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
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GUIDE: Earning AA Award / Redeemable Miles / RDM on AA, partners 1 Aug 2016
Aug 13, 2016, 12:31 pm
#226
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: District of Columbia
Programs: AA ExecPl, AT Gold, Hyatt Globalist, IHG Diamond, Hilton Diamond, National
Posts: 2,440
Aug 13, 2016, 1:16 pm
#227
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,579
Aug 13, 2016, 4:02 pm
#228
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: DFW
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 387
change in elite status
What happens to RDM when your elite status changes mid-trip? For DFW-SCL on Oct. 22 I'm PLAT but for the return on Nov. 8 I'll be EXP.
*I apologize if this has been asked and answered. I tried various creative searches and couldn't find it.
*I apologize if this has been asked and answered. I tried various creative searches and couldn't find it.
Aug 13, 2016, 4:05 pm
#229
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,579
You will earn a base of 5 miles per dollar each way plus receive 60% bonus on the outbound and 120% on the inbound
Aug 13, 2016, 4:07 pm
#230
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: TPA
Programs: BA Silver; Hilton Gold; IHG Diamond Ambassador; Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,811
EQM and RDM are computed for each segment. So whatever status you have for each segment is what is used for the computation.
Aug 14, 2016, 11:07 am
#232
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: BNA
Programs: Virtuoso, FSPP, RC STARS, Rosewood Elite, Bellini, SPG LP, Dorchester Diamond, PenClub
Posts: 357
It isn't the simple multiplier equation that is convoluted, it is the larger earning environment that I find confusing.
Aug 14, 2016, 11:17 am
#233
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: TPA
Programs: BA Silver; Hilton Gold; IHG Diamond Ambassador; Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,811
I am Plat, so I believe the multiplier should be 8. I didn't write down the base fare + carrier fees for any of the tickets that I booked for travel starting on Aug 1 this year, so I can't corroborate the math in my example.
It isn't the simple multiplier equation that is convoluted, it is the larger earning environment that I find confusing.
It isn't the simple multiplier equation that is convoluted, it is the larger earning environment that I find confusing.
You can go to AA.com before your flight to see the $ breakdown; hopefully it's still available after?
Aug 14, 2016, 2:29 pm
#234
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,579
I am Plat, so I believe the multiplier should be 8. I didn't write down the base fare + carrier fees for any of the tickets that I booked for travel starting on Aug 1 this year, so I can't corroborate the math in my example.
It isn't the simple multiplier equation that is convoluted, it is the larger earning environment that I find confusing.
It isn't the simple multiplier equation that is convoluted, it is the larger earning environment that I find confusing.
For those holding status, there is a 40% for gold, 60% for platinum and 120% for Executive Platinum
This is no more complicated than 1 per mile flown with 25% bonus for gold, 100% bonus for platinum and 100% bonus for executive platinum
The ticket receipts should show how much the fare was or using "print itinerary and receipt" should show it ( if no changes have been made )
Aug 14, 2016, 2:58 pm
#235
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: TPA
Programs: BA Silver; Hilton Gold; IHG Diamond Ambassador; Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,811
The base mileage earned is 5 per dollar
For those holding status, there is a 40% for gold, 60% for platinum and 120% for Executive Platinum
This is no more complicated than 1 per mile flown with 25% bonus for gold, 100% bonus for platinum and 100% bonus for executive platinum
The ticket receipts should show how much the fare was or using "print itinerary and receipt" should show it ( if no changes have been made )
For those holding status, there is a 40% for gold, 60% for platinum and 120% for Executive Platinum
This is no more complicated than 1 per mile flown with 25% bonus for gold, 100% bonus for platinum and 100% bonus for executive platinum
The ticket receipts should show how much the fare was or using "print itinerary and receipt" should show it ( if no changes have been made )
Coincidentally, I tweeted AA earlier today, asking when they would be fixed to split the latter as needed for RDM calculation. Rather than answer the question, they pointed me at AA's "Receipts and Refunds" page.
Is that what you're referring to? Because I'm not seeing "print itinerary and receipt" anywhere.
And, by the way, so far I've not been able to get anything more than the total paid out of the "Receipts" page. I'm open to suggestions.
Aug 14, 2016, 3:16 pm
#237
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2015
Location: BOS, YVR, ZRH
Programs: *G
Posts: 17,397
The base mileage earned is 5 per dollar
For those holding status, there is a 40% for gold, 60% for platinum and 120% for Executive Platinum
This is no more complicated than 1 per mile flown with 25% bonus for gold, 100% bonus for platinum and 100% bonus for executive platinum
The ticket receipts should show how much the fare was or using "print itinerary and receipt" should show it ( if no changes have been made )
For those holding status, there is a 40% for gold, 60% for platinum and 120% for Executive Platinum
This is no more complicated than 1 per mile flown with 25% bonus for gold, 100% bonus for platinum and 100% bonus for executive platinum
The ticket receipts should show how much the fare was or using "print itinerary and receipt" should show it ( if no changes have been made )
if we have a complicated multi-destination itinerary, or not even THAT complicated, of say
LAX-JFK-MAD-MIA-LAX
AA-IB-IB-AA coded, listed is fare and taxes&carrier-imposed fees.
Give the exact breakdown of steps required to calculate just how much RDM in total I would receive for each individual segment.
Go on, do it and then tell me how that's still as simple as it was previously.
I don't think it's even entirely possible because per-segment pricing isn't available.
and yes, it's entirely reasonable for us to be able to calculate individual segment earnings, or just inbound/outbound earning splits.
for non-stop, one-way tickets it's obviously simple, that's literally the most simple scenario because it's just 1 segment for 1 ticket.
Aug 14, 2016, 3:34 pm
#238
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: TPA
Programs: BA Silver; Hilton Gold; IHG Diamond Ambassador; Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,811
And I'm still curious: Where is this "print itinerary and receipt" option, and does the result split CIF from taxes?
Last edited by SpammersAreScum; Aug 14, 2016 at 4:59 pm
Aug 14, 2016, 3:43 pm
#239
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: TPA
Programs: BA Silver; Hilton Gold; IHG Diamond Ambassador; Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,811
Poor brp, who had a wonderful complicated spreadsheet we could use to track everything, has been trying to update it for all the latest developments, but has thrown up his/her hands on this particular matter.
Aug 15, 2016, 12:42 pm
#240
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: JFK > LGA >> EWR
Programs: AA EXP 1.2mm, Kimpton IC, Starwood Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,180
This is soooo confusing. My Alaska-operated flight, booked through AA and with an AA flight number, was posted using "Method: Distance", and it took me a long time to figure out that the posted mileage is 75% of the distance flown for an N fare, using the table "Missing ticket/fare details on American marketed flights" on https://www.aa.com/i18n/aadvantage-p...cial-fares.jsp
More generally, it seems like a big problem that when you book an American-coded flight, you can never know for sure whether it'll accrue miles based on fare or based on distance, until it actually posts one way or the other. Has anyone had success getting AA to give them credit under whichever of the two is more lucrative?
More generally, it seems like a big problem that when you book an American-coded flight, you can never know for sure whether it'll accrue miles based on fare or based on distance, until it actually posts one way or the other. Has anyone had success getting AA to give them credit under whichever of the two is more lucrative?