Quite a few people these days joke that American has transformed into a credit card company that occasionally flies planes. Certainly, the incessant credit card pitches and ability to earn top status without actually flying feeds that perception. But you know what else? Perversely, if you’re elite, American actively discourages you from spending money on flights. That’s because of some oddly generous rules surrounding Basic Economy fares for those with status.
Basic Economy – Usually Not Worth the Headache
Years ago, when the major US carriers introduced Economy Minus, they set them up to discourage you from booking them. Besides the inability to change or cancel, the airlines set up a ton of undesirable traps. With a Basic fare, you couldn’t bring a carry-on (Delta excepted). The El Cheapo fares boarded in the very last group. You couldn’t pay to assign seats in advance if you wanted to. The airlines even significantly restricted mileage earning. In Delta’s case, Economy Minus fares don’t even earn any SkyPesos or count towards Medallion status. For that reason, I tended to view Basic Economy as kind of pointless. Why buy one when you can’t even pay to improve the experience? I might as well book Spirit and book the Big Front Seat for that.
Over time, the airlines loosened some restrictions. You can, for instance, pay to assign seats; American even lets you pay for extra legroom seats. American and United now allow mileage and status earning, though at reduced rates. But for the most part, the undesirable aspects of the fare remain. Below is a snapshot of Basic Economy restrictions on American:
On this randomly chosen roundtrip from Dallas to Ontario (CA) and back, Economy Minus retails for an $80 discount compared to standard Main Cabin. Previously, I never really saw the value proposition. I won’t play roulette with seat assignments, and American charges $18 each way for a window seat in the back. That essentially cuts the discount in half. I’d rather pay it and take the Group 5 boarding, which at least meant room for a carry-on. (In Economy Minus, Group 9 pretty much guarantees no bin space, which means a confiscated carry-on when you board.)
That changed, though, when I recently re-acquired status in the AAdvantage program.
How American Actually Encourages Elites to Book Basic Economy
The other two of the Big Three airlines still do what they can to discourage elites from booking Basic. Delta, for example, maintains the following restrictions, even for those with SkyMiles status:
- No mileage or Medallion status points;
- No upgrades;
- No same-day changes;
- No free seat assignments, and you can’t even pay to sit in Comfort+;
- No SkyClub access, even if you have a membership.
In other words, you lose pretty much all of the advantages associated with status, except for a baggage allowance and priority boarding.
United isn’t much better, though Economy Minus fares do earn miles and Premier Qualifying Points (but not Premier Qualifying Flights) at the standard rate. And they don’t ban you from the United Club if you’re otherwise eligible for access.
American, though? Take a look at the comparison chart of benefits for Basic Economy fares:
That’s right. As a Platinum Pro, I can buy Economy Minus and still: get any coach seat for free, even Main Cabin Extra; confirm a same-day flight change for free; and get full baggage and priority boarding benefits. You can even use complimentary elite upgrades for First (assuming you aren’t 55th on the list). The only downgrades compared to Main Cabin? You earn 40% of the AAdvantage shinplasters and Loyalty Points. But since American makes it so easy to earn Loyalty Points with a co-branded credit card, do you really care about that? There’s also the $99 fee for canceling. But since the buy-up to Main Cabin to avoid the fee is $80, that’s not particularly compelling, either. I’ll take the chance on flushing $19 when the payoff is an $80 discount if I don’t need a change.
That finally got me to take the plunge on a recent father-son weekend trip. It saved me $160 round-trip on the two tickets. And we even got upgraded to First on a long-haul configured 777 to boot. Let’s just say he was shocked – shocked! – that an El Cheapo fare scored an upgrade to the fancy seats.
Final Thoughts
I suppose this shouldn’t surprise me, since American is a credit card company that occasionally flies planes these days. But if you’re an AAdvantage elite, it seems American doesn’t actually want you to spend money on plane tickets.