Booking as EXP - Main Cabin or Basic Economy
 

Hi - this may seem like a silly question. I have always just booked Main Cabin seats (PP, and now EXP) which are obviously more expensive than Basic Economy seats, but in essence - do I need to be doing that? If I book a basic economy ticket - I still get Main Cabin Plus seats free. So what is the downside?

Thank you for indulging me! I tried to search the forum but couldn't find anything.

I may have figured it out. No possible upgrade if I book basic economy.... right?

Upgrades do apply. The BE differences are:
No voluntary changes or cancellation credits, i.e., use it or lose it.
Starting 3/1/2023, base RDM and LP earning is 2 per dollar instead of 5.

The main difference is that BE tickets are non-refundable and you will get nothing back if you have to cancel flight. You can book MCE and seats are upgradable, same as main economy. As a PP or EXP, confirmable same day flight changes are allowed.

That's the big differentiator for me. I'm looking to book a trip to NZ and the RDMs and LPs go from just over 13k to 5k (I'm Plat) if I choose the "BE+bag" ticket instead of regular economy, and there's only a $100 difference in price.
Being able to change the booking and re-use the ticket value for a completely different trip doesn't hurt either.

Downside is that BE seats are not refundable and not changeable with out a very, very good reason. They are basically what we remember as the old type pre-COVID coach class tickets but with even more restrictions.

Unless the savings is substantial, I would avoid.

Be = avoid at all costs

Why? When it was first introduced, i agree. Now, if you're definitely traveling, why not take the savings. Just saved 150 USD ($290 vs $440) on my flight. Picked MCE, cleared my upgrades at T100. Zero difference to my experience.

If you may not travel, then yes it makes sense to avoid it. Then again, with some of the price differences, even if I eat the ~$300 bucks as a loss, the savings over the next few flights will pay it off pretty quickly.

the lack of change or cancel ability is why I avoid

For me it really depends on what the fare difference is, how far out I am booking, and how certain I am on the trip.

AA is still scheduling more flights than it can fly or that is profitable for them to do so. So if I am fairly certain I am going to be taking a trip, and the fare difference is significant, I'll roll the dice on a BE fare every once in awhile. The last time I did there were several schedule changes between the time I booked and the time I took the flight, which would have entitled me to change or cancel for a refund.

Now with the new $99 payment to obtain a credit for BE - would that change your mind on booking BE? Upthread it was mentioned PP status has really no difference other than what they now remedied. Would there be any differences between a Plat vs Plat Pro who books BE? (I'll be losing PP status shortly, only making it to Plat). Like the OP - I never considered BE, just assuming it was much worse in terms of benefits. Sounds like this may not be true... appreciate any thoughts (although I'm PP I don't fly AA often, I got the status for One World Emerald as I fly Int'l airlines more often than AA Domestic). So I'm not as versed in domestic BE tickets.

Lower LP earnings is the other consideration. And I believe while they are now sort of refundable, I don't see anything about them really being changeable.

I have a wedding in Rome in October, dates are set.

MIA-FCO (connecting city to tbd). I am EXP with SWU to use. What is my main risk of choosing BE to a MCE? BE ticket is $802, MCE $988. Is it worth saving $400 bucks for two tickets? BE doesn't affect my upgrade priority, correct? Thaks!

No, BE does not affect your upgrade priority; it just limits you in making changes (for instance, if another day has better SWU availability).