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GUIDE: Earning AA Award / Redeemable Miles / RDM on AA, partners 1 Aug 2016

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Old Jan 27, 2016, 7:50 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: JDiver
Earning AA Award ("Redeemable") Miles / RDM earning as of 01 Aug 2016
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):
  • 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:
  • 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
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:
  • At least some purchases made with Citi TYPs and the like

  • At least some reissues, whether changed beforehand or due to IROPS
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)

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
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)
"Exceptions
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"
Older speculative and obsolete posts in this thread have been moved to the Archive, ARCHIVE: Earning AA Award / Redeemable Miles / RDM on AA, partners (obsolete posts).

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)
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GUIDE: Earning AA Award / Redeemable Miles / RDM on AA, partners 1 Aug 2016

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Old Aug 2, 2016, 9:02 am
  #106  
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,974
Originally Posted by zabes64
Here is the only thing nice about this change, for partners that still warm elite bonuses, Gold and ExecPlats make out much better, Plats get screwed!

*For travel on or after August 1, 2016, Executive Platinum members earn a 120% bonus, Platinum members earn a 60% bonus and Gold members earn a 40% bonus. For travel on or before July 31, 2016, Executive Platinum and Platinum members earn a 100% bonus and Gold members earn a 25% bonus
Which partners give elite bonus?
olouie is offline  
Old Aug 2, 2016, 9:20 am
  #107  
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Originally Posted by olouie
Which partners give elite bonus?
These bonuses are discussed in the Wikipost at the top of the page, and are the heart of the new Award Miles earning scheme., if I understand your question correctly.

  • 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)
JDiver is offline  
Old Aug 2, 2016, 9:46 am
  #108  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: TPA
Programs: BA Silver; Hilton Gold; IHG Diamond Ambassador; Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,811
Originally Posted by olouie
Which partners give elite bonus?
You earn the award miles elite bonus on all OneWorld partners, from the looks of it. AA says:

Elite status members earn additional bonus miles on base flight miles earned when traveling with:

American Airlines

American Eagle

Alaska Airlines

British Airways

Cathay Pacific

Dragon Air

Finnair

Iberia

Japan Airlines

LAN Airlines

Malaysia Airlines

Qantas

Qatar Airways

Royal Jordanian

*For travel on or after August 1, 2016, Executive Platinum members earn a 120% bonus, Platinum members earn a 60% bonus and Gold members earn a 40% bonus. For travel on or before July 31, 2016, Executive Platinum and Platinum members earn a 100% bonus and Gold members earn a 25% bonus
P.S. Wiki updated.

Last edited by SpammersAreScum; Aug 2, 2016 at 10:00 am
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Old Aug 2, 2016, 10:38 am
  #109  
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
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Originally Posted by SpammersAreScum
You earn the award miles elite bonus on all OneWorld partners, from the looks of it.
Not all--most. For example, I learned the hard way with Air Berlin.
flyingeph12 is offline  
Old Aug 2, 2016, 10:46 am
  #110  
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Quite happy that CX decided to continue paying one more reason to stay with AAdv.
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Old Aug 2, 2016, 11:03 am
  #111  
 
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Originally Posted by flyingeph12
Not all--most. For example, I learned the hard way with Air Berlin.
Well, that's annoying. Looks like s7 and Sri Lankan are also excluded. And Alaska is actually not OneWorld, of course. Wiki updated.
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Old Aug 2, 2016, 12:48 pm
  #112  
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Wowowow i didnt even realize

When did they announce the elite earning change? Is there a thread for the announcement? Before this weekend I was under the assumption 25/100/100 would stay. Wow.

Another kick... Gut RDM earnings for flying AA AND also for flying partners now (me being Plat), damn. That was likely it for me with AAdvantage then.
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Old Aug 2, 2016, 1:26 pm
  #113  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
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Originally Posted by Smiley90
Wowowow i didnt even realize

When did they announce the elite earning change? Is there a thread for the announcement? Before this weekend I was under the assumption 25/100/100 would stay. Wow.

Another kick... Gut RDM earnings for flying AA AND also for flying partners now (me being Plat), damn. That was likely it for me with AAdvantage then.
I believe the new version of that page did not get posted until Aug 1.
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Old Aug 2, 2016, 3:04 pm
  #114  
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Little Rock, AR
Programs: AA EXP, UA GLD, Hilton Diamond, Marriott GLD, Admiral Club
Posts: 23
Now we need to validate our Miles

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)

Last edited by Hook'Em; Aug 2, 2016 at 3:11 pm
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Old Aug 2, 2016, 3:10 pm
  #115  
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Originally Posted by Hook'Em
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?

Any thoughts of what Base miles is vs Bonus miles in this new revenue world?
if they still separate it, it'd be base fare = 5x, bonus = 2x,3x, 6x most likely
Smiley90 is offline  
Old Aug 2, 2016, 3:11 pm
  #116  
 
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Programs: AA EP
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Remember it is related to your fare on your one way fare. Could your fare be different to and from.
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Old Aug 2, 2016, 3:13 pm
  #117  
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The base miles will be the price multiplied by 5 and the bonus is 120% of that amount

$140 * 5 = 700 base
120% of 700 = 840

If this was just your outbound journey, then you have been credited based on a spend of $241.60

if the total eligibale spend was $471, then would expect credit for $229.40 on the return
Dave Noble is offline  
Old Aug 2, 2016, 5:02 pm
  #118  
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: CH, D, USA
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What happens if the last of three segments on the return is not flown? Is the full O/W value credited anyway? Or if the reduce it by the amount the segment would have earned, how do they determine the value of that segment?
f4free is offline  
Old Aug 2, 2016, 5:10 pm
  #119  
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Originally Posted by f4free
What happens if the last of three segments on the return is not flown? Is the full O/W value credited anyway? Or if the reduce it by the amount the segment would have earned, how do they determine the value of that segment?
I would assume, as before, that an unflown segment will not credit at all and that the value of that segment will be lost for mileage accrual
Dave Noble is offline  
Old Aug 2, 2016, 6:41 pm
  #120  
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Programs: AY+ Plat, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 2,846
Originally Posted by Dave Noble
I would assume, as before, that an unflown segment will not credit at all and that the value of that segment will be lost for mileage accrual
My question is: how is the value of that segment determined? I can maybe sort of see how they might determine miles if an entire one-way of a round-trip is not flown, but I am wondering how they would credit miles if a one-way consists of multiple segments and only some of the segments are flown. For example, JFK-LAX-SJC at a certain fare code is often cheaper than JFK-LAX at the same fare code...I guess they could figure out a way to proportion the one-way fare among the various segments based on miles, etc. (maybe similar to what they would do on a mixed AA-marketed/non-AA-marketed ticket).
flyingeph12 is offline  


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