Jun 8, 2016, 10:32 am
Last edit by: JDiver
Earning Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQD) on AA and partner airlines
Minimum Spend" requirement for each status tier began 1 Jan 2017
Minimum Spend" requirement for each status tier began 1 Jan 2017
In addition to the required EQM or EQS (same as 2016) to earn status in 2017 and onward one must also earn "Elite Qualifying Dollars" / "EQD" spend credit as follows (during the calendar year):
"Starting January 1, 2017, we’ll add Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQDs) to our earning requirements. Qualify in 1 of 2 ways:
- Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) + Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQDs)
- Elite Qualifying Segments (EQSs) + Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQDs)
EQDs will be awarded based on:
- Ticket price (base fare plus carrier-imposed fees, excluding any government-imposed taxes and fees) on American-marketed flights
- Flights marketed by oneworld® carriers, "Special Fares" such as some AA Vacations flights, Thank You Points purchased fares, etc. earn EQDs based on a percentage of the flight distance and the fare class purchased
With the addition of EQDs, the rule that 4 segments must be traveled on American or American Eagle during the qualifying year to receive elite status has been eliminated.
NOTE: EQD credit varies for "Special Fares" (e.g. "select flights" included in AAVacations packages), and the chart for those changed on 11 Jan 2017. See here.2019 Status qualification tiers and requirements: link
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aa.com: aa.com is updated to show EQM, EQD and RDM/AW for your convenience when booking and in your account for keeping informed about your accruals.
Another impact of EQD is on upgrade priority within status tiers instead of time of upgrade request (FYI only, not discussion here):
Change to upgrade priority to EQD-based priority
The way your upgrade request is prioritized changed in 2017. You’ll be listed according to the type of upgrade, by your elite status level followed by the number of EQDs earned in the last 12 months. The date of upgrade request will no longer be used except to break ties not resolved by higher priority levels. Applies both upgrade request and airport list if request goes to airport list.
Partners (AS and oneworld): accrual of EQM and EQD as reflected on charts on aa.com.
FAQ
Q. How will AA EQD be calculated?
Yes: Base fare plus carrier imposed fees, e.g. YQ etc. (Status buyup fees will count.)
No: Taxes, government or airport imposed fees, e.g. PSC, APD, TSA, etc. and ancillary fees (see below)
Q. How will flights on other oneworld carriers, AS, and "Special Fares" qualify for EQD?
Partner earning tables are here and special fare table here on aa.com.
Q. Will checked bag fees, seat purchases, LFBU and 500-mile upgrades, buy miles, or other products/service fees count toward earning award miles and EQDs? (AA FAQ)
No, only the base fare paid for your ticket including any carrier-imposed fees will count toward earning award miles and EQDs. Fees for other products or services will not be awarded miles or EQDs, including but not limited to the following: checked (or overweight) baggage fees, Admirals Club® memberships (or passes), Wi-Fi passes, in-flight food and beverage purchases, in-flight entertainment, unaccompanied minor fees, pet travel fees, 500-mile upgrades, mileage upgrade cash co-payments, Mileage Multiplier, BuyMiles, GiftMiles, ShareMiles or other mileage purchases, ticket change fees, ticketing fees, same-day confirmed flight change or standby fees and service charges. (Status buyup fees will count, however.)
Resources:
GLOSSARY:
EQD: Elite Qualifying Dollars (base fare + carrier imposed fees, - government imposed taxes and fees
EQM: Elite Qualifying Miles (accrual depends on fare basis, airline and base miles flown)
EQS: Elite Qualifying Segments (discrete segment marketed as AA)
Platinum Pro: new tier beginning 1/1/17 requiring $9,000 EQD and 75,000 EQM or 90 EQS in one calendar year
Links
Link to FT: JUST THE FACTS: EQD, status tier, other changes announced 6 Jun 2016
Link to AAdvantage Program Updates page on aa.com (including FAQ).
Link to Gary Leff's "View from the Wing" blog article on these changes.
Link to Ben "Lucky" Schlappig's take in "One Mile at a Time" on View From the Boarding Area
GUIDE: Earning EQD / Elite Qualifying Dollars on AA & partner airlines (as of 2019)
Oct 21, 2017, 8:33 am
#466
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SJC
Programs: AA EXP, BA Silver, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton diamond, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 33,533
I don't actually recall if I've done a straight BA booking on BA.com, so didn't know whether this allowed choice of frequent flyer number at booking. Seems that it does.
Sorry for the prior incomplete response and thanks for the correction.
Cheers.
Nov 1, 2017, 2:54 am
#467
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 19
I have attempted to read and search through this thread, but did not stumble across an answer to my question.
The woman in my office booked my flight in economy, when it was supposed to be business class. I am in the middle of a Platinum challenge and business class would've put me over the top. The flight was booked through Amex Travel, and an AA flight number was booked for a code-share flight. Because it wasn't booked through AA nor are they the operating airline, they cannot offer me any upgrades or changes. The operating airline (Finnair) is saying they can't either, I can only upgrade through AA. There are plenty of seats available in business, but I cannot access any of them. I do not have direct access to Amex, as it is the company account that the flight was booked through, so I am at a loss as to how I can rectify this.
The only option offered to me is to upgrade at check-in at the airport, if any seats are available. Since Finnair started offering the auction for business class seats, check in upgrades have become increasingly rare. However if there is a seat available, with this purchase cost be calculated towards my EQD?
Otherwise, what are options? I have no more scheduled flights for the duration of my challenge and I will be roughly 700 EQD and 150 EQM away from Platinum. I'd rather not spend $800+ on a flight I do not really need just for the status, but I will if needed. How are AA Vacations handled? Does the full cost of the vacation count? Or only my flight purchased and not my family flights?
Any suggestions would be helpful and appreciated.
Flights were booked through Amex Travel (I don't have access to the account)
Flights purchased AA8985 and AA8986
Codeshare Flight AY005 and AY006
The woman in my office booked my flight in economy, when it was supposed to be business class. I am in the middle of a Platinum challenge and business class would've put me over the top. The flight was booked through Amex Travel, and an AA flight number was booked for a code-share flight. Because it wasn't booked through AA nor are they the operating airline, they cannot offer me any upgrades or changes. The operating airline (Finnair) is saying they can't either, I can only upgrade through AA. There are plenty of seats available in business, but I cannot access any of them. I do not have direct access to Amex, as it is the company account that the flight was booked through, so I am at a loss as to how I can rectify this.
The only option offered to me is to upgrade at check-in at the airport, if any seats are available. Since Finnair started offering the auction for business class seats, check in upgrades have become increasingly rare. However if there is a seat available, with this purchase cost be calculated towards my EQD?
Otherwise, what are options? I have no more scheduled flights for the duration of my challenge and I will be roughly 700 EQD and 150 EQM away from Platinum. I'd rather not spend $800+ on a flight I do not really need just for the status, but I will if needed. How are AA Vacations handled? Does the full cost of the vacation count? Or only my flight purchased and not my family flights?
Any suggestions would be helpful and appreciated.
Flights were booked through Amex Travel (I don't have access to the account)
Flights purchased AA8985 and AA8986
Codeshare Flight AY005 and AY006
Nov 1, 2017, 5:34 am
#468
Join Date: Jul 2001
Programs: AA EP
Posts: 2,203
If u are within 24 hours of purchase, ur travel agency can void the tickets and start again.
Since this appears to be comoany travel, and u are authorized to buy j, just change the ticket and pay any fees.
Since this appears to be comoany travel, and u are authorized to buy j, just change the ticket and pay any fees.
I have attempted to read and search through this thread, but did not stumble across an answer to my question.
The woman in my office booked my flight in economy, when it was supposed to be business class. I am in the middle of a Platinum challenge and business class would've put me over the top. The flight was booked through Amex Travel, and an AA flight number was booked for a code-share flight. Because it wasn't booked through AA nor are they the operating airline, they cannot offer me any upgrades or changes. The operating airline (Finnair) is saying they can't either, I can only upgrade through AA. There are plenty of seats available in business, but I cannot access any of them. I do not have direct access to Amex, as it is the company account that the flight was booked through, so I am at a loss as to how I can rectify this.
The only option offered to me is to upgrade at check-in at the airport, if any seats are available. Since Finnair started offering the auction for business class seats, check in upgrades have become increasingly rare. However if there is a seat available, with this purchase cost be calculated towards my EQD?
Otherwise, what are options? I have no more scheduled flights for the duration of my challenge and I will be roughly 700 EQD and 150 EQM away from Platinum. I'd rather not spend $800+ on a flight I do not really need just for the status, but I will if needed. How are AA Vacations handled? Does the full cost of the vacation count? Or only my flight purchased and not my family flights?
Any suggestions would be helpful and appreciated.
Flights were booked through Amex Travel (I don't have access to the account)
Flights purchased AA8985 and AA8986
Codeshare Flight AY005 and AY006
The woman in my office booked my flight in economy, when it was supposed to be business class. I am in the middle of a Platinum challenge and business class would've put me over the top. The flight was booked through Amex Travel, and an AA flight number was booked for a code-share flight. Because it wasn't booked through AA nor are they the operating airline, they cannot offer me any upgrades or changes. The operating airline (Finnair) is saying they can't either, I can only upgrade through AA. There are plenty of seats available in business, but I cannot access any of them. I do not have direct access to Amex, as it is the company account that the flight was booked through, so I am at a loss as to how I can rectify this.
The only option offered to me is to upgrade at check-in at the airport, if any seats are available. Since Finnair started offering the auction for business class seats, check in upgrades have become increasingly rare. However if there is a seat available, with this purchase cost be calculated towards my EQD?
Otherwise, what are options? I have no more scheduled flights for the duration of my challenge and I will be roughly 700 EQD and 150 EQM away from Platinum. I'd rather not spend $800+ on a flight I do not really need just for the status, but I will if needed. How are AA Vacations handled? Does the full cost of the vacation count? Or only my flight purchased and not my family flights?
Any suggestions would be helpful and appreciated.
Flights were booked through Amex Travel (I don't have access to the account)
Flights purchased AA8985 and AA8986
Codeshare Flight AY005 and AY006
Nov 1, 2017, 6:39 am
#469
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: USA & UK -- AA EXP 3.5MM, Hyatt Diamond, SPG Plat, Avis President's Club
Posts: 6,411
Yes, the airline has a deal with your travel agent, who has a deal with you. That's exactly why I prefer to book my own travel with the airline and cut out the middleman. Even if you use Priceline or Orbitz, you still have a middleman. The airline's customer is the agent, and the agent's customer is you. Customer service becomes two steps instead of one.
Oh well, the middleman is firmly embedded in your transaction, so that's the only way to make changes. You contact the middleman (Amex Travel), who contacts the airline.
Yep, I prefer to book direct with the airline. I'm guessing that you'll prefer it also, after this trip.
[Disclaimer: some travel agents can access deals that normal folks can't get. In those cases, I book through an agent. This post is NOT meant to disparage an entire industry. It's only meant to say that I prefer to book direct with the airline. That way, if there's problem, customer service is a one-on-one transaction.]
Oh well, the middleman is firmly embedded in your transaction, so that's the only way to make changes. You contact the middleman (Amex Travel), who contacts the airline.
Yep, I prefer to book direct with the airline. I'm guessing that you'll prefer it also, after this trip.
[Disclaimer: some travel agents can access deals that normal folks can't get. In those cases, I book through an agent. This post is NOT meant to disparage an entire industry. It's only meant to say that I prefer to book direct with the airline. That way, if there's problem, customer service is a one-on-one transaction.]
Nov 1, 2017, 7:01 am
#471
Join Date: Feb 2016
Programs: Delta, AA-Gold, Hilton-Gold
Posts: 93
So I will be travelling one more time this year and will hit gold via segments but will be a few dollars short of the EQD requirement. Work will only let me purchase an economy ticket but once ticketed I can pay for MCE. Will this purchase also count towards EQD's?
Nov 1, 2017, 7:41 am
#472
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: AA PLT, IHG Spire
Posts: 550
Or wait to book until the last minute so fares rise. As a reminder, You earn EQDs based on the base fare only, taxes and fees do not count.
I may have waited a few days to book my last flight for the same reason.
Nov 2, 2017, 2:59 pm
#473
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 152
Read through a lot of posts and couldn't figure out 100%, forgive me if a stupid question. Not sure on EQD for a trip
Booked the following on one RT, direct on AA.com
SGF-ORD AA 3644
ORD-LHR AA 6196- Operated by BA
LHR-FCO BA 560
VCE-MAD IB 3249
MAD-ORD AA 8654- Operated by Iberia
ORD-SGF AA 3569
I thought since all purchased through AA I get the actual fare EQD? But there was no AAdvantage earnings listed on my trip, so now I'm lost. All legs were S fare.
Fare Amount
$70
Carrier-Imposed Fees
$300
$370 EQD?
Will I be calculated off a portion for the non-codeshare flights and get EQD based on mileage? Or since it was all marketed/sold directly off AA am I good?
Booked the following on one RT, direct on AA.com
SGF-ORD AA 3644
ORD-LHR AA 6196- Operated by BA
LHR-FCO BA 560
VCE-MAD IB 3249
MAD-ORD AA 8654- Operated by Iberia
ORD-SGF AA 3569
I thought since all purchased through AA I get the actual fare EQD? But there was no AAdvantage earnings listed on my trip, so now I'm lost. All legs were S fare.
Fare Amount
$70
Carrier-Imposed Fees
$300
$370 EQD?
Will I be calculated off a portion for the non-codeshare flights and get EQD based on mileage? Or since it was all marketed/sold directly off AA am I good?
Nov 2, 2017, 3:04 pm
#474
Join Date: Jul 2001
Programs: AA EP
Posts: 2,203
You will most likely have a mixture of $ for the AA marketed sectors and distance based for those IB and BA native sectors.
And no we cant determine exactly what ur mileage will be. It’s to hard and not accurate on these mixed itineraries.
And no we cant determine exactly what ur mileage will be. It’s to hard and not accurate on these mixed itineraries.
Read through a lot of posts and couldn't figure out 100%, forgive me if a stupid question. Not sure on EQD for a trip
Booked the following on one RT, direct on AA.com
SGF-ORD AA 3644
ORD-LHR AA 6196- Operated by BA
LHR-FCO BA 560
VCE-MAD IB 3249
MAD-ORD AA 8654- Operated by Iberia
ORD-SGF AA 3569
I thought since all purchased through AA I get the actual fare EQD? But there was no AAdvantage earnings listed on my trip, so now I'm lost. All legs were S fare.
Fare Amount
$70
Carrier-Imposed Fees
$300
$370 EQD?
Will I be calculated off a portion for the non-codeshare flights and get EQD based on mileage? Or since it was all marketed/sold directly off AA am I good?
Booked the following on one RT, direct on AA.com
SGF-ORD AA 3644
ORD-LHR AA 6196- Operated by BA
LHR-FCO BA 560
VCE-MAD IB 3249
MAD-ORD AA 8654- Operated by Iberia
ORD-SGF AA 3569
I thought since all purchased through AA I get the actual fare EQD? But there was no AAdvantage earnings listed on my trip, so now I'm lost. All legs were S fare.
Fare Amount
$70
Carrier-Imposed Fees
$300
$370 EQD?
Will I be calculated off a portion for the non-codeshare flights and get EQD based on mileage? Or since it was all marketed/sold directly off AA am I good?
Nov 14, 2017, 5:44 pm
#475
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: in the vicinity of SFO
Programs: AA 2MM (LT-PLT, PPro for this year)
Posts: 19,781
Any idea how EQD would be handled on a hidden city/no-show final segment? I'm seriously considering ticketing a one-way flight to HND with an extra leg HND-SIN because it saves about 2/3 the cost of the ticket. I don't have any history of these in the past, and my return would be a separate one-way (not from HND) so I assume this is safe to do, but I'd also imagine any EQM would be negligible?
(Also, the ongoing leg is a non-mile-earning fare on JL, so even if I flew it, it's not clear how the EQD would break...)
(Also, the ongoing leg is a non-mile-earning fare on JL, so even if I flew it, it's not clear how the EQD would break...)
Nov 17, 2017, 1:35 am
#476
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: in the vicinity of SFO
Programs: AA 2MM (LT-PLT, PPro for this year)
Posts: 19,781
For Oneworld partner fares that earn less than 100% base miles, are the EQD-by-mile earned based on the flown distance or based on the base miles? In particular, I'm looking at an JAL "S" fare, which is listed as 10% EQD, and 50% Base Miles.
For a ~8300 mile BKK-NRT-LAX flight, will that earn 830 EQD or 415?
For a ~8300 mile BKK-NRT-LAX flight, will that earn 830 EQD or 415?
Nov 22, 2017, 10:04 am
#478
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Flatland
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold 1MM, BA Gold, UA Peon
Posts: 6,109
How high can you go?
So, how high can EDQ leverage (ratio of actual price paid compared to EQD credited) go?
You can get AMS-LHR-SIN-BKK return on BA for ~$1900 giving an EDQ leverage of a little over 2, similarly HAM-LHR-SIN-HKG-CGK return can be had for ~$2600, similarly EQD leverage of about 2. Both are mixed BA and CX itineraries.
Can you get EQD leverage appreciably more than 2 ?
You can get AMS-LHR-SIN-BKK return on BA for ~$1900 giving an EDQ leverage of a little over 2, similarly HAM-LHR-SIN-HKG-CGK return can be had for ~$2600, similarly EQD leverage of about 2. Both are mixed BA and CX itineraries.
Can you get EQD leverage appreciably more than 2 ?
Nov 28, 2017, 8:48 am
#479
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: BWI
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 82
So, how high can EDQ leverage (ratio of actual price paid compared to EQD credited) go?
You can get AMS-LHR-SIN-BKK return on BA for ~$1900 giving an EDQ leverage of a little over 2, similarly HAM-LHR-SIN-HKG-CGK return can be had for ~$2600, similarly EQD leverage of about 2. Both are mixed BA and CX itineraries.
Can you get EQD leverage appreciably more than 2 ?
You can get AMS-LHR-SIN-BKK return on BA for ~$1900 giving an EDQ leverage of a little over 2, similarly HAM-LHR-SIN-HKG-CGK return can be had for ~$2600, similarly EQD leverage of about 2. Both are mixed BA and CX itineraries.
Can you get EQD leverage appreciably more than 2 ?
Earlier this year, QR had business class fares for AMS/BRU-DOH-TYOfor ~$750, which was about 4.33 EQD/$.
For fares that aren't huge sales though, getting 2 EQD/$ flying PE is pretty good though.
Nov 28, 2017, 9:54 am
#480
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Oakland
Programs: AA Explat, UA former 1K + PremExec, DL
Posts: 1,151
Finnair.com also works to change FF# on BA res
You have to make sure that your AAdvantage number is in the reservation. Unfortunately, no way to do this on BA.com. You can call BA, or you can pull up the reservation on the Royal Jordanian site (rj.com) using the BA PNR and change it there. If the AAdvantage number is on the reservation, it will credit to AA.
Cheers.
Cheers.
I also found in my searches that some packages imply a lower ticket cost than you can buy on it's own, unless you impute an improbably low per night cost for the hotel portion, although my experience with a close-in booking was that there was no discount, effectively, and I probably should have just booked separately in order to realize hotel points as well.
Last edited by fanger; Nov 29, 2017 at 8:40 am