Aug 31, 2020, 3:00 pm
Last edit by: chrisny2
Effective immediately, AA has implemented a number of changes mostly beneficial to flyers. — link
* No more change fees. Change fees for all domestic and short-haul international flying on Premium Cabin fares and most Main Cabin fares will be eliminated.
* Fly standby for free. All customers will have the ability to fly standby on earlier flights for the same destination on the same day at no charge starting Oct. 1, 2020.
* More to Basic Economy. Basic Economy fares now come with the ability to tailor your travel experience including upgrades, Preferred and Main Cabin Extra seats, priority boarding and same-day flight changes.
* Same AAdvantage® benefits during your journey, no matter the fare. AAdvantage® elite members will be able to apply their current travel benefits on all tickets, including when purchasing a Basic Economy fare.
NB: Basic economy fares will no longer earn elite qualifying miles, dollars, or segments effective Jan 1, 2021. This is no longer applicable with the introduction of Loyalty Points.
See post # 1 for screen shots of the AA release and features.
See post # 99 for change fee waiver for ALL flights purchased by 31 Dec 2020
* No more change fees. Change fees for all domestic and short-haul international flying on Premium Cabin fares and most Main Cabin fares will be eliminated.
* Fly standby for free. All customers will have the ability to fly standby on earlier flights for the same destination on the same day at no charge starting Oct. 1, 2020.
* More to Basic Economy. Basic Economy fares now come with the ability to tailor your travel experience including upgrades, Preferred and Main Cabin Extra seats, priority boarding and same-day flight changes.
* Same AAdvantage® benefits during your journey, no matter the fare. AAdvantage® elite members will be able to apply their current travel benefits on all tickets, including when purchasing a Basic Economy fare.
See post # 1 for screen shots of the AA release and features.
See post # 99 for change fee waiver for ALL flights purchased by 31 Dec 2020
AA Drops Many Change Fees, Enhances Basic Economy, Other Benefits,
Aug 31, 2020, 6:45 pm
#31
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: NYC/PHX
Programs: IATA, Sabre, AvgeekAgent
Posts: 1,958
Aug 31, 2020, 6:46 pm
#32
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: BOS
Programs: AA PP, DL PM
Posts: 2,085
Depending on how they do this, there might be an opportunity in transatlantic basic economy -- you can buy an AY flight number on AA metal and still earn something while getting to pick your (preferred or MCE) seat.
Aug 31, 2020, 7:54 pm
#35
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: NYC/PHX
Programs: IATA, Sabre, AvgeekAgent
Posts: 1,958
Last edited by NYC Flyer; Aug 31, 2020 at 7:54 pm Reason: clarification
Aug 31, 2020, 9:05 pm
#36
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2001
Location: MSY; 2-time FT Fantasy Football Champ, now in recovery.
Programs: AA lifetime GLD; UA Silver; Marriott LTTE; IHG Plat,
Posts: 14,516
The AA material specifically says if the new ticket is cheaper, the customer is given a voucher for the difference. Does this suggest the residual might be transferable?
Sep 1, 2020, 2:55 am
#40
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: District of Columbia
Programs: AA ExecPl, AT Gold, Hyatt Globalist, IHG Diamond, Hilton Diamond, National
Posts: 2,440
Yes, just like previously you could change the origin or destination for a $200 fee, you will now be able to change the ticket origin or destination with no fee (subject to the exceptions for int'l, BE, etc.)
Sep 1, 2020, 5:57 am
#41
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: South Florida USA
Programs: DL-MM/FC/FO AA-EXP/MM Starwood-Platinum Marriott-Platinum Hilton-Gold Hyatt-Diamond
Posts: 1,515
In the old, old days, at least as an elite, when you stood by for a same day flight you could stand by for any flight, regardless of connecting city, etc. Currently, if you are on a connecting itinerary you cannot stand by for a non stop. No mention if this will change.
Sep 1, 2020, 9:09 am
#44
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 2,506
Interesting proposition about the BE changes for elites, AA completely flipped the value proposition there from "few elite benefits when flying BE, but you'll get some elite earnings" to "we treat you like an elite on every flight, but no elite earnings". I wonder what people's thoughts are on that?
I'm torn here, as upgrades in my lowly status are rare, and while MCE is nice, I was using my Amex credit to buy those seats when flying BE so it didn't matter that much to me. I can see future trips with 4-5 others on my reservation where being able to assign MCE/Preferred for everyone (at way more than the $200 annual Amex benefit) would be worth way more than the elite credit.
I'm torn here, as upgrades in my lowly status are rare, and while MCE is nice, I was using my Amex credit to buy those seats when flying BE so it didn't matter that much to me. I can see future trips with 4-5 others on my reservation where being able to assign MCE/Preferred for everyone (at way more than the $200 annual Amex benefit) would be worth way more than the elite credit.
Sep 1, 2020, 9:13 am
#45
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: SoCal (ONT), PVD/BOS, JAX, RSW
Programs: AA/US PlatPro & 1.05MM, DL Plat (challenge), UA dirt
Posts: 3,189
Interesting proposition about the BE changes for elites, AA completely flipped the value proposition there from "few elite benefits when flying BE, but you'll get some elite earnings" to "we treat you like an elite on every flight, but no elite earnings". I wonder what people's thoughts are on that?
I'm torn here, as upgrades in my lowly status are rare, and while MCE is nice, I was using my Amex credit to buy those seats when flying BE so it didn't matter that much to me. I can see future trips with 4-5 others on my reservation where being able to assign MCE/Preferred for everyone (at way more than the $200 annual Amex benefit) would be worth way more than the elite credit.
I'm torn here, as upgrades in my lowly status are rare, and while MCE is nice, I was using my Amex credit to buy those seats when flying BE so it didn't matter that much to me. I can see future trips with 4-5 others on my reservation where being able to assign MCE/Preferred for everyone (at way more than the $200 annual Amex benefit) would be worth way more than the elite credit.
