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
- [*]
- [*]
- [*]
- [*]
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)
Nov 18, 2021, 10:57 pm
#781
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: In the air
Programs: Occasional RTW club
Posts: 6,924
I'm trying to figure out how much EQD I would earn from a JL marketed fare that's coming up on ITA as AA operated. Specifically: ITA is pulling up LGA-ORD-NRT as JL coded, and then NRT-DFW as JL coded, then DFW-ORD-LGA as AA coded. Does this mean I will only get % of distance credit on the JL flights and some indeterminate $ amount for the DFW-ORD-LGA piece, or will the actual ticket code everything as JL when issued? Or will the TA have control over how to do this and ITA is just being needlessly confusing?
Nov 19, 2021, 6:44 am
#782
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,483
I'm trying to figure out how much EQD I would earn from a JL marketed fare that's coming up on ITA as AA operated. Specifically: ITA is pulling up LGA-ORD-NRT as JL coded, and then NRT-DFW as JL coded, then DFW-ORD-LGA as AA coded. Does this mean I will only get % of distance credit on the JL flights and some indeterminate $ amount for the DFW-ORD-LGA piece, or will the actual ticket code everything as JL when issued? Or will the TA have control over how to do this and ITA is just being needlessly confusing?
Rather than over complicating things with ITA, why not just try a few dummy bookings at jl.com, Google Flights, Orbitz, etc., and see how the flights code? No one here will be able to tell you exactly how they will code without doing a booking themselves...
Nov 19, 2021, 6:52 am
#783
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: In the air
Programs: Occasional RTW club
Posts: 6,924
Yes, you would earn % distance on any segments booked as JL flight numbers, if any segments book as AA flight numbers then they would earn some arbitrary amount of EQD depending on the fare breakout.
Rather than over complicating things with ITA, why not just try a few dummy bookings at jl.com, Google Flights, Orbitz, etc., and see how the flights code? No one here will be able to tell you exactly how they will code without doing a booking themselves...
Rather than over complicating things with ITA, why not just try a few dummy bookings at jl.com, Google Flights, Orbitz, etc., and see how the flights code? No one here will be able to tell you exactly how they will code without doing a booking themselves...
Nov 19, 2021, 7:17 am
#784
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,483
Yep, I did look it up on JAL.com to see how they would structure it, and although the fare is a bit higher, it still shows the last couple of flights (domestic US) as AA-coded. So I guess they're basically throwaway in terms of EQD, as I would suspect they wouldn't earn a lot considering most of the revenue would be going to JL on the long hauls...
However, even if they were booked as JL flight numbers the earning would only be between $300-400 EQD, so the net difference isn't much in the end.
Nov 19, 2021, 7:21 am
#785
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: In the air
Programs: Occasional RTW club
Posts: 6,924
Yep, depending on how expensive the total fare is you'll probably earn somewhere between $100-400 EQDs for those segments, so not exactly throwaway but not significant either.
However, even if they were booked as JL flight numbers the earning would only be between $300-400 EQD, so the net difference isn't much in the end.
However, even if they were booked as JL flight numbers the earning would only be between $300-400 EQD, so the net difference isn't much in the end.
(need $2K)
Dec 13, 2021, 4:03 pm
#786
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: EYW
Programs: AA Exe Platinum, AA & Delta Million Miler, Hilton Diamond, Marriott LT Titanium, United Silver
Posts: 521
I'm sure this has been covered, but after a search I couldn't find anything. When does monthly spend from Citi Executive World Elite Mastercard post to your AA account?