May 22, 2019, 7:13 am
Last edit by: JDiver
Earning American Airlines AAvantage Miles Flying CX / Cathay Pacific Airways (consolidated)
Including known issues (e.g. upgrades) with AA / CX
Including known issues (e.g. upgrades) with AA / CX
Earning AAdvantage Miles flying Cathay Pacific Airways
NOTE: Travel on Cathay Pacific and its affiliate airline counts toward qualifying for AAdvantage elite status membership. However, please refer to aa.com here for fare classes that earn AAdvantage miles, not Cathay Pacific.
AAdvantage Elite members members traveling on Cathay also enjoy:
If you fly CX as an AA codeshare / marketed flight, you will earn as if you were flying on AA.
Flying CX as CX, most discounted economy fare classes do not earn AAdvantage miles; See the chart. See Link to AAdvantage chart on earning miles and EQD flying CX.
Note: the CX website incorrectly indicates no AA miles for E fare; AA.com does and is correct
*Premium Economy fare W on a flight operated by Cathay Pacific will earn an additional 10% class of service bonus with the exception of W fares between Hong Kong and Bangkok, which will not earn a class of service bonus, and Premium Economy R or E, which earn no class of service bonus.
NOTE: Travel on Cathay Pacific and its affiliate airline counts toward qualifying for AAdvantage elite status membership. However, please refer to aa.com here for fare classes that earn AAdvantage miles, not Cathay Pacific.
- Economy / coach fares other than Y, B or H on CX do not earn AAdvantage miles
- B and H only earn fractional (75%) credit on AA
- Upgrades may book into ineligible fare classes, causing challenges getting AA to credit the originally purchased fare class
- there are a few fare classes that CX says do not earn AAdvantage miles, whereas aa.com says they will, as do members reporting their experiences here
- JFK-YVR and YVR-JFK do accrue EQ and miles on eligible fares. JFK-YVR-HKG accrues as if nonstop JFK-HKG.
AAdvantage Elite members members traveling on Cathay also enjoy:
- [*]
Flying CX as CX, most discounted economy fare classes do not earn AAdvantage miles; See the chart. See Link to AAdvantage chart on earning miles and EQD flying CX.
Note: the CX website incorrectly indicates no AA miles for E fare; AA.com does and is correct
*Premium Economy fare W on a flight operated by Cathay Pacific will earn an additional 10% class of service bonus with the exception of W fares between Hong Kong and Bangkok, which will not earn a class of service bonus, and Premium Economy R or E, which earn no class of service bonus.
Upgrading to First on CX / Cathay Pacific Airways and U, Z Fare Class Issues
Upgrading a paid Business fare to First on Cathay Pacific Airways puts the flight into fare class "Z", a class that is ineligible for AAdvantage miles accrual (as reflected on the accrual chart) because it is also an award classification for a First Class award.
Upgrading a paid Premium Economy fare to Business puts it into U class, another award fare class that earns no AA miles.
Members have recently reported success at having their upgrades acknowledged as miles-garnering (mid-June 2015).
and
Upgrading a paid Business fare to First on Cathay Pacific Airways puts the flight into fare class "Z", a class that is ineligible for AAdvantage miles accrual (as reflected on the accrual chart) because it is also an award classification for a First Class award.
Upgrading a paid Premium Economy fare to Business puts it into U class, another award fare class that earns no AA miles.
Members have recently reported success at having their upgrades acknowledged as miles-garnering (mid-June 2015).
I had the same issue. I upgraded from Biz to F using Asia Miles, but left my AA number in the reservation.
The outbound flight credited automatically without intervention.
The inbound flight did not credit and I submitted the Missing Mileage Request. That request got denied due to ineligible fare class. All I did was call the ExecPlat desk and ask for AAdvantage Customer Service, who had record of the denied claim. I explained I paid for Biz, upgraded to F, and provided them with my original ticket number (both ticker numbers were on CX stock). Call took about 5 minutes and miles (and EQM/EQP) posted to the account the next day.
The outbound flight credited automatically without intervention.
The inbound flight did not credit and I submitted the Missing Mileage Request. That request got denied due to ineligible fare class. All I did was call the ExecPlat desk and ask for AAdvantage Customer Service, who had record of the denied claim. I explained I paid for Biz, upgraded to F, and provided them with my original ticket number (both ticker numbers were on CX stock). Call took about 5 minutes and miles (and EQM/EQP) posted to the account the next day.
I just wanted to post the conclusion to my saga, that started with the brilliant idea to upgrade two CX flights in February (yes, 4 months ago).
Well, I Fedex'd a letter to the executive's office, which arrived Friday. Today, I received an email from an "executive liason" who said they agreed that "R" to "U" via an upgrade should be mileage earning and manually adjusted my account to receive credit. Account and status now reflects those flights.
So despite certain aagents and lower-level SUPs saying this is CX's problem and to go pound sand, AA actually can do something about it (albit at a higher level than a regular SUP, I assume). By the phrasing of the answer, I would say this isn't a one time exception but rather what is supposed to happen for these flights.
Godspeed to any other souls on this journey.
Well, I Fedex'd a letter to the executive's office, which arrived Friday. Today, I received an email from an "executive liason" who said they agreed that "R" to "U" via an upgrade should be mileage earning and manually adjusted my account to receive credit. Account and status now reflects those flights.
So despite certain aagents and lower-level SUPs saying this is CX's problem and to go pound sand, AA actually can do something about it (albit at a higher level than a regular SUP, I assume). By the phrasing of the answer, I would say this isn't a one time exception but rather what is supposed to happen for these flights.
Godspeed to any other souls on this journey.
Possible snail mail or FedEx to:
Suzanne Rubin
President – AAdvantage Loyalty Program, American Airlines
4333 Amon Carter Blvd
Fort Worth, TX 76155
Suzanne Rubin
President – AAdvantage Loyalty Program, American Airlines
4333 Amon Carter Blvd
Fort Worth, TX 76155
Wikipost as of 2018
ARCHIVE: Earning AA AAdvantage Miles on CX / Cathay (including Upgrade Issues)
Apr 11, 2015, 9:04 am
#76
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NYC
Posts: 27,237
So on that basis the OP is not going to get his miles as CX re-ticketed him into a non-qualifying fare type when he did the mileage upgrade ...
Apr 11, 2015, 12:42 pm
#78
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: California
Programs: AA EXP...couple hotels and cars too
Posts: 4,548
This is the AA interpretation of this policy for years- if CX is failing to properly interpret/execute this policy then that is AA's problem.
"American Airlines is the final authority on qualification for mileage credit"
Apr 11, 2015, 1:23 pm
#79
formerly gohima
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 519
Ive been having on-going arguments with AA over this as well, which I have put on pause for the time being.
For background: I flew R (PE) -> U (BIZ). R being mileage earning, U being award business and not mileage earning.
I have talked to multiple aadvantage agents who all give me different answers, some even from supervisors. A few have said that it is because CX bases mileage on fare class flown, while AA (and others) use fare basis (which doesnt change) for mileage. Though they wouldnt admit it, I suspect that this is neither fact nor policy, rather speculation. It feels like the stupid leading the stupid, in that no one knows why this happens and then everyone just spews the same BS.
If someone has contact info for the people who actually know the policies and can force credit, please do share. It seems even sups are claiming ignorance on this issue.
Despite them being sympathetic on over 25k EQP being held hostage, no one offered much other than a sorry (hardly sympathetic IMO)
For background: I flew R (PE) -> U (BIZ). R being mileage earning, U being award business and not mileage earning.
I have talked to multiple aadvantage agents who all give me different answers, some even from supervisors. A few have said that it is because CX bases mileage on fare class flown, while AA (and others) use fare basis (which doesnt change) for mileage. Though they wouldnt admit it, I suspect that this is neither fact nor policy, rather speculation. It feels like the stupid leading the stupid, in that no one knows why this happens and then everyone just spews the same BS.
If someone has contact info for the people who actually know the policies and can force credit, please do share. It seems even sups are claiming ignorance on this issue.
Despite them being sympathetic on over 25k EQP being held hostage, no one offered much other than a sorry (hardly sympathetic IMO)
Apr 11, 2015, 4:29 pm
#80
Join Date: Feb 2008
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 3,049
I guess we can continue to debate this for a few more pages, but the best advice for the moment would seem to be, don't upgrade a CX ticket into a non-qualifying fare type if you hope to earn AAdvantage miles/points on it ...
Apr 12, 2015, 12:54 am
#81
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2004
Location: DFW/DAL
Programs: AA Lifetime PLT, AS MVPG, HH Diamond, NCL Platinum Plus, MSC Diamond
Posts: 21,422
Apr 12, 2015, 12:56 am
#82
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2004
Location: DFW/DAL
Programs: AA Lifetime PLT, AS MVPG, HH Diamond, NCL Platinum Plus, MSC Diamond
Posts: 21,422
The reason AA has the language there is SPECIFICALLY to prevent someone from saying "you upgraded me to first, I should get the first bonus". You get the miles based on the original fare ticketed. NOT BASED ON ANY UPGRADE ACTIONS.
This is the AA interpretation of this policy for years- if CX is failing to properly interpret/execute this policy then that is AA's problem.
"American Airlines is the final authority on qualification for mileage credit"
This is the AA interpretation of this policy for years- if CX is failing to properly interpret/execute this policy then that is AA's problem.
"American Airlines is the final authority on qualification for mileage credit"
If upgrading into a CX non earning fare class, you don't get it.
Apr 12, 2015, 2:57 am
#83
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,605
When a missing mileage request is submitted , it asks CX to confirm whether it was an eligibile fare
If CX says yes, AA will credit
Both sides are involved in the decision.
It would seem that when CX reissues the ticket , the new reissued ticket is now booked in an ineligible class and so CX declines to offer miles to AA
It seems a risk of playing 2 schemes at the same time ( given that CX cannot be upgraded with AA miles ) though am a bit surprised that CX is saying no to its eligibility
Perhaps crediting the points to Asia Miles might be successful rather than losing entirely
Apr 12, 2015, 1:04 pm
#84
formerly gemini573
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: LAX, HKG, and BKK
Programs: CX Emerald, WOH Globalist, Marriott Platinum, AA Lifetime Platinum, Virtuoso, Prive, STEPS, STARS
Posts: 2,233
From my own experience, when I used CX miles to upgrade my flights on CX metal and switched it to AAdvantage, it didn't post. It normally posts every Tuesday. I decided to see if it would post to my MPC account instead and it did. If there weren't any changes involved and the fare was eligible for AAdvantage miles, I would consider it.
I tried before when I was EXP and had an upgrade clear on LAX-JFK. I asked if I could switch it to MPC. They tried but then the system had issues because if they took out the EXP number and entered my CX number, the system wouldn't know where to pull the upgrade.
I tried before when I was EXP and had an upgrade clear on LAX-JFK. I asked if I could switch it to MPC. They tried but then the system had issues because if they took out the EXP number and entered my CX number, the system wouldn't know where to pull the upgrade.
Apr 13, 2015, 8:47 am
#85
formerly gohima
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 519
From my own experience, when I used CX miles to upgrade my flights on CX metal and switched it to AAdvantage, it didn't post. It normally posts every Tuesday. I decided to see if it would post to my MPC account instead and it did. If there weren't any changes involved and the fare was eligible for AAdvantage miles, I would consider it.
Of course, given we are dealing with large corporations, there is not actually someone to talk to who has the authority to make the decision that makes sense.
Apr 14, 2015, 5:31 pm
#86
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NYC
Posts: 27,237
Which is why I think a succinctly worded note to the executive offices might be the best chance at some type of resolution.
Apr 15, 2015, 11:55 pm
#87
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 3,698
What? That's exactly what you said:
C is a non-mileage booking code on AA. When you upgrade to business with miles or an EVIP, you are re-ticketed in C. Despite this fact, you earn miles on the original fare paid.
Similarly, you don't get mileage for travel on AAnytime rewards despite the fact that they book into F or J or Y.
In other words, there's a lot more going on than what "booking code" is used for your ticket, unlike your originally asserted "logic".
The upgraded ticket was re-ticketed into a ticket with a non mileage booking code.
Similarly, you don't get mileage for travel on AAnytime rewards despite the fact that they book into F or J or Y.
In other words, there's a lot more going on than what "booking code" is used for your ticket, unlike your originally asserted "logic".
Apr 20, 2015, 1:15 pm
#88
Join Date: May 2010
Programs: AA EXP 2MM; UA 1K
Posts: 122
Can anyone confirm that an R fare purchased directly from CX will earn AA miles?
My concern is on the booking screen, CX's website mentions the ticket will not earn AAdvantage miles. However, AA's explanation is 100% EQM.
Ideally, I'd like to upgrade with AsiaMiles and credit to AA. Though, that seems like a bad idea based on this thread. Please keep us posted should anyone be successful in this endeavor.
My concern is on the booking screen, CX's website mentions the ticket will not earn AAdvantage miles. However, AA's explanation is 100% EQM.
Ideally, I'd like to upgrade with AsiaMiles and credit to AA. Though, that seems like a bad idea based on this thread. Please keep us posted should anyone be successful in this endeavor.
Apr 20, 2015, 4:02 pm
#89
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,605
Can anyone confirm that an R fare purchased directly from CX will earn AA miles?
My concern is on the booking screen, CX's website mentions the ticket will not earn AAdvantage miles. However, AA's explanation is 100% EQM.
Ideally, I'd like to upgrade with AsiaMiles and credit to AA. Though, that seems like a bad idea based on this thread. Please keep us posted should anyone be successful in this endeavor.
My concern is on the booking screen, CX's website mentions the ticket will not earn AAdvantage miles. However, AA's explanation is 100% EQM.
Ideally, I'd like to upgrade with AsiaMiles and credit to AA. Though, that seems like a bad idea based on this thread. Please keep us posted should anyone be successful in this endeavor.
From http://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/ea...hayPacific.jsp
R is listed as earning mileage
Given the reissue once upgraded will put the booking into an ineligible class and the situation in this thread, be prepared that you may not receive mileage credit to AA should you choose to upgrade
Apr 27, 2015, 11:37 pm
#90
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: NYC
Programs: Marriot Am, MU Pt
Posts: 3,092
Got denied again. Told us the booking class is not eligible for mileage even when using the original ticket.
I am now wondering if there is an AA desk we can go to get this done because obviously the computers are too stupid to get our mileage.
Alternatively I have gotten printouts from CX indicating original booking classes and notes referencing upgrades… can we email AAdvantage desk and get it done manually? Because obviously them "sending a request" to CX is not working.
We are reaching the six month point soon.
I am now wondering if there is an AA desk we can go to get this done because obviously the computers are too stupid to get our mileage.
Alternatively I have gotten printouts from CX indicating original booking classes and notes referencing upgrades… can we email AAdvantage desk and get it done manually? Because obviously them "sending a request" to CX is not working.
We are reaching the six month point soon.