StradaleAA

I normally just fly the Direct Flight from MIA-MXP and do this trip 4-5 times a year, but I am going to fall a bit short right now and have the flexibility to end up in Mugello Italy on October 25th. I am open to Milan, Rome, Venice, or Bologna I would then like to fly back to Miami on the 30th. If I need to connect on either end to maximize EQD's, I am fine with that. I also am willing to spend and pay for prem econ or cheap business fares to maximize EQD's. Based on reading the other threads it seems to me that I need to fly a OneWorld partner and credit to AA for best results. My plan was to book through the Chase portal as I currently have 150k points sitting over there. Any help would be appreciated as I am still a bit confused after reading through the threads.

JJeffrey

Booking AA flights numbers you will earn EQD based on the actual price of your ticket. So if you buy a $1500 ticket before tax in discount Premium Econ you would earn $1500 EQD.

Booking partner flight numbers will earn EQD based on distance and a fare code multiplier. So a MIA-LHR-MXP rountrip booked as BA flight numbers in discount PE would earn approx $1887 EQD regardless of how much you actually pay.

Premium Economy is generally the sweet spot as you can usually find discount PE to Europe for $800-$1200 depending on the date and route, etc.

From the east coast to Europe, discount business generally doesn't provide that much EQD value booking on partners unless you score an incredibly cheap deal. For example the same MIA-LHR-MXP rountrip in discount biz on BA flight numbers would earn only approx $2529 EQD. From the US you will be hard pressed to find a fare much cheaper than that in business, so most likely would be better off just booking the AA flight numbers.

StradaleAA

So when booking part numbers for example I booked a flight MIA-LHR-DUB in December in Business through AA website but on all BA flight numbers. Is this what we are referring booking partner flight numbers. Or do I need to be booking BA flight numbers on BA website and just using my AA frequent flyer number to credit the flights to?

JJeffrey

When crediting to AA it doesn't matter where you book, all that matters is what flight number you book. So a BA flight number will earn exactly the same whether you purchase it at aa.com or ba.com...

Djokison

And remember that it doesn’t matter who’s operating the flight, only the marketing carrier (flight number) matters.

StradaleAA

This really helps clarify the situation for me, thank you!

PHL

Earnings vary from one partner to the next when not booking it as an AA flight number. Double check your calculations based on the respective airline earning chart if your flights are using their airline code/flight number. I have found, however, that when trying to book a partner through AA with an AA flight number, the price is sometimes much higher for the exact same route than if I book that flight on the partner airline directly. Your mileage may vary. (pun intended)

https://www.aa.com/i18n/aadvantage-p...r-airlines.jsp

flyer0123

Agree this is YMMV. I have seen this and purchase directly on BA but I have also seen other way around. I purchased on aa.com with AA flight numbers for a BA trip for $3300 in Business Class, while the same was showing $8500 on ba.com

My suggestion would be to check all sites and options, as you may get lucky and get lower price in one site vs the other