AA $157.80
The carrier imposed fees are eligible for mileage earning , so if the base fare is $29, the total earning should be $29+$157.80-$186.60 , which would give an earning of about 2055 miles as an EP member
Based on today's exchange rates from the base EUR currency, the carrier imposed fees in USD are
BA $169
AA $157.80
The carrier imposed fees are eligible for mileage earning , so if the base fare is $29, the total earning should be $29+$157.80-$186.60 , which would give an earning of about 2055 miles as an EP member
Aug 5, 2016, 9:37 am
#160
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Little Rock, AR
Programs: AA EXP, UA GLD, Hilton Diamond, Marriott GLD, Admiral Club
Posts: 23
Aug 5, 2016, 11:01 am
#161
Join Date: Dec 2007
Programs: AA Gold, UA Silver, Marriott Platinum, Hertz PC
Posts: 323
I booked a roundtrip flight from AAA-BBB as a Gold member. Total price was $523.46 with taxes, I think $464.89 of it was the fare eligible for mileage earning.
Fare details are shown as:
AAA AA BBB264.33AA AAA200.56USD464.89END
I received 1,855 miles for the first segment (7*265) as I would expect, but I only got 623 miles for the second segment, instead of the 1,407 (7*201) that I expected. Am I calculating wrong or did AA make a mistake?
Mileage summary shown as:
AMERICAN AIRLINES #### Y AAA BBB
Method: Fare 8/1/16 500 / 1 1,325 530 1,855
AMERICAN AIRLINES #### Y BBB AAA
Method: Fare 8/4/16 500 / 1 445 178 623
Fare details are shown as:
AAA AA BBB264.33AA AAA200.56USD464.89END
I received 1,855 miles for the first segment (7*265) as I would expect, but I only got 623 miles for the second segment, instead of the 1,407 (7*201) that I expected. Am I calculating wrong or did AA make a mistake?
Mileage summary shown as:
AMERICAN AIRLINES #### Y AAA BBB
Method: Fare 8/1/16 500 / 1 1,325 530 1,855
AMERICAN AIRLINES #### Y BBB AAA
Method: Fare 8/4/16 500 / 1 445 178 623
Last edited by Microwave; Aug 7, 2016 at 1:47 am Reason: Merged duplicate posts
Aug 5, 2016, 11:23 am
#162
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Austin
Programs: AA EXP +2MM- LT PLT! HH Diamond
Posts: 6,087
I booked a roundtrip flight from AAA-BBB as a Gold member. Total price was $523.46 with taxes, I think $464.89 of it was the fare eligible for mileage earning.
Fare details are shown as:
AAA AA BBB264.33AA AAA200.56USD464.89END
I received 1,855 miles for the first segment (7*265) as I would expect, but I only got 623 miles for the second segment, instead of the 1,407 (7*201) that I expected. Am I calculating wrong or did AA make a mistake?
Mileage summary shown as:
AMERICAN AIRLINES #### Y AAA BBB
Method: Fare 8/1/16 500 / 1 1,325 530 1,855
AMERICAN AIRLINES #### Y BBB AAA
Method: Fare 8/4/16 500 / 1 445 178 623
Fare details are shown as:
AAA AA BBB264.33AA AAA200.56USD464.89END
I received 1,855 miles for the first segment (7*265) as I would expect, but I only got 623 miles for the second segment, instead of the 1,407 (7*201) that I expected. Am I calculating wrong or did AA make a mistake?
Mileage summary shown as:
AMERICAN AIRLINES #### Y AAA BBB
Method: Fare 8/1/16 500 / 1 1,325 530 1,855
AMERICAN AIRLINES #### Y BBB AAA
Method: Fare 8/4/16 500 / 1 445 178 623
"For travel beginning August 1, 2016, you'll earn miles based on ticket price (base fare plus carrier-imposed fees minus government-imposed taxes and fees). The more you spend, and the higher your elite status, the more you'll earn.
AAdvantage® member – 5 miles for every U.S. dollar
◾Gold member – 7 miles/U.S. dollar (40% bonus)
◾Platinum member – 8 miles/U.S. dollar (60% bonus)
◾Executive Platinum member – 11 miles/U.S. dollar (120% bonus)
You can earn a maximum of 75,000 award miles per ticket."
Nothing to do with miles flown.. EQM (Elite Qualifying Miles) are based on the actual miles flown.
Aug 5, 2016, 11:37 am
#163
Join Date: Dec 2007
Programs: AA Gold, UA Silver, Marriott Platinum, Hertz PC
Posts: 323
Aug 5, 2016, 2:01 pm
#164
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,607
700
535
115
560
465
all are exact multiples of 5 so based on fares of $140, $107, $23, 112 and 93 = $475
A rounding calculation must be taking place on each sector to the base earning to bring it to an exact dollar value .
Aug 5, 2016, 3:29 pm
#165
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: TPA
Programs: BA Silver; Hilton Gold; IHG Diamond Ambassador; Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,811
Looking at the earnings posted for the entire trip of
700
535
115
560
465
all are exact multiples of 5 so based on fares of $140, $107, $23, 112 and 93 = $475
A rounding calculation must be taking place on each sector to the base earning to bring it to an exact dollar value .
700
535
115
560
465
all are exact multiples of 5 so based on fares of $140, $107, $23, 112 and 93 = $475
A rounding calculation must be taking place on each sector to the base earning to bring it to an exact dollar value .