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
#256
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: SFO
Programs: AA Plat, IHG Plat, HH Diamond, Hyatt Plat, Hertz Gold
Posts: 1,933
Another fun fact: this trip was booked using a transportation voucher I got for a VDB. When I put the itin on hold, it was $447. I mailed in a $500 voucher, the trip was ticketed, and I received back a voucher for $93. As any 3rd-grader can tell you, 500-447 does not equal 93.
I really, truly don't get any of the math around this.
I really, truly don't get any of the math around this.
#257
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Columbia, SC
Programs: AA Plat, SPG/Marriot Gold, HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Expl
Posts: 2,363
So, I didn't have to pay taxes on my fare because I used a VDB voucher?
#258
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: JFK > LGA >> EWR
Programs: AA EXP 1.2mm, Kimpton IC, Starwood Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,180
Also, the tone in your message seems less than constructive.
#259
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: US
Programs: AAdvantage
Posts: 1,753
Correct. Vouchers are not considered revenue. If the value of the voucher exceeds the value of the ticket, then the entire ticket is exempt from the 7.5% US transportation tax, the segment fee (ZP), and the security fee (AY).
If the value of the voucher is less than the value of the ticket, then the remaining difference is taxed at 7.5% and the ZP and AY do apply.
If the value of the voucher is less than the value of the ticket, then the remaining difference is taxed at 7.5% and the ZP and AY do apply.
#260
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,549
It seems that it wasn't a one off and looks like it may be normal
#261
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: TPA
Programs: BA Silver; Hilton Gold; IHG Diamond Ambassador; Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,811
Yes, but why would the fare be "unavailable" in this case? He purchased an AA-marketed flight on AA.com. Are we to conclude that the fare was "unavailable" just because the flight is AS-operated? Seems weird, but that may be where Occam's Razor points...
#262
Join Date: Jun 2005
Programs: LATAM Black; AA EXP
Posts: 262
AA unable to tell me how many Award miles I will earn
Hi, hope someone can help me. Trying to hold my new AA EXP and Lan Emerald category. Months before the new accrual rules were published I purchased an AMS-LHR-JFK-SCL-GRU-MIA-LHR-MAD ticket on I class with all flights marketed by AA except for the AMS-LHR and LHR-MAD. Due to schedule changes my ticket was reissued and now it shows a total cost of approximately 20.000 USD (which is of course way higher than what I actually paid). I want to decide wether it's better for me to accrue the miles on AA or LAN but their social media team redirected me to the EXP desk and the EXP desk to Customer Service just to be told that at this point they are unable to tell how many miles I'll earn on a reissued ticket (we still don't have the tool to calculate this). I think this is unacceptable and a complete lack of transparency from their side. So the questions are:
1. Anybody has first hand experience with this?
2. Will the Redeemable miles be accrued according to the original fare paid or the 20.000 USD fare that shows on the receipt on the web?
3. Any idea who could give me a written confirmation of how many miles i'll get in order to "protect" myself?
4. Should I escalate this issue? if so, where?
Thanks for your help
FN
1. Anybody has first hand experience with this?
2. Will the Redeemable miles be accrued according to the original fare paid or the 20.000 USD fare that shows on the receipt on the web?
3. Any idea who could give me a written confirmation of how many miles i'll get in order to "protect" myself?
4. Should I escalate this issue? if so, where?
Thanks for your help
FN
#263
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Columbia, SC
Programs: AA Plat, SPG/Marriot Gold, HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Expl
Posts: 2,363
Correct. Vouchers are not considered revenue. If the value of the voucher exceeds the value of the ticket, then the entire ticket is exempt from the 7.5% US transportation tax, the segment fee (ZP), and the security fee (AY).
If the value of the voucher is less than the value of the ticket, then the remaining difference is taxed at 7.5% and the ZP and AY do apply.
If the value of the voucher is less than the value of the ticket, then the remaining difference is taxed at 7.5% and the ZP and AY do apply.
#264
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,549
I think it points to the use of Citi points making the actual fare unavailable as earlier spotted and reported in post 176
#265
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: TPA
Programs: BA Silver; Hilton Gold; IHG Diamond Ambassador; Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,811
#266
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: TPA
Programs: BA Silver; Hilton Gold; IHG Diamond Ambassador; Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,811
Hi, hope someone can help me. Trying to hold my new AA EXP and Lan Emerald category. Months before the new accrual rules were published I purchased an AMS-LHR-JFK-SCL-GRU-MIA-LHR-MAD ticket on I class with all flights marketed by AA except for the AMS-LHR and LHR-MAD. Due to schedule changes my ticket was reissued and now it shows a total cost of approximately 20.000 USD (which is of course way higher than what I actually paid). I want to decide wether it's better for me to accrue the miles on AA or LAN but their social media team redirected me to the EXP desk and the EXP desk to Customer Service just to be told that at this point they are unable to tell how many miles I'll earn on a reissued ticket (we still don't have the tool to calculate this). I think this is unacceptable and a complete lack of transparency from their side. So the questions are:
1. Anybody has first hand experience with this?
2. Will the Redeemable miles be accrued according to the original fare paid or the 20.000 USD fare that shows on the receipt on the web?
3. Any idea who could give me a written confirmation of how many miles i'll get in order to "protect" myself?
4. Should I escalate this issue? if so, where?
Thanks for your help
FN
1. Anybody has first hand experience with this?
2. Will the Redeemable miles be accrued according to the original fare paid or the 20.000 USD fare that shows on the receipt on the web?
3. Any idea who could give me a written confirmation of how many miles i'll get in order to "protect" myself?
4. Should I escalate this issue? if so, where?
Thanks for your help
FN
Unless, of course, the re-issue causes the whole thing to be computed based on miles. That we can compute if you tell us ditto.
#267
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: JFK > LGA >> EWR
Programs: AA EXP 1.2mm, Kimpton IC, Starwood Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,180
#268
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,549
Was the whole one way journey on AS ?
#269
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 3,021
Ok, my first partner trip under the new program.
First of all kudos to AB for quick posting. Miles posted within 2 hours of my SFO-DUS leg. WOW!
And this is what I got as a Plat
Date EQMs / EQSs Base miles Bonus miles Total award miles
8/15/16 8,373 / 1 5,582 1,396 6,978
Method: Distance
AIR BERLIN 7393 C SFO DUS
I thought it should have been 1.5 for the segment but other than that.......
First of all kudos to AB for quick posting. Miles posted within 2 hours of my SFO-DUS leg. WOW!
And this is what I got as a Plat
Date EQMs / EQSs Base miles Bonus miles Total award miles
8/15/16 8,373 / 1 5,582 1,396 6,978
Method: Distance
AIR BERLIN 7393 C SFO DUS
I thought it should have been 1.5 for the segment but other than that.......