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 4, 2017, 9:18 am
#436
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: NYC
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 1,372
Added caveat: If you book through BA—even if one of the flights is on AA metal with an AA flight number—you probably won't be able to apply a SWU, because BA controls the ticket, and BA cannot process a SWU.
Oct 4, 2017, 9:23 am
#437
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: New York
Programs: AA, CX, Hyatt, Marriott
Posts: 1,484
That's good to know. I am still not sure how one could use BA (who should be able to issue oneworld ticket) to get an AA ticketed for a codeshare flight (LHR - U.S.).
Oct 4, 2017, 11:12 am
#438
Join Date: Sep 2015
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 158
TLDR- portal + SWU may result in fare based credit
Oct 4, 2017, 11:17 am
#439
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,548
The problem with LHR, of course, is the high taxes -- on this $624 flight, I only earn a measly $106(!!) of EQD credit. But by booking with BA, I would get 5% of total miles flown -- which is ~11k miles -- which would mean ~$550 of EQD. It reduces my EQM, but I need the EQD much more than the EQM. Does this strategy work???
The EQD on BA should be 546 , so only 140 points in it
Oct 4, 2017, 6:48 pm
#440
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: SJC
Programs: AA EXP, Hilton Diamond, Hertz PC
Posts: 181
Has AA closed the loophole for getting TYP redemptions posted as special fares? I just made two TYP bookings using points+cash as I have done several times in the past, and I can see the full fare details for both itineraries on the AA website.
Oct 4, 2017, 8:18 pm
#441
Join Date: May 2016
Location: ORD
Programs: AA EXP, UA Gold
Posts: 98
For bookings I made earlier this year with TYP, I could see the fare details on AA.com but they still posted as special fares. The last one was over Labor Day though, so not sure if something has changed.
Oct 4, 2017, 9:22 pm
#442
Join Date: Nov 2015
Programs: AA Platinum Pro, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 20
But overall, it sounds like if I was truly motivated to favor EQD at the cost of EQMs, this strategy of booking a BA flight would work. It just wouldn't work with SWUs. Good to know!
Oct 6, 2017, 7:56 pm
#443
Join Date: Sep 2015
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 158
EQD w/ AA + partner flight on same PNR
Looking to book a flight (one PNR) that has AA-AA-BA flight numbers, with IB-AA-AA on the return. Booking for my partner and I, where she needs a few more EQD/EQM this year but the return AA-AA segments are in 2018 (Jan1, bc I love a head start 
) - how can I determine what the breakdown will be? I tried matrix ITA to get cost by segment, or at least each way and it shows "no results available" when I search one world, and can't find the flights period with no routing codes. I know I can book the flights and call/twitter to find out but it would be nice to know ahead of time for her sake. Obviously since flights have non AA flight numbers there's no summary at checkout with EQD/EQM summary.
) - how can I determine what the breakdown will be? I tried matrix ITA to get cost by segment, or at least each way and it shows "no results available" when I search one world, and can't find the flights period with no routing codes. I know I can book the flights and call/twitter to find out but it would be nice to know ahead of time for her sake. Obviously since flights have non AA flight numbers there's no summary at checkout with EQD/EQM summary.
Oct 7, 2017, 1:35 pm
#444
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: COU
Programs: AA EXP, Bonvoy Ambassador, Hertz PC
Posts: 499
Just made a couple small edits to the wiki post reflecting what seems to have been a change to the rules on AAVacations. I'm nearly positive the original rule was that all flights associated with AAV earned as special fares, but now the page says "select AAV packages" and says the flights are marked with an asterisk at the AAV site if they'll earn by distance. I took an AAV trip last month and some of the segments earned by fare and some by distance; when I challenged it they said it was correct and directed me to the new page.
Oct 7, 2017, 2:59 pm
#445
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: NYC/HKG
Programs: AA: EXP
Posts: 16
Oct 7, 2017, 4:31 pm
#446
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: COU
Programs: AA EXP, Bonvoy Ambassador, Hertz PC
Posts: 499
The AAV package was ORD-DUB-LHR-PRG-LHR-ORD including 3-night stay (throwaway) at a hostel in Prague that I estimate was $35 of the total: $498.64 all-in. The receipt said the package price was $87.82 with $410.82 in taxes and carrier-imposed fees.
All the short legs (DUB-LHR-PRG-LHR) posted by distance ("fare unavailable") for a total of 389 EQD. The ORD-DUB and LHR-ORD legs posted by fare, 149 and 151 EQD respectively.
So I ended up with 689 EQD for under $500, which is hard to complain about. But if it had all posted by distance it would have been 1152 EQD, which would have been even better. It's not a big deal for me as I'm at 14k EQD for the year with 94k EQM (and still plenty of flying left to do), but I thought it was worth pointing out to the community since plenty of us (well, at least one of us) had internalized that AAV was the one "sure" way to have something post as a special fare.
Oct 9, 2017, 12:00 pm
#447
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: SJC
Programs: AA EXP, Hilton Diamond, Hertz PC
Posts: 181
Interesting. Let's see how the flights that I have booked will post. For me, this actually may make the difference between Platinum and Platinum Pro.
Oct 11, 2017, 6:30 pm
#448
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: COU
Programs: AA EXP, Bonvoy Ambassador, Hertz PC
Posts: 499
Don't go by whether the fare shows on the AA website. Maybe that means something, and maybe not (or maybe not anymore) but the fare rules are the way to know for sure whether you're buying a consolidator fare. Better yet, you can read them before you buy the ticket. Look for the word "wholesale" in the rules...if it's there, it's a bulk ticket.
Oct 12, 2017, 8:36 am
#449
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: PHL
Programs: AA EXP MM, HHonors Lifetime Diamond, Marriott Lifetime Ti, UA Silver
Posts: 5,034
EQD for MCE purchase?
I'm pretty sure the answer is that you don't earn EQD through MCE purchases, but I didn't find anything definitive on FT and the AA site is not 100% clear:
https://www.aa.com/i18n/aadvantage-p...jsp#awardmiles
So is purchasing MCE considered "seat purchases" for EQD earning? Or do you earn additional EQD when purchasing MCE?
n.b. the reason I ask is that my step son just booked his last trip for the year and it will put him at about 27,000 EQM and $2980 EQD. He's wondering if buying MCE will push him over $3000 EQD and get Gold.
Do checked bag fees, seat purchases, 500-mile upgrades or other products/service fees count toward earning award miles and EQDs?
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 baggage fees, Admirals Club® memberships, 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.
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 baggage fees, Admirals Club® memberships, 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.
So is purchasing MCE considered "seat purchases" for EQD earning? Or do you earn additional EQD when purchasing MCE?
n.b. the reason I ask is that my step son just booked his last trip for the year and it will put him at about 27,000 EQM and $2980 EQD. He's wondering if buying MCE will push him over $3000 EQD and get Gold.
Oct 12, 2017, 8:47 am
#450
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
I'm pretty sure the answer is that you don't earn EQD through MCE purchases, but I didn't find anything definitive on FT and the AA site is not 100% clear:
https://www.aa.com/i18n/aadvantage-p...jsp#awardmiles
So is purchasing MCE considered "seat purchases" for EQD earning? Or do you earn additional EQD when purchasing MCE?
n.b. the reason I ask is that my step son just booked his last trip for the year and it will put him at about 27,000 EQM and $2980 EQD. He's wondering if buying MCE will push him over $3000 EQD and get Gold.
https://www.aa.com/i18n/aadvantage-p...jsp#awardmiles
So is purchasing MCE considered "seat purchases" for EQD earning? Or do you earn additional EQD when purchasing MCE?
n.b. the reason I ask is that my step son just booked his last trip for the year and it will put him at about 27,000 EQM and $2980 EQD. He's wondering if buying MCE will push him over $3000 EQD and get Gold.
We have merged your query into the "Guide" master thread.
Advanced search, search titles only, results as threads, term "eqd"
/Moderator
Last edited by JDiver; Oct 12, 2017 at 8:54 am
