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)
Sep 18, 2019, 8:43 pm
#661
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: New York, NY
Programs: AAdvantage PltPro, AMEX Platinum
Posts: 239
Sep 18, 2019, 9:04 pm
#664
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 1,285
You probably were thinking about AA marketed flight that if special fare (usually it is part of the vacation package when airline is not disclosing how much actual ticket price is). Also it used to be that you get rebooked during IRROPS into special fare where it is not clear how much was the ticket. Not sure if it’s still the case.
Sep 18, 2019, 9:11 pm
#665
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: New York, NY
Programs: AAdvantage PltPro, AMEX Platinum
Posts: 239
You probably were thinking about AA marketed flight that if special fare (usually it is part of the vacation package when airline is not disclosing how much actual ticket price is). Also it used to be that you get rebooked during IRROPS into special fare where it is not clear how much was the ticket. Not sure if it’s still the case.
Sep 18, 2019, 9:16 pm
#666
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 1,285
Sep 18, 2019, 9:18 pm
#667
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: New York, NY
Programs: AAdvantage PltPro, AMEX Platinum
Posts: 239
Sep 19, 2019, 12:09 pm
#669
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: TPA
Programs: BA Silver; Hilton Gold; IHG Diamond Ambassador; Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,811
Hello everyone. I am looking at a paid first class flight on all BA metal.
Not sure if a or F but I believe both are 40% distance. So my question is just to confirm what I suspect. You guys are the experts.
JFK to LHR 3457 miles
LHR to HKG 5967 miles
Doing a round trip so 18848 miles.
So will I earn 7539 eqd? I am platinum pro currently.
Thanks so much everyone. I should hit exp for the first time if this works out.
Not sure if a or F but I believe both are 40% distance. So my question is just to confirm what I suspect. You guys are the experts.
JFK to LHR 3457 miles
LHR to HKG 5967 miles
Doing a round trip so 18848 miles.
So will I earn 7539 eqd? I am platinum pro currently.
Thanks so much everyone. I should hit exp for the first time if this works out.
Sep 19, 2019, 12:56 pm
#670
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 1,285
technically metal matters tho. If it’s marketed by BA but operated by Air Lingus you won’t get anything for that flight
Sep 20, 2019, 12:21 pm
#671
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Anywhere
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 674
I have a round-trip booked with the outbound in December, and the return in January. I know the total EQD I'll get, but how do I know how much of it will be in 2019 and how much will be in 2020?
Edit: it's on AA metal, bought through AA. It's just that the receipt shows the total passenger amount, not broken down by segment.
Edit: it's on AA metal, bought through AA. It's just that the receipt shows the total passenger amount, not broken down by segment.
Sep 21, 2019, 12:06 am
#672
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP, Hyatt Glob, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Plat, Total Wine & More Reserve
Posts: 4,524
I have a round-trip booked with the outbound in December, and the return in January. I know the total EQD I'll get, but how do I know how much of it will be in 2019 and how much will be in 2020?
Edit: it's on AA metal, bought through AA. It's just that the receipt shows the total passenger amount, not broken down by segment.
Edit: it's on AA metal, bought through AA. It's just that the receipt shows the total passenger amount, not broken down by segment.
Sep 24, 2019, 4:48 pm
#673
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: TPA
Programs: BA Silver; Hilton Gold; IHG Diamond Ambassador; Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,811
I have a round-trip booked with the outbound in December, and the return in January. I know the total EQD I'll get, but how do I know how much of it will be in 2019 and how much will be in 2020?
Edit: it's on AA metal, bought through AA. It's just that the receipt shows the total passenger amount, not broken down by segment.
Edit: it's on AA metal, bought through AA. It's just that the receipt shows the total passenger amount, not broken down by segment.
If the return flights are a simple mirror of the outbound, and in the same classes, there's a good chance the allocation will be 50/50; beyond that, who knows. As econ says, all you can do is call AA and hope thy can tell you.
Oct 11, 2019, 10:51 am
#674
Join Date: Sep 2007
Programs: AA Platinum - 1MM+
Posts: 147
I am a bit confused/surprised, so would love some clarification please from fellow FTers before I hit book on a flight:
If I book a flight coded as BA, in W, E, or T class (premium economy) from example PHX-LHR for the price of say $700 o/w. I get:
If I book a flight coded as BA, in W, E, or T class (premium economy) from example PHX-LHR for the price of say $700 o/w. I get:
- 5271 actual flown miles (BIS)
- 1159.62 EQDs (5271 * 22%) assuming W class. E or T class would be 20%
- 7906 EQMs (5271 * 1.5)
- Is this an accurate calculation?
- Does it matter if the metal is AA or BA as long as the flight code is BAxxxx?
- Why would anyone ticket a premium economy on BA as an AA flight number and an AA flight as an AA flight number (assuming cost is same/similar)? If ticketing as BA the EQD earnings are much better and EQMs the same. Right?
Oct 11, 2019, 10:59 am
#675
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: AUS
Programs: BAEC Gold, AA PPro, Hyatt Globalist, Amex Plat
Posts: 7,043
I am a bit confused/surprised, so would love some clarification please from fellow FTers before I hit book on a flight:
If I book a flight coded as BA, in W, E, or T class (premium economy) from example PHX-LHR for the price of say $700 o/w. I get:
If I book a flight coded as BA, in W, E, or T class (premium economy) from example PHX-LHR for the price of say $700 o/w. I get:
- 5271 actual flown miles (BIS)
- 1159.62 EQDs (5271 * 22%) assuming W class. E or T class would be 20%
- 7906 EQMs (5271 * 1.5)
- Is this an accurate calculation?
- Does it matter if the metal is AA or BA as long as the flight code is BAxxxx?
- Why would anyone ticket a premium economy on BA as an AA flight number and an AA flight as an AA flight number (assuming cost is same/similar)? If ticketing as BA the EQD earnings are much better and EQMs the same. Right?
So your calculations are correct for E/T earning, but RDM/EQD would be slightly higher for W (EQMs would be same). Of course, W fare is sort of considered "full fare" premium economy and usually quite a bit more expensive, hence the increased earnings.
Regards