When I book for work, my company lets me book MCE seats. Does anyone know if when I pay for those seats, or just book Main Plus fare of ticket, count toward status/loyalty points?

I already have an award seat booked for a party of 5 on Wed through my AAdvantage account. If I get a better redemption rate, should I book it using my or my wife's aadvantage account? Which one would you recommend? Obviously I'll cancel after I book but want to book immediately since fares disappear

No ancillary fees do not count towards LPs

Under the new upgrade scheme would a Gold be eligible for complimentary upgrades on award tickets? I assume the odds are extremely unlikely for one to actually go through if so.

No.

No. Only ConciergeKey and Executive Platinum get free domestic upgrades on award tickets.

It doesn't really matter which account you book it from, really a personal decision, do you want to use your miles or your wife's miles?

Also AA will not let you double book the same passenger on the same flight, so if all the pax have AAdvantage numbers in the existing reservation you'll need to make the new reservation w/o their numbers at first.

Many thanks for that! Might need some hand holding getting it done once we start seriously planning, but that clarifies the concept to me.

Just playing around on aa.com with a variety of both domestic and international flights, I don't see prices listed as sAAver or Web Special, anymore, just a choice of cabin. There used to be a grid giving you options. So, any suggestions on how to know if something is a Web Special or not?

So for domestic AA flights most sAAver space is 12.5k miles one-way for economy and 25k for business. So any space you see that is not that price will be web special.

MileSAAver awards have a fixed redemption rate, as indicated in these two redemption tables (one for AA flights, one for partner flights):

https://www.aa.com/i18n/aadvantage-p...ward-chart.jsp

https://www.aa.com/i18n/aadvantage-p...ward-chart.jsp

So look for redemption rates that match those in the charts, if you are trying to find MileSAAver awards.

As well as AS MVPG100K Elites.

James

Was able to leverage the new Loyalty Points route to status by making lots of work-related purchases by first clicking through the AA eShopping portal to get all the way to Platinum status without a single dollar out of my own pocket or stepping on a single plane, all by mid-April. First time I've ever had status with any airline. Don't see myself making it anywhere near Platinum Pro, so this is where I'll be until March 2024.

First time I enjoyed any perks was actually on a BA itinerary returning home from Berlin earlier this month -- nice to have the priority check in lane as we did need some check-in help from an agent at BER and have access to the Galleries lounge during the connection at LHR (as well as the very quiet contract lounge at BER, complete with a private passport control corridor).

But now that I only have domestic travel the rest of 2022 and not sure yet about any international travel I/spouse might plan for 2023, what realistically should I expect as the most valuable status perks to optimize while I have it? (These large work purchases were a one-off project rather than a regular thing I can leverage year after year, sadly.) My most frequent route is DCA<>ORD a few times a year; I get that it's hub to hub but I'm not generally flying at the busiest business travel banks so what are my realistic chances of ever seeing an upgrade now that Platinum members have complimentary upgrade eligibility on all routes? To be sure, I'm content enough with the free MCE at booking and free checked bag so I can downgrade my co-brand Citi card to avoid an annual fee; those perks are more than I would have had before Loyalty Points made it possible :)

Enormous mile devaluation?
 

Hi all,

I was just searching for domestic business award tickets from DFW-PHL several months out and can't find anything resembling the old mile cost of 50,000 miles roundtrip (or less for a web special). Instead, the lowest cost is over 80,000 miles and that requires flying on the outgoing 5 AM flight, obviously the least desirable flight.

I know I haven't been flying much recently but I flew DFW-LAX in business in January 2021 for 40,000 miles roundtrip (business web special). When did they make this enormous devaluation, or am I just unlucky trying to fly from DFW-PHL?

Thanks!

I am trying to understand what the benefit of booking Main Cabin is, over booking Basic Economy given the current LP system and having status. Outside of earning a few extra LPs, I'm not seeing any. Am I missing something?

I am Platinum so with a domestic BE fare I would still get free checked bag, group 3 boarding, free seat selection, chance to be upgraded. As long as I'm still able to cancel the BE fare and retain the balance as credit for later usage - I have no issues. The credit will definitely be used at a later time.

After calculating on AA, the BE fare is approximately $60 cheaper, but I would be out about 500 extra LPs. Are 500 LPs worth $60?

double check tht your BE fare is changeable or able to be converted to a credit. Some are not.