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Basic Economy Fare as of 2017 (also AY, BA, IB), incl. elite benefits (Master thread)

Old Jan 18, 2017, 9:12 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: IADCAflyer
What is Basic Economy?
Basic Economy is (generally) the lowest, "no-frills" Main Cabin (Economy) fare on American Airlines and their Atlantic Joint Business partners (British Airways, Iberia, and Finnair). Basic Economy fares on American Airlines book into the As the lowest fare, it has some special restrictions that other Main Cabin fares do not.

What are the Restrictions?
You can read American Airlines' web page summarizing Basic Economy for the exact details, but there are a few points that likely matter most to FlyerTalkers:
  1. Your first checked bag will cost money on a Basic Economy fare*.
  2. Your seat will be automatically assigned when you check in and unchangeable, unless you pay to change your seat. You may pay to reserve a seat any time after booking*.
  3. No elite upgrades to first class, or complimentary access to preferred seats (green on the seat map) or Main Cabin Extra (orange on the seat map)*.
  4. You will board last, in Group 9 for domestic flights or Group 8 for international flights*. On a full flight, this likely means you will have to gate check your carry-on bag (which is free)*.
  5. You will earn 50% EQMs per mile flown and 0.5 EQS per segment. You will earn full RDMs (based on fare flown) and EQDs.
  6. Changes are not permitted (worldwide from 01APR21).
  7. In IRROPS, Basic Economy customers will not be re-accommodated on other airlines, and will have to wait for the next American Airlines flight (or BA/IB/AY for INTL).

* exceptions apply for American Airlines elite-level frequent flyers as noted below.

Despite these restrictions, Basic Economy can be a good value in certain circumstances.

Are the seats or service any different?
Once you are on the airplane, the experience (seats / drinks / snacks) will be identical to regular Main Cabin.

How can I tell if I have a Basic Economy fare?
Your reservation on aa.com may say it. Basic Economy fares on American Airlines flights book into the B booking class, though Basic Economy fares on BA/IB/AY and their AA* codeshares can book into almost any revenue booking class.

I have an AA credit card, what does that get me?
Yes, if you have an American Airlines credit card that comes with preferred boarding or a free checked bag on domestic itineraries, you will receive those benefits. Additionally, if you have a Citi Executive card, you may use the Admirals Club as normal.

I have AA elite status, what does that get me?
You WILL get the following elite benefits when you buy a Basic Economy fare (note this is not an exhaustive list, basically everything not expressly forbidden is allowed):
  1. 1/2/3 checked bag fees waives, depending on status.
  2. Priority check-in / security / boarding.
  3. Lounge access, if applicable.
You WILL NOT receive the following elite benefits on a Basic Economy fare:
  1. No same-day standby or same-day confirmed flight changes, paid or otherwise.
Will I be seated with my child?
As it does today, Americans reservations system will check for families traveling with children 13 and under a few days before the flight, and attempt to seat each child with an adult. This is the same process we follow for Main Cabin customers.
Families with children over 13 will have to pay for seat assignments to be seated with their children.

I am flying on a British Airways, Iberia, or Finnair airplane, is anything different?
If you do not have AA or oneworld elite status, the restrictions are quite similar and you should expect to pay for everything: paid checked bags, paid seat selection, and no changes / cancellations. Depending on available fare classes, you may have an opportunity to earn additional redeemable miles or elite qualifying dollars by booking a BA / IB / AY flight number instead of an AA flight number; check your options and the partner earning charts on AA for each respective airline (British Airways, Iberia, Finnair).

If you have status, buckle up, because it gets technical, though there are some opportunities to cherry pick benefits and save money. This has been already summarized in the counterpart to this thread on the British Airways forum.​​, so we will not reproduce it here. Note the following correspondences between status levels:
  • AA Gold - BA Bronze - oneworld Ruby
  • AA Platinum or Platinum Pro - BA Silver - oneworld Sapphire
  • AA Executive Platinum or Concierge Key - BA Gold - oneworld Emerald
Generally, there seem to be the following opportunities for arbitrage:
  • If you are a Platinum, Platinum Pro, or Executive Platinum elite, you can generally book Iberia or Finnair-operated Basic Economy flights and not notice any baggage or seating restrictions, as long as they were not marketed by BA.
  • If you do not care about your seat assignment, you can book AA-operated flights with an IB or AY flight number and still receive a checked bag if you are Platinum or higher. You may earn more or fewer RDMs, EQMs, and EQDs.
  • If you do not need to check a bag, you can book BA-operated flights with any flight number, and can choose your seat (7 days in advance for Gold, at booking for Platinum and higher, Exit Rows for EXP).
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Basic Economy Fare as of 2017 (also AY, BA, IB), incl. elite benefits (Master thread)

Old Jun 11, 2021, 12:06 am
  #1366  
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Mostly seeing them on smaller routes with no LCC competition. Certain higher demand days of the week may only have higher priced main cabin fares available, but not in all cases.

ORD-FNT/LAN/TVC/GRB/FWA/LEX/CAK/EVV/COU/TYS/XNA are some examples out of ORD.

Note that a number of these routes have roundtrip fare filings on them and you won't always find the Basic Economy fares with a one-way search. For example, ORD-GRB lowest one-way fares are $137 and are Main Cabin. However, the lowest roundtrip fares are $83.40 each way and are Basic Economy, while roundtrip Main Cabin fares are $109.90 each way ($26.50 upcharge).

Last edited by xliioper; Jun 11, 2021 at 12:22 am
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Old Jun 11, 2021, 6:28 pm
  #1367  
 
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AA Basic Economy and Baggage to Europe

My SO bought a couple of tickets to Italy on AA BE. While I'm not an avid AA flyer so I'm reaching out to this group for some advice. I know the basic rules of engagement for BE but is there any workaround you may suggest for checking in 1 bag between the two of us? Is there a certain level of Cobranded CC that may waive a bag to Europe? Reading the TOC on the basic card says domestic pretty explicitly. I have no status with AA or OW. TIA!
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Last edited by xxdboixx; Jun 11, 2021 at 6:28 pm Reason: Misspelling
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Old Jun 11, 2021, 7:49 pm
  #1368  
 
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Originally Posted by xxdboixx
My SO bought a couple of tickets to Italy on AA BE. While I'm not an avid AA flyer so I'm reaching out to this group for some advice. I know the basic rules of engagement for BE but is there any workaround you may suggest for checking in 1 bag between the two of us? Is there a certain level of Cobranded CC that may waive a bag to Europe? Reading the TOC on the basic card says domestic pretty explicitly. I have no status with AA or OW. TIA!
You get a free bag on any flight including BE with the Citi/AAdvantage credit card which is $95/year. If you can spend $3k in 3 months on it, you'll get a generous welcome bonus worth ~$400 in miles.
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Old Jun 11, 2021, 8:05 pm
  #1369  
 
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Originally Posted by ORDflyer92
You get a free bag on any flight including BE with the Citi/AAdvantage credit card which is $95/year. If you can spend $3k in 3 months on it, you'll get a generous welcome bonus worth ~$400 in miles.
Read the fine print. The free bag benefit is only valid on domestic flights. The OP is flying BE to Italy.
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Old Jun 11, 2021, 8:28 pm
  #1370  
 
Join Date: Jan 2021
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Originally Posted by dogcanyon
Read the fine print. The free bag benefit is only valid on domestic flights. The OP is flying BE to Italy.
Fair enough, ignore my advice then. I never realized that benefit only applied to domestic flights.
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Old Jun 11, 2021, 11:38 pm
  #1371  
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Originally Posted by xxdboixx
My SO bought a couple of tickets to Italy on AA BE. While I'm not an avid AA flyer so I'm reaching out to this group for some advice. I know the basic rules of engagement for BE but is there any workaround you may suggest for checking in 1 bag between the two of us? Is there a certain level of Cobranded CC that may waive a bag to Europe? Reading the TOC on the basic card says domestic pretty explicitly. I have no status with AA or OW. TIA!
Are you still MVP on Alaska, as your profile indicates? An MVP would get one bag, as far as I know
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Old Jun 12, 2021, 1:05 am
  #1372  
 
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If you sign up for an American Express Platinum card and designate AA as your airline, $200 worth of "incidentals" (such as bag or seat fees) are reimbursed. In addition you will gain lounge access from a variety of partners (Centurion, Priority Pass, Escape).
​​​​
The annual fee is $550, but you'll get the $200 back for the fees, plus a sign up bonus (according to my app referral page) of at least 60000 points, plus the additional credits of $200/yr in Uber credits (monthly installments), and $100 for Saks (two installments).
​​​​​
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Old Jun 12, 2021, 7:15 pm
  #1373  
 
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Originally Posted by mvoight
Are you still MVP on Alaska, as your profile indicates? An MVP would get one bag, as far as I know
No.. sadly no longer.. lost all my status due to 2020.

It looks like the Amex way is the only way. Thank you.
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Old Jun 13, 2021, 8:13 pm
  #1374  
 
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One follow up questions for the experts... My first leg is DCA-LGA // JFK-FCO. Will they check my bags in for free with the credit card for the DCA LGA flight? Then I assume, they'll charge me at JFK? The legs are on one ticket. What if I didn't get the card? Would I have to pay for 2 bag fees? Once at DCA and once at JFK? My return is straight through to JFK then to DCA.
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Old Jun 14, 2021, 3:06 am
  #1375  
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Originally Posted by xxdboixx
No.. sadly no longer.. lost all my status due to 2020.

It looks like the Amex way is the only way. Thank you.
They didn't extend status?
https://blog.alaskaair.com/coronavir...estions/#miles
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Old Jun 15, 2021, 9:57 am
  #1376  
 
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Originally Posted by mvoight
unfortunately, I lost the status in 2019 when I moved back east and flying Delta more often.
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Old Jun 15, 2021, 10:01 am
  #1377  
 
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Originally Posted by xxdboixx
unfortunately, I lost the status in 2019 when I moved back east and flying Delta more often.
Hey, airlines are being pretty generous right now with status matching, submit your DL status for matching.
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Old Jun 15, 2021, 5:46 pm
  #1378  
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Originally Posted by xxdboixx
unfortunately, I lost the status in 2019 when I moved back east and flying Delta more often.
Oh, thought it might be have been a COVID thing, but if you caught COVID-19 in 2019, you would be an early adopter
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Old Jun 18, 2021, 10:30 pm
  #1379  
 
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If I book a basic economy ticket AA marketed, BA operated, do I earn elite miles? AA website shows it as a L fare for both BE and Main. (Compared to B fare for BE on the AA operated flights).

I'm actually crediting it to AS, but figured this forum may have more knowledge on how this works in general. L fare would be a nice 100%, and BE is $570 vs $645 for main.
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Old Jun 18, 2021, 10:34 pm
  #1380  
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Originally Posted by zdfld
If I book a basic economy ticket AA marketed, BA operated, do I earn elite miles? AA website shows it as a L fare for both BE and Main. (Compared to B fare for BE on the AA operated flights).

I'm actually crediting it to AS, but figured this forum may have more knowledge on how this works in general. L fare would be a nice 100%, and BE is $570 vs $645 for main.
With OW you earn based on the marketing carrier, if an eligible operating carrier.
You need to check the AS web site for L on AA.
A guide (but check with AS)---> https://www.wheretocredit.com/american-airlines/l
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