Hello there,

Not really sure if it's better to ask this question here or in the AA forum, but I'll give it a shot here...

I am planning on going on an LONE4 this summer, and will be doing it under AA to be able to do their platinum challenge. Is it correct to assume that because the ticket is booked as M class, as long as I'm not traveling on BA, IB, or QF, all the other oneworld alliance partners will give me 1.0 EQMs per mile flown (as well as 1.0 EQPs which I will need for the challenge)?

Just trying to get the most amount of points possible out of my limited budget!

Thanks!
baby_beluga

The "L" in LONE4 is the booking class. Refer to the various tables at aa.com for what it will get you on various airlines. Whenever possible it will behoove you to book on AA flight nos. if available.

I'm on a LONE4 and pulled this from the page per carrier:

AA miles earning in L class:

aa & lan 100% both
fin 50% pts, 100% miles
qantas 100% pts, 50% miles
iberia 50% pts, 30% miles
ba 100% pts, 25% miles
[cathay - nada]

Don't forget that you get nothing for ba flights transatlantic flights to or from the US [flights to canada earn as above]

Just a note, because this usually comes as a nasty surprise to newbies: the points percentages shown above are based on *earned* miles, not on flown miles.

I've heard that before but still haven't grasped what it really means. For example a 1000 mile L class flight on BA within Europe would earn me how many points/miles?

250 miles and 250 points I believe

The real killer is on IB which earns 30% of 50% -- better known as 15%. So on IB that same 1000 mile flight earns 150 miles ... surprising those who thought that IB's 30% would earn more than BA's 25%.

LONE4 always books into L. If you are getting an M fare, you are buying some other form of RTW product and not a OneWorldExplorer LONE4. M is much more desirable than L, for lots of reasons (greater availability, for example). There are dozens of different RTW products, and each has some reason for being (some advantage over the others). For maximizing mileage the xONEx products are far superior (really twice around the world in terms of miles).

Thanks so much for the info everyone!

This will really help me pick my flights (and use the most AA codeshares as possible to maximize the miles and points). I was really hoping to be able to experience CX, but the lack of miles may turn me towards AA unless there is a codeshare on the route. I'll really make sure to avoid IB!

I thought that the LONE booked into M class because I was looking on Fewmiles' AAdvantage guide site, where it says that M is for ONE and L is for promotional fares, seat sales and webspecials. Of course the fact that an LONE books into L class makes a lot more sense!

Sorry for the newbie questions, all of this can be so overwhelming, even when spending a lot of time trying to figure it all out!

baby_beluga

According to an email I got from AA when I complained about miles not posting on LAN, I was told that domestic flights in Chile do not accure miles in L.
I did however get miles for IPC-SCL in L, so I will recheck this when I can access my mail.

[Edit]:
It seems as IPC-SCL is considered international, I quote the mail I received:

Probably, that site has old information and confusion.
A few years ago, there were MONE* RTW products.
MONE* had booking class of 'M'.
Oneworld changed the fare rules and fare codes a few years ago.
So, now there are LONE* RTW products which booking class is 'L'.