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
Jun 2, 2018, 3:06 pm
#826
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,620
Jun 6, 2018, 11:15 am
#827
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 2
Question about where to buy
I found a super-cheap economy fare on Royal Jordanian. According to ITAsoftware.com and also Orbitz, it books into class 'L'. According to AA.com, that class earns miles. (Not a LOT of miles, but at least SOME miles).
AA.com does not offer the fare for sale.
On RJ's website, they do offer the fare but they specifically say "NO MILES". I do not know what fare code it books into, if you buy it directly from RJ.
This fare is for the non-stop ORD-AMM for $499 round trip. It's supposed to earn EQD at 10% of miles flown, which will be about $1250 EQD for a $499 ticket.
Question: Will it really book into 'L' (as Orbitz and matrix.itasoftware.com claim)? Will it really earn AA miles and EQD?
AA.com does not offer the fare for sale.
On RJ's website, they do offer the fare but they specifically say "NO MILES". I do not know what fare code it books into, if you buy it directly from RJ.
This fare is for the non-stop ORD-AMM for $499 round trip. It's supposed to earn EQD at 10% of miles flown, which will be about $1250 EQD for a $499 ticket.
Question: Will it really book into 'L' (as Orbitz and matrix.itasoftware.com claim)? Will it really earn AA miles and EQD?
Last edited by LMileo; Jun 6, 2018 at 11:15 am Reason: needs more info
Jun 6, 2018, 11:19 am
#828
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,483
You will earn miles based on the marketing carrier, assuming the marketing carrier is eligible to earn with AAdvantage. What exactly is the flight and what is it sold as?
Oct 19, 2018, 5:46 pm
#829
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Chicago
Programs: AA EXP Lifetime Platinum, Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium
Posts: 9,978
Oct 19, 2018, 11:02 pm
#830
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
Just be aware long haul J one way tickets can cost oodles more than round trip. We’re stuck on the horns of that dilemma a couple of times a year, because we do transatlantic repositioning cruises a couple of times a year. Sometimes we can know far enough in advance to buy a return ticket with outbound in November, return in April, but sometimes the cruise line doesn’t yet know which ship is going to maintenance and which with passengers. We rarely find a decent fare, and often use miles.
A recent SNF-DFW-KEF trip on AA in J was available only over $10,000
per person, so the options were to buy a round trip and abandon the return, or use miles, which is what we did.
Feb 26, 2019, 10:41 pm
#831
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: PHL
Programs: HH Lifetime Diamond, AA EXP, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 587
It is listed in the Wiki that some kinds of changes may cause e-ticket to be reissued, thereby bypassing the 75K RDM cap.
I have a flight upcoming where this cap will fairly substantially impact me
Having read a few pages of the thread, i don't see a lot of discussion around what those various actions may be?
Is there a thread somewhere that does discuss that or a post on this thread that I may have missed?
Thanks
I have a flight upcoming where this cap will fairly substantially impact me
Having read a few pages of the thread, i don't see a lot of discussion around what those various actions may be?
Is there a thread somewhere that does discuss that or a post on this thread that I may have missed?
Thanks
Mar 24, 2019, 12:52 am
#832
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: ROC/NYC/MSP/LAX/HKG/SIN
Posts: 3,214
Did AA get smarter in terms of crediting RDMs based upon fare vs distance?
I have noticed the latest development of AA crediting miles based upon fare and distance.
1. Bought from Chase UR. AA published fare
- Booked last minute.
- Rebooked twice.
- All AA flights rebooked to all AA flights stilled. IRROPs shown in receipt.
Verdict: Posted as fare based still.
2. Another ticket - Booked in Feb 2019.
- AA flight was rebooked into OneWorld partner, OneWorld flight partner own marketed/operated flight
Verdict: Posted as distance-based.
3. Booked I fares round-trip.
- CX AA AA CX was rebooked into KA AA AA CX.
- Fare info shown on the latest receipt.
Considering to credit the AA flights (J upgraded to F) to BA. Would have got even more avios than the AA RDM(Fare-based). Anybody who got some insights about fare-based vs distance-based lately?
1. Bought from Chase UR. AA published fare
- Booked last minute.
- Rebooked twice.
- All AA flights rebooked to all AA flights stilled. IRROPs shown in receipt.
Verdict: Posted as fare based still.
2. Another ticket - Booked in Feb 2019.
- AA flight was rebooked into OneWorld partner, OneWorld flight partner own marketed/operated flight
Verdict: Posted as distance-based.
3. Booked I fares round-trip.
- CX AA AA CX was rebooked into KA AA AA CX.
- Fare info shown on the latest receipt.
Considering to credit the AA flights (J upgraded to F) to BA. Would have got even more avios than the AA RDM(Fare-based). Anybody who got some insights about fare-based vs distance-based lately?
Last edited by PaulInTheSky; Mar 24, 2019 at 3:58 am
Mar 24, 2019, 6:07 am
#833
Join Date: May 2015
Location: WAS, SZX, HKG
Programs: AS MVP Gold 75K, CX Green
Posts: 735
My experience has been if they rebook you into full Y, you get distance based earnings. If they bother to call up RM to open up inventory for your existing inventory, then it is usually fare based.
I think AA tracks your fare by the fare basis of each segment (if you have an Amadeus ticket you will find a fare basis column after every flight segment, so it's probably the same for Sabre), and the "fare calculation" section of the eticket. It looks like "CHI AA X/DFW AA TYO140.00VLE08JN1/ALVIP", so now AA knows that the fare from Chicago to Dallas to Tokyo Narita is 140USD and the fare basis is VLE08JN1 (and a SWU was applied). Unless something messed up that calculation or causes an mismatch (for example, changed airlines, changed connection points etc) then AA will post by distance.
Just my 0.02. It also explains why a PEY fare upgraded with SWU may post as a coach fare, because the fare basis would change from VLE08JN1/PAUP to VLE08JN1/ALVIP (so there is no indication whether it is a PEY fare or not...)
I think AA tracks your fare by the fare basis of each segment (if you have an Amadeus ticket you will find a fare basis column after every flight segment, so it's probably the same for Sabre), and the "fare calculation" section of the eticket. It looks like "CHI AA X/DFW AA TYO140.00VLE08JN1/ALVIP", so now AA knows that the fare from Chicago to Dallas to Tokyo Narita is 140USD and the fare basis is VLE08JN1 (and a SWU was applied). Unless something messed up that calculation or causes an mismatch (for example, changed airlines, changed connection points etc) then AA will post by distance.
Just my 0.02. It also explains why a PEY fare upgraded with SWU may post as a coach fare, because the fare basis would change from VLE08JN1/PAUP to VLE08JN1/ALVIP (so there is no indication whether it is a PEY fare or not...)
Mar 24, 2019, 6:12 am
#834
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,483
I have noticed the latest development of AA crediting miles based upon fare and distance.
1. Bought from Chase UR. AA published fare
- Booked last minute.
- Rebooked twice.
- All AA flights rebooked to all AA flights stilled. IRROPs shown in receipt.
Verdict: Posted as fare based still.
2. Another ticket - Booked in Feb 2019.
- AA flight was rebooked into OneWorld partner, OneWorld flight partner own marketed/operated flight
Verdict: Posted as distance-based.
3. Booked I fares round-trip.
- CX AA AA CX was rebooked into KA AA AA CX.
- Fare info shown on the latest receipt.
Considering to credit the AA flights (J upgraded to F) to BA. Would have got even more avios than the AA RDM(Fare-based). Anybody who got some insights about fare-based vs distance-based lately?
1. Bought from Chase UR. AA published fare
- Booked last minute.
- Rebooked twice.
- All AA flights rebooked to all AA flights stilled. IRROPs shown in receipt.
Verdict: Posted as fare based still.
2. Another ticket - Booked in Feb 2019.
- AA flight was rebooked into OneWorld partner, OneWorld flight partner own marketed/operated flight
Verdict: Posted as distance-based.
3. Booked I fares round-trip.
- CX AA AA CX was rebooked into KA AA AA CX.
- Fare info shown on the latest receipt.
Considering to credit the AA flights (J upgraded to F) to BA. Would have got even more avios than the AA RDM(Fare-based). Anybody who got some insights about fare-based vs distance-based lately?
Buying a ticket through a travel portal like Chase has never guaranteed that a flight would get credited by distance, that all depends on each specific fare, package, whether it's a consolidator/bulk etc. So the fact that an AA ticket purchased through Chase still credited by fare doesn't really mean much. And in the 2nd example oneworld partner flights will always credit by distance regardless of fare type or where it's purchased, so again this doesn't really mean anything other than the system is working as advertised.
Mar 25, 2019, 6:14 am
#835
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: ROC/NYC/MSP/LAX/HKG/SIN
Posts: 3,214
Nothing has changed AFAIK, AA is no smarter or dumber than before with regards to this. In your examples, I'm not quite sure what developments you're speaking of.
Buying a ticket through a travel portal like Chase has never guaranteed that a flight would get credited by distance, that all depends on each specific fare, package, whether it's a consolidator/bulk etc. So the fact that an AA ticket purchased through Chase still credited by fare doesn't really mean much. And in the 2nd example oneworld partner flights will always credit by distance regardless of fare type or where it's purchased, so again this doesn't really mean anything other than the system is working as advertised.
Buying a ticket through a travel portal like Chase has never guaranteed that a flight would get credited by distance, that all depends on each specific fare, package, whether it's a consolidator/bulk etc. So the fact that an AA ticket purchased through Chase still credited by fare doesn't really mean much. And in the 2nd example oneworld partner flights will always credit by distance regardless of fare type or where it's purchased, so again this doesn't really mean anything other than the system is working as advertised.
No.2: Also took time for them to reissue(30-45min, sometimes I don't know why), I did see some fare info, but it wouldn't matter because it would definitely be posted as distance.
No.3: That's the tricky one because the latest receipt I saw from the check-in agent showed the fare information. I decided to credit the AA flight to BA because I would have got more avios than AA miles, especially when I could see the fare information.
Feb 16, 2020, 12:08 am
#836
Join Date: Sep 2008
Programs: A3 *G, AA exePlat, AS MVP 75k Gold, JL sapphire, UA silver
Posts: 4,035
I got a ticket rebooked 2 times due to PEK, HKG cancellation.
Exec plat desk rebooked to HKG (Y) NRT DFW DCA BTV in R class. It was on on request for over 12 hours and I called AA HKG to push for reticketing. I got an AA Amadeus receipt immediately, then a typical AA receipt from AA us website.what is my chance of crediting as distance based?
Exec plat desk rebooked to HKG (Y) NRT DFW DCA BTV in R class. It was on on request for over 12 hours and I called AA HKG to push for reticketing. I got an AA Amadeus receipt immediately, then a typical AA receipt from AA us website.what is my chance of crediting as distance based?