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AA "Special Fare" (AA Vacations, TYP, MR, etc.) Questions, EQD, Issues (merged)

Old Sep 8, 2017, 4:48 pm
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American Airlines "Special Fares" and EQD Earning

Link to aa.com Special fares: Earning Award Miles and Elite Qualifying Credits


"Special Fares" include some fares sold by other than AA, such as those sold in conjunction with a travel lodging package by AA Vacations, and those purchased with credit card points, such as Thank You Points and Membership Rewards points.

Like oneworld partner (and Alaska Airlines through 31 Dec 2017) fares, these earn Elite Qualifying Dollars based on a percentage of base miles / miles flown / flight distance and the fare class purchased.

Flights booked using Thank You Points, Membership Rewards, etc. where the cardholder is essentially buying your ticket most often are special fares as well.

NOTE: EQD credit varies for "Special Fares" (e.g. AA Vacations), and the chart for those changed on 1 Jan 2019. See here.
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AA "Special Fare" (AA Vacations, TYP, MR, etc.) Questions, EQD, Issues (merged)

Old Nov 12, 2018, 1:08 pm
  #331  
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Originally Posted by HLCinCOU
Was looking at the changes AA made to special fare rates, and noted that the table now explicitly differentiates between "fare unavailable" and "special fare" ...the rates are even different for a couple fare buckets. So, I feel like that pretty strongly suggests the bulk=special thing isn't simply a side effect of AA not knowing the fare.
There were separate tables for Special Fares and Fares Unavailable before as well.
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Old Nov 12, 2018, 4:04 pm
  #332  
 
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Originally Posted by HLCinCOU
The first part is correct; the second part, less so. Tickets purchased from the portal may or may not be bulk fares. But there is really a hard rule about when they are: when the fare rules say so. You can check the fare rules before purchase; see above.
I have seen mixed accounts in the TYP thread, but good to know there is a general rule. Thanks!
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Old Nov 18, 2018, 11:37 pm
  #333  
 
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Originally Posted by flyingeph12


I have seen mixed accounts in the TYP thread, but good to know there is a general rule. Thanks!
Can you point to results where someone bought a fare that was bulk per fare rules but was not credited as such?

That's an honest question, not trolling you. I asked the same thing at least twice earlier, but nobody has answered me. I've searched a lot and haven't seen any credible example of someone buying a consolidator fare (as listed in the fare rules) and then being credited by fare instead of distance. And the question of what you would do if that happened is a tough one, so knowing whether it actually does happen is at least moderately important. So that's why I'm asking.
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Old Nov 19, 2018, 9:57 pm
  #334  
 
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Originally Posted by HLCinCOU
Can you point to results where someone bought a fare that was bulk per fare rules but was not credited as such?

That's an honest question, not trolling you. I asked the same thing at least twice earlier, but nobody has answered me. I've searched a lot and haven't seen any credible example of someone buying a consolidator fare (as listed in the fare rules) and then being credited by fare instead of distance. And the question of what you would do if that happened is a tough one, so knowing whether it actually does happen is at least moderately important. So that's why I'm asking.
I believe I was referring to this thread:
When do Citi ThankYou point bookings count as AA "special fare"?

Not sure if the thread has a specific example of someone who purchased a bulk fare and was not credited as such. But there appears to be an instance where the outbound portion of a ticket credited as fare and the return portion credited as distance.
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Old Nov 20, 2018, 4:23 pm
  #335  
 
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Originally Posted by flyingeph12
I believe I was referring to this thread:
When do Citi ThankYou point bookings count as AA "special fare"?

Not sure if the thread has a specific example of someone who purchased a bulk fare and was not credited as such. But there appears to be an instance where the outbound portion of a ticket credited as fare and the return portion credited as distance.
Yeah, that happens regularly, has been reported in this very thread several times, and has happened to me (outbound DFW-HKG credited by distance, return credited by fare). But "credited by distance" is not the same as "credited as a special fare." The "credited by distance" category includes special fares, but also includes instances where AA's system just somehow lost the fare basis. This usually means something caused reticketing; I've had it happen because of IRROPs (most times), SDFC (rarely) and after applying SWUs (rarely); there may be other things that trigger it. If you look at your activity on AA's website you can tell the difference: if it says "Method: distance - data unavailable" they just lost the fare; if it was actually credited as a special fare it would say "Method: distance - special fare" instead.

The complexity of that situation makes it harder to interpret the data points. Most reports of this sort of thing just aren't precise enough to provide certainty about what really happened. People aren't looking at the fare rules and aren't paying close attention to how flights were credited. But I still haven't seen any cases where someone a)looked at the fare rules and validated the ticket was bulk and b)saw the flight get credited by fare instead of distance. I maintain skepticism that such things actually happen.
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Old Nov 20, 2018, 6:27 pm
  #336  
 
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Originally Posted by HLCinCOU
Yeah, that happens regularly, has been reported in this very thread several times, and has happened to me (outbound DFW-HKG credited by distance, return credited by fare). But "credited by distance" is not the same as "credited as a special fare." The "credited by distance" category includes special fares, but also includes instances where AA's system just somehow lost the fare basis. This usually means something caused reticketing; I've had it happen because of IRROPs (most times), SDFC (rarely) and after applying SWUs (rarely); there may be other things that trigger it. If you look at your activity on AA's website you can tell the difference: if it says "Method: distance - data unavailable" they just lost the fare; if it was actually credited as a special fare it would say "Method: distance - special fare" instead.

The complexity of that situation makes it harder to interpret the data points. Most reports of this sort of thing just aren't precise enough to provide certainty about what really happened. People aren't looking at the fare rules and aren't paying close attention to how flights were credited. But I still haven't seen any cases where someone a)looked at the fare rules and validated the ticket was bulk and b)saw the flight get credited by fare instead of distance. I maintain skepticism that such things actually happen.
That's fair. I would agree that, in my experience, points/miles generally get credited in the way I would expect them to.

With Citi TYP bookings in particular, I don't have a ton of experience, which is why I referenced those other accounts. Of course, even if tickets with "bulk fare" in the fare rules should post as special fares, that doesn't necessarily mean the converse (i.e., the lack of "bulk fare" in the fare rules means it will post as fare) is true, right? In other words, will Citi bookings post as special fare only if the fare rules indicate it is a "bulk fare"?
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Old Nov 21, 2018, 2:11 pm
  #337  
 
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I have just gotten off the phone with AAdvantage customer service desk on EQD for special fare. Agent confirm my ticket is special fare but specifically said the EQD calculation for special fare ticket is suppose to be % of the normal fare price ( ie no discount). In the table for special fare there is a **** note that said
"****EQDs are calculated based on what you pay for your ticket (base fare plus carrier-imposed fees, excluding any government-imposed taxes and fees)."
The agent claim the table should have % of fare instead of mile flown based on the **** note.I was curious if anyone have heard of this explanation?
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Old Nov 21, 2018, 5:48 pm
  #338  
 
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Originally Posted by stillflatout
I have just gotten off the phone with AAdvantage customer service desk on EQD for special fare. Agent confirm my ticket is special fare but specifically said the EQD calculation for special fare ticket is suppose to be % of the normal fare price ( ie no discount). In the table for special fare there is a **** note that said
"****EQDs are calculated based on what you pay for your ticket (base fare plus carrier-imposed fees, excluding any government-imposed taxes and fees)."
The agent claim the table should have % of fare instead of mile flown based on the **** note.I was curious if anyone have heard of this explanation?
The AAdvantage Customer Service desk IME is not helpful when it comes to EQDs and special fares. I usually use AAdvantage Vacations as in intermediary with the customer service desk, YMMV

Safe Travels
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Old Nov 21, 2018, 6:14 pm
  #339  
 
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Originally Posted by GTITAN
The AAdvantage Customer Service desk IME is not helpful when it comes to EQDs and special fares. I usually use AAdvantage Vacations as in intermediary with the customer service desk, YMMV

Safe Travels
Thanks, one of my friend mentioned email was more helpful for him so I will give that a try next.
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Old Nov 22, 2018, 8:58 am
  #340  
 
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Data point

Hi all did a trip in all I*.

Upgraded the first leg to lax to A but not sure if it reflected.

For what its worth I paid about $3900 all in. On the Aa site this fare without hotel was $17300.

I went from gold to platinum pro. Now I wish I made another stop to be exp.

total mileage 72351 and I was at the shangri la in Singapore. Yea it was premium package vs the others I saw but for me it was a great trip to get all these miles and see another part of the world where I was able to actually take care of some biz.

JFK to LAX
AA 0302 Business (I)
Method: Distance - special fare
Million miler: 2,475
Elite Qualifying
Miles (EQMs)
4,950
Segments (EQSs)
1
Dollars (EQDs)
495
Award miles
Base miles
2,475
Bonus miles
6,435
Elite: 1,485
Promo: 4,950
Total
8,910

LAX to HKG
AA 0193 Business (I)
Method: Distance - special fare
Million miler: 7,260
Elite Qualifying
Miles (EQMs)
14,520
Segments (EQSs)
1
Dollars (EQDs)
1,452
Award miles
Base miles
7,260
Bonus miles
17,424
Elite: 2,904
Promo: 14,520
Total
24,684

HKG to SIN
AA 8896 Business (I)
Method: Distance - special fare
Million miler: 1,587
Elite Qualifying
Miles (EQMs)
3,174
Segments (EQSs)
1
Dollars (EQDs)
318
Award miles
Base miles
1,587
Bonus miles
953
Elite: 953
Total
2,540

SIN to HND
AA 8488 Business (I)
Method: Distance - special fare
Million miler: 3,287
Elite Qualifying
Miles (EQMs)
6,574
Segments (EQSs)
1
Dollars (EQDs)
658
Award miles
Base miles
3,287
Bonus miles
8,547
Elite: 1,973
Promo: 6,574
Total
11,834

HND to JFK
AA 8403 Business (I)
Method: Distance - special fare
Million miler: 6,773
Elite Qualifying
Miles (EQMs)
13,546
Segments (EQSs)
1
Dollars (EQDs)
1,355
Award miles
Base miles
6,773
Bonus miles
17,610
Elite: 4,064
Promo: 13,546
Total
24,383

Last edited by wireless_999; Nov 22, 2018 at 9:09 am Reason: Left out air fare without special price
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Old Nov 22, 2018, 6:26 pm
  #341  
 
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Originally Posted by flyingeph12
That's fair. I would agree that, in my experience, points/miles generally get credited in the way I would expect them to.
Well, frequently they post in unexpected ways because of some kind of reticketing. But usually in the "other direction" that is, something that should post by fare posted by distance instead. That makes sense; these are just the "system lost the fare" cases. And if those are unfavorable to you, it's generally easy to get them fixed.

Originally Posted by flyingeph12
With Citi TYP bookings in particular, I don't have a ton of experience, which is why I referenced those other accounts. Of course, even if tickets with "bulk fare" in the fare rules should post as special fares, that doesn't necessarily mean the converse (i.e., the lack of "bulk fare" in the fare rules means it will post as fare) is true, right? In other words, will Citi bookings post as special fare only if the fare rules indicate it is a "bulk fare"?
Yes: if it doesn't say bulk fare or wholesale in the rules, it will not post as a special fare. In the same circumstances I mentioned earlier it might post as "data unavailable" and then earn by distance that way, but that's true of any ticket.
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Old Nov 23, 2018, 1:28 pm
  #342  
 
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I booked an Orbitz air + hotel package and my itinerary was showing fare details at AA.com which didn't make sense just because the air fare was slightly expensive than the total package price...
Anyway AA posted miles by fare, and I called AAdvantage customer service and told them that's not what I paid.
She told me they needed to investigate and let me know their decision later.
The next day they manually changed fare to distance (special fare).
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Old Nov 24, 2018, 4:22 pm
  #343  
 
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Originally Posted by MrJBoy
I booked an Orbitz air + hotel package and my itinerary was showing fare details at AA.com which didn't make sense just because the air fare was slightly expensive than the total package price...
Anyway AA posted miles by fare, and I called AAdvantage customer service and told them that's not what I paid.
She told me they needed to investigate and let me know their decision later.
The next day they manually changed fare to distance (special fare).
That's a highly interesting data point. Did you look at the fare rules before booking? Did it indicate it was a bulk fare? As a package deal I'd expect it, but always hard to say for sure.
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Old Nov 26, 2018, 8:12 am
  #344  
 
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So after reading through this and noting changes, I am looking for confirmation before booking an AA Vacation package.

A P* fare will be credited at 20% miles flown for EQDs. And EQMs and award miles will be calculated exactly the same as if I bought the PE ticket directly from AA with all of the multipliers for EXP status?

This seems to be a win-win. More EQDs for this particular flight than if I had bought the ticket directly with everything else the same.
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Old Nov 26, 2018, 8:16 am
  #345  
 
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Originally Posted by jrb CO
So after reading through this and noting changes, I am looking for confirmation before booking an AA Vacation package.

A P* fare will be credited at 20% miles flown for EQDs. And EQMs and award miles will be calculated exactly the same as if I bought the PE ticket directly from AA with all of the multipliers for EXP status?

This seems to be a win-win. More EQDs for this particular flight than if I had bought the ticket directly with everything else the same.
Correct. It takes all of a 2 second goodsearch.com search to find (search terms: aa special fare, first link every time so far) https://www.aa.com/i18n/aadvantage-p...cial-fares.jsp in case you want to have a look at the table for other fare classes than P. Win win and a third win!
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