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)
#286
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 47
Regardless, the final result is helpful as just one more example to figure out all this stuff.
I think it's pretty standard that when someone gets rebooked in that type of situation, they will be booked into the same class of service with the lowest available booking inventory code available at the time of rebooking. Since he started in discount business (I), the schedule change rebooked him in the lowest available business class booking inventory code at the time of the reticketing. That must have been J.
#287
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: TPA
Programs: BA Silver; Hilton Gold; IHG Diamond Ambassador; Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,811
My comment wasn't to him, it was to you. You suggested if one flight switched to special fares, the whole trip would. My example was only to show that if there are changes to just one flight, it might not change everything.
Regardless, the final result is helpful as just one more example to figure out all this stuff.
Regardless, the final result is helpful as just one more example to figure out all this stuff.
My reply addressed a non-AAVacations context, where there is uncertainty which still remains to be resolved.
I think it's pretty standard that when someone gets rebooked in that type of situation, they will be booked into the same class of service with the lowest available booking inventory code available at the time of rebooking. Since he started in discount business (I), the schedule change rebooked him in the lowest available business class booking inventory code at the time of the reticketing. That must have been J.
#288
Moderator: American AAdvantage, Travel Safety/Security & Texas, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: AUS / GRK
Programs: AA, HHonors, Hertz
Posts: 13,484
if you book a ticket thru BA you will earn miles based on distance flown times whatever multiplier the BA fare class is. (if it's coach, it'll be less than 1mile/flown) AA will not have access to BA fare data. EQDs will be based off that percentage multiplier times miles flown.
AUS-DFW-LHR-DEL-LHR-AUS
After booking I went back into the booking to select seats. Since that first leg is on AA, the BA website took me over to the AA website (very seamless, I was surprised).
When I selected my seat on that AUS-DFW leg, I noticed that the fare for the whole journey had carried through to the AA website. However, only the outbound flights are listed (AUS-DFW-LHR-DEL). So evidently BA does provide AA with some fare data for codeshares.
I assume I'd still get EQM and EQD based on the AA partner chart for BA (so both would be percentage of miles), for the entire trip, but want to make sure.
#289
Join Date: May 2014
Location: DFW
Posts: 96
Booked ATL to CDG on aa.com. AA Metal. Total Fare is $1,800 (I Fare). The receipt shows fare as $700 and Carrier imposed fees and taxes as $1,100. For the purpose of calculating EQD, does anybody know the approx amount of taxes that is included in the $1,100 figure?
#290
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,550
Assuming that this a a r/t ticket, then the carrier surcharge is $956 => amount for EQD will be $1656
#292
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: ORD
Programs: AAdvantage EXP, Hyatt GP Diamond, Marriott Platinum, SPG Gold
Posts: 213
This is the Itinerary I am trying to book. Can someone tell me how many EQDs this may get?
DFW-FRA (AA 70)
FRA-AUH (AA 9056, operated by Etihad)
AUH-HYD (Etihad 274)
HYD-LHR (AA 6668, operated by British)
LHR-SFO (AA 6177, operated by British)
Base fare $1,291.00 USD
Per person
CARRIER-IMPOSED FEES $501.10 USD
SECURITY TAX (GERMANY) $10.70 USD
PASSENGER SERVICE CHARGE (GERMANY) $24.00 USD
PASSENGER SERVICE CHARGE (INDIA) $5.75 USD
USER DEVELOPMENT FEE (INDIA) $30.40 USD
PASSENGER SERVICE CHARGE (UNITED KINGDOM) $40.50 USD
US APHIS USER FEE (UNITED STATES) $3.96 USD
PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGE (UNITED STATES) $4.50 USD
US FEDERAL INSPECTION FEE (UNITED STATES) $7.00 USD
US SECURITY FEE (UNITED STATES) $5.60 USD
US CUSTOMS USER FEE (UNITED STATES) $5.50 USD
OTHER TAXES $9.50 USD
Total Adult taxes and carrier-imposed fees $648.51 USD
Per person
DFW-FRA (AA 70)
FRA-AUH (AA 9056, operated by Etihad)
AUH-HYD (Etihad 274)
HYD-LHR (AA 6668, operated by British)
LHR-SFO (AA 6177, operated by British)
Base fare $1,291.00 USD
Per person
CARRIER-IMPOSED FEES $501.10 USD
SECURITY TAX (GERMANY) $10.70 USD
PASSENGER SERVICE CHARGE (GERMANY) $24.00 USD
PASSENGER SERVICE CHARGE (INDIA) $5.75 USD
USER DEVELOPMENT FEE (INDIA) $30.40 USD
PASSENGER SERVICE CHARGE (UNITED KINGDOM) $40.50 USD
US APHIS USER FEE (UNITED STATES) $3.96 USD
PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGE (UNITED STATES) $4.50 USD
US FEDERAL INSPECTION FEE (UNITED STATES) $7.00 USD
US SECURITY FEE (UNITED STATES) $5.60 USD
US CUSTOMS USER FEE (UNITED STATES) $5.50 USD
OTHER TAXES $9.50 USD
Total Adult taxes and carrier-imposed fees $648.51 USD
Per person
#293
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
All AA, so presumably take the $1,291.00 base fare + $501.10 carrier imposed fees - but whoops, flying Etihad as Etihad AUH-HYD you earn nothing, so you'd have to know how much AA will back out of the see fare to calculate earnings.
The rest of those taxes and fees do not earn EQD.
The rest of those taxes and fees do not earn EQD.
#294
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: ORD
Programs: AAdvantage EXP, Hyatt GP Diamond, Marriott Platinum, SPG Gold
Posts: 213
All AA, so presumably take the $1,291.00 base fare + $501.10 carrier imposed fees - but whoops, flying Etihad as Etihad AUH-HYD you earn nothing, so you'd have to know how much AA will back out of the see fare to calculate earnings.
The rest of those taxes and fees do not earn EQD.
The rest of those taxes and fees do not earn EQD.
#296
Join Date: May 2007
Programs: UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 5,447
Notice - Watch Your EQDs to RDMs Conversions Carefully
Mods: please feel free to move my original post and other following replies as appropriate.
#297
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: PHX
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt Something-ist, Bombay Sapphire
Posts: 69
I posted about this recent development in this thread:
Notice - Watch Your EQDs to RDMs Conversions Carefully
Mods: please feel free to move my original post and other following replies as appropriate.
Notice - Watch Your EQDs to RDMs Conversions Carefully
Mods: please feel free to move my original post and other following replies as appropriate.
#298
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SJC
Programs: AA EXP, BA Silver, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton diamond, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 33,527
Cheers.
#299
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 51
Anyone have idea why any route involving a flight on CX is showing up as a regular fare (that is, not a special fare by lack of an asterisk after the fare code)? This doesn't seem to be the case for flights on other partner airlines. I've looked at multiple different dates and multiple different routes and routes with at least 1 CX flight always come up this way. The funny thing is, just a couple days ago, this wasn't happening.
#300
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,550
Anyone have idea why any route involving a flight on CX is showing up as a regular fare (that is, not a special fare by lack of an asterisk after the fare code)? This doesn't seem to be the case for flights on other partner airlines. I've looked at multiple different dates and multiple different routes and routes with at least 1 CX flight always come up this way. The funny thing is, just a couple days ago, this wasn't happening.