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

Old Jan 27, 2016, 7:50 am
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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

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

Old Jul 15, 2016, 7:23 pm
  #46  
 
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Originally Posted by ashkale
1000 eqd's not too bad? Rdm remain the same as per the chart?
I'm not sure where you get 1000 EQDs.

Discount economy, if I understand that chart right, 5% *4117 = 200 EQD. RDM was at 100%, now going down to 25%, possiblyt 50% if I still get my ex plat bonus.

Or is that wrong?
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Old Jul 15, 2016, 8:28 pm
  #47  
 
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Originally Posted by BThumme
I'm not sure where you get 1000 EQDs.

Discount economy, if I understand that chart right, 5% *4117 = 200 EQD. RDM was at 100%, now going down to 25%, possiblyt 50% if I still get my ex plat bonus.

Or is that wrong?
You're right. If flying AY-operated/marketed flight in discount Y today, you'd earn 100% of miles flown in RDMs (plus another 100% in EXP elite bonus) and 50% of miles flown in EQMs.

If flying the same after 8/1, you'd earn 25% of miles flown in RDMs (plus possibly another 25% in EXP elite bonus) and 50% of miles flown in EQMs. You'd also earn 5% of miles flown as EQDs.

So for JFK-HEL on AY operated/marketed flight:

Before 8/1/16:
RDMs -- 4117 + 4117 (EXP bonus) = 8234
EQMs -- 2059

After 8/1/16:
RDMs -- 1029 + 1029 (EXP bonus) = 2058
EQMs -- 2059
EQDs -- $205.85
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Old Jul 15, 2016, 8:55 pm
  #48  
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
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My AY flights in three weeks were to earn 59,618. Now: 14,645.

Originally Posted by lycidas
So, we won't know the extent of the changes to RDMs on partner airlines until July 15, but is it possible that they will announce a complete overhaul of the earning rates for August 1? Two weeks notice sure seems cruel (but unsurprising for AA at this point).
And they did it, the final nail to the coffin. The last remaining economy value (Finnair, Lantam) culled 75% and with two weeks notice. I'm out.
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Old Jul 15, 2016, 11:29 pm
  #49  
 
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Originally Posted by lycidas
And they did it, the final nail to the coffin. The last remaining economy value (Finnair, Lantam) culled 75% and with two weeks notice. I'm out.
Yes, economy value with AY has been diminished, but from a quick glance, there seems to be value with AY business, where J/D/C fares earn a 100% RDM cabin bonus and earn EQDs at a rate of 40% of miles flown. And I fares still earn a 25% RDM bonus and EQDs at 25%.

AY has consistently had great fares to Asia from Canada that are via the Atlantic. For example, fares on YYZ-PEK in D class are about US$3200 r/t next Feb. Miles flown are 17,250 approximately (YYZ-LHR-HEL-PEK-HEL-LHR-YYZ). This means (if my understanding and calculations are correct):

17,250 x 1.5 = 25,875 EQMs
17,250 x 2 = 34,500 RDMs (not including any elite bonuses, if there are any)
17,250 x 40% = 6,900 EQDs.

I class is a few hundred dollars cheaper (~US$2600):

17,250 x 1.5 = 25,875 EQMs
17,250 x 1.25 = 21,563 RDMs (not including elite bonuses, if any)
17,250 x 25% = 4,313 EQDs.

In short, AY J may be a good way to reach the EQD thresholds without sacrificing much in terms of EQMs and RDMs. And in this case, earning EXP for about 10cpm. Not too shabby considering all in business class.

Last edited by flyingeph12; Jul 15, 2016 at 11:35 pm
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Old Jul 15, 2016, 11:43 pm
  #50  
 
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The other place to look for value, I think, is Premium Economy. E.g., YVR-HKG-SYD can be as low as US$1900 r/t, and would earn 1.5EQM and EQDs at 20-22% of miles flown (almost 22,000 miles flown).
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Old Jul 15, 2016, 11:50 pm
  #51  
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Originally Posted by BThumme
This looks brutal, what am I missing/overlooking?

I have JFK-HEL coming up on AY. 4117 miles, I'll get 1,000 out of that (4,000*.025).

For those of us who have to travel in Y, is there anything good now?
those are EQD, not RDM/EQM. Let's keep this to RDM in this thread, where it looks like there weren't any changes to pre-August 1st? I didn't do a thorough comparison but at first glance it looks like RDM-earning on partners is staying exactly the same.
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Old Jul 15, 2016, 11:54 pm
  #52  
 
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Originally Posted by Smiley90
those are EQD, not RDM/EQM. Let's keep this to RDM in this thread, where it looks like there weren't any changes to pre-August 1st? I didn't do a thorough comparison but at first glance it looks like RDM-earning on partners is staying exactly the same.
AY and LA are two examples where RDM earning for economy was cut by as much as 75%. Also, it is yet unclear, at least to me, whether elite bonuses on partners is staying in place.
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Old Jul 16, 2016, 1:38 am
  #53  
 
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Originally Posted by flyingeph12
AY and LA are two examples where RDM earning for economy was cut by as much as 75%. Also, it is yet unclear, at least to me, whether elite bonuses on partners is staying in place.
Also, for those on an xONEx it is still not clear to me at least if the total RDMs that can be earned will be capped.
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Old Jul 16, 2016, 5:40 am
  #54  
 
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Originally Posted by Smiley90
those are EQD, not RDM/EQM. Let's keep this to RDM in this thread, where it looks like there weren't any changes to pre-August 1st? I didn't do a thorough comparison but at first glance it looks like RDM-earning on partners is staying exactly the same.
Nope, there's been pretty broad cuts in RDM earning across partners from Aug 1. Especially in lower economy buckets, but also in mid level economy buckets like H and K, and then several partners' discount business buckets like LA, JJ, QR. It's a clear cut earning devaluation on top of the one early this year, combined with the redemption devaluation.

AAdvantage is now the worst of the 3 major US programs, with the only good thing being solid partners and continued first class availability for redemption. But they have much worse routing rules than DL/UA, worse SWUs than DL and probably even with UA given lack of C availability in advance, many fewer award seats on own metal than DL/UA, many fewer partners and a worse network than UA, and now worse partner earnings than DL. May be worse than UA for partner earnings as well if buying partner tickets through UA with a UA ticket number is a reasonable option wrt availability and price.
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Old Jul 16, 2016, 7:08 am
  #55  
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I am done with this game. Miles will play no influence in my purchasing decisions.
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Old Jul 16, 2016, 7:29 am
  #56  
 
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Yet again, more justification for simply booking the cheapest flight possible and not having any loyalty whatsoever.
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Old Jul 16, 2016, 2:56 pm
  #57  
 
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Originally Posted by Smiley90
those are EQD, not RDM/EQM. Let's keep this to RDM in this thread, where it looks like there weren't any changes to pre-August 1st? I didn't do a thorough comparison but at first glance it looks like RDM-earning on partners is staying exactly the same.
Where do you get that I said anything about EQD? EQD is listed to the right at 5% and I didn't say anything about that. 4,117 is ~ the distance in miles of JFK-HEL. I used the base miles value, 25%. This has nothing to do with spend.

How can you say there isn't a devalue? Currently, A, H, K, L, M, P, V, G, N, O, Q, R, S, T, W, Z all earn 100 % base miles. Now, H, K, L, M, P, V, T are 50% and A, G, N, O, Q, R, S, W, Z are 25%.
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Old Jul 16, 2016, 3:07 pm
  #58  
 
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Originally Posted by BThumme
Where do you get that I said anything about EQD? EQD is listed to the right at 5% and I didn't say anything about that. 4,117 is ~ the distance in miles of JFK-HEL. I used the base miles value, 25%. This has nothing to do with spend.

How can you say there isn't a devalue? Currently, A, H, K, L, M, P, V, G, N, O, Q, R, S, T, W, Z all earn 100 % base miles. Now, H, K, L, M, P, V, T are 50% and A, G, N, O, Q, R, S, W, Z are 25%.
... on AY and LA, as flyingeph12 noted; H class on BA, and B and H classes on CX, were the only drops for those two. Also, discount business (I) dropped for JL and LA but not BA and CX (haven't checked the others).
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Old Jul 16, 2016, 3:09 pm
  #59  
 
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Originally Posted by SpammersAreScum
... on AY and LA, as flyingeph12 noted; H class on BA, and B and H classes on CX, were the only drops for those two. Also, discount business (I) dropped for JL and LA but not BA and CX (haven't checked the others).
Right. I'm flying JFK-HEL on AY, and that's what I used as my example. The poster had mentioned I was talking about EQD and that there wasn't a devaluation on AY flights "at first glance."
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Old Jul 16, 2016, 3:18 pm
  #60  
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Originally Posted by kauppias
Honestly I think AA would have been smart to just do the changes Jan 1 2017 instead if mid year... I think there would be much less dissatisfaction that way but what do I know
Ideally, they should have thrown everything out there all at once when they announced the changes earlier in the year. I don't understand why they're doing it piecemeal, but it is what it is.

I'm sure people will find creative ways to get whatever status they're seeking.
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