I do this often as well, however I think there is sometimes a difference between the UK and the rest of Europe in terms of how the fares are constructed.

A follow-up question to my earlier lounge access and TYO connections questions, dealing with miles/status accrual for 2027.

My trip is planned for the July/August timeframe with plans for the full trip being DFW-TYO-BKK (AA/JAL), BKK-BOM (CX), BOM-YYZ-DFW (BA/AA). These are3 separate tickets and not RTW due to costs. With ticket prices fluctuating wildly (I've seen +/- 50-60% changes overnight) for all 3 flights, I'm thinking that I should buy now. If I do purchase the tickets now, but travel in the summer, will all miles/LP be allocated in the summer and count towards 2027 status earnings or will they go towards my 2026 earnings? I've looked through the available Citi, and AA, documentation, and it doesn't seem to be clear. They mention purchases need to be March 1st or later, but does this apply to travel as well?

Thanks...CT

If the purchases are made on an AAdvantage credit card, the 1 LP/$ will be credited toward the 2026 status qualification year. However, all loyalty points from flights are credited based on the day of travel, so those would go toward 2027 status.

Awesome. Thank you.

Quick follow up question. To reiterate context, my company has booked me on a flight from JFK - SFO, and I have OWS through JAL. I managed to get an exit row seat in MCE. I am booking a separate ticket for my wife and will try to get her next to me. My understanding is that she also gets this for free, even on a different booking and unlinked PNR.

I want to check if there's any restriction on the fare I buy for her ticket - i.e. can I get the cheapest basic economy ticket and chat online with support to get the seat changed, or do I need to buy something higher?

Thanks!

There are no restrictions on use of status benefits for Basic Economy tickets, at least for the primary traveler.

You can always book the cheapest ticket, immediately call or chat with AA to assign her a seat next to you as a companion, and if they give you any hassle about it being Basic Economy, you can always cancel the ticket for a full refund within 24 hours and book Main Cabin instead. But I highly doubt you'll have any problems.

This is a good strategy. I do know that sometimes BE tickets don't play nice when it comes to elite benefits and companions on different PNR's.

I decided to check with the online chat before buying the ticket, and was told that if my companion is not on my ticket she does not get any of my OWS benefits and so would need to pay for MCE. Is it best to play the CS roulette and try again, or have I misunderstood?

Typical AA chat, no clue. Your companion can get some of your elite benefits (like seats) when on a different PNR but not all of them (like bags). It will be no problem to call AA and get her seated next to you for no charge. There is no reason to keep playing CS roulette.

That assumes regular economy and that there�s nothing weird with basic economy.

Thanks for the help. I played roulette once more, agent told me all was good and she'd get all the benefits so book the ticket. I booked it, agent said thank you and then disconnected and switched me to another agent who said no it's not possible lol. Went back and forth for a while before I called up and was told that BE does not allow it so over the phone cancelled and booked regular economy and sorted it out. Thanks for the advice.

On a similar note. In the future I will be buying BE to fly to London from JFK fairly regularly since I still get baggage thanks to OWS. In this case since it's a personal booking I can get my wife on the same ticket in BE, but will I still have the same issue where benefits aren't conferred to her in BE, or will I be able to assign seats without issue since she's on the same PNR?

Thanks!

I made a dummy booking in Basic Economy as an AAdvantage Platinum (OWS) and had no issues assigning MCE seats for myself and a non-status companion. I don't think you'll have any issues with same-PNR bookings.

It's possible that American could treat its own elites differently than other programs' OWS, but I doubt it.

Given the loss of LP/Miles for BE, unless you have no need/desire to earn them, the few dollars saved might be pennywise and pound foolish if you will travel on a regular basis TALT.

That is true however the OP has status through JL, so ultimately it would depend on how JL credits AA tickets in Basic Economy (no idea if any credit is given or not in JLMB).

Indeed, but I recall thinking it seemed the OP is also perhaps relocating to the U.S. (given the future TALT legs), so it might be time to consider their FF plan going forward. Plus, as you mentioned, a quick check shows a B coded fare gets no credit to JAL.

It is difficult as the OWS is why the OP is relying upon for BE to function for him, and that wouldn�t give him any benefit with JAL�while switching to AA or BA (or AY or IB) involves a period of no status.

If anyone is wondering about other OW airlines, QR won't give Tier or Avios for AA BE flights.