American Airlines is implementing several changes to its loyalty program on August 1 as it completes its transition to a revenue-based loyalty program. Most travelers will see fewer miles awarded for each flight under revenue-based programs when compared to more traditional distance-based programs that consider the distance flown. However, American will still be using distance as a factor for flights operated by partner airlines.
The catch is that in addition to distance the number of miles will be scaled by the fare class (the letter associated with the fare you book), and in many cases these are being adjusted downward. One Mile at a Time reported last night that American has updated these scaling factors for travel on partner airlines on or after August 1. The worst part is that American Airlines is providing only two weeks’ notice before these changes go into effect. As far as I can tell there is no retroactive credit for flights already booked.
The Alternative: Credit to Alaska Mileage Plan
Because Alaska Airlines is American’s only other U.S. parter, it is the most obvious choice for choosing an alternative loyalty program to bank your miles. (It’s not necessarily the most logical — depending on your travel needs, you may prefer to stick with American AAdvantage or pick another program altogether.) Alaska Mileage Plan is the only remaining distance-based loyalty program in the United States.
Although Alaska also adjusts the distance based on fare class, in most cases it will award the same number of miles or even more.
To illustrate the consequences of American’s changes I have provided a comparison of how many miles you’ll earn when you fly each of these airlines or the partners they share when you credit your flights to American AAdvantage vs. Alaska Mileage Plan. I haven’t included partners unique to American, which you can find online.
Each table provides the number of redeemable miles (RDM), elite qualifying miles (EQM), and elite qualifying dollars (EQD) as a percentage of the distance flown. Alaska Airlines does not track EQD. In some cases there is no earning rate published for certain fares, which is reported as “N/A.” In some other cases the fare is explicitly listed as earning no miles and reported as “0%.”
Flights Operated by American Airlines
For completeness, I’ve included earning rates for flights operated by American Airlines, but these are very different between the two programs now that American does not take distance into account for its own flights. All the other airlines below will be based on a combination of distance and fare class.
Note that it’s possible to earn up to 11 award miles per dollar on American if you have AAdvantage elite status. However, I’ve excluded elite bonuses from the table for both programs. These charts compare fare class bonuses, and in American’s case that is built into the higher ticket price.
| Fare Class | AAdvantage RDM | AAdvantage EQM | AAdvantage EQD | Mileage Plan RDM | Mileage Plan EQM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F, J | 5 miles/$ | 300% | base fare + surcharges | 200% | 200% |
| A, P, D, I, R | 5 miles/$ | 200% | base fare + surcharges | 150% | 150% |
| W, Y | 5 miles/$ | 150% | base fare + surcharges | 100% | 100% |
| B | 5 miles/$ | 150% | base fare + surcharges | N/A | N/A |
| H, K, L, M | 5 miles/$ | 100% | base fare + surcharges | 100% | 100% |
| G, V | 5 miles/$ | 100% | base fare + surcharges | 75% | 75% |
| N, S | 5 miles/$ | 100% | base fare + surcharges | 50% | 50% |
| O, Q | 5 miles/$ | 100% | base fare + surcharges | 25% | 25% |
Flights Operated by Alaska Airlines
| Fare Class | AAdvantage RDM | AAdvantage EQM | AAdvantage EQD | Mileage Plan RDM | Mileage Plan EQM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | 175% | 150% | 35% | 175% | 175% |
| P | 150% | 150% | 30% | 175% | 175% |
| Y, S | 100% | 100% | 20% | 150% | 150% |
| B | 100% | 50% | 20% | 125% | 125% |
| M | 75% | 50% | 15% | 125% | 125% |
| H | 75% | 50% | 15% | 100% | 100% |
| Q, L, V, K, G | 50% | 50% | 10% | 100% | 100% |
| T, R | 25% | 50% | 5% | 100% | 100% |
Flights Operated by British Airways
| Fare Class | AAdvantage RDM | AAdvantage EQM | AAdvantage EQD | Mileage Plan RDM | Mileage Plan EQM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | 150% | 150% | 30% | 300% | 300% |
| A | 150% | 150% | 30% | 250% | 250% |
| C, D, J | 125% | 150% | 25% | 250% | 250% |
| I, R | 125% | 150% | 25% | 150% | 150% |
| W | 110% | 150% | 22% | 150% | 150% |
| E, T | 100% | 150% | 20% | 100% | 100% |
| Y, B | 100% | 100% | 20% | 100% | 100% |
| H | 50% | 50% | 10% | 100% | 100% |
| K, L, M, N, S, V | 50% | 50% | 10% | 50% | 50% |
| G, O, Q | 25% | 50% | 5% | 25% | 25% |
Flights Operated by Cathay Pacific
| Fare Class | AAdvantage RDM | AAdvantage EQM | AAdvantage EQD | Mileage Plan RDM | Mileage Plan EQM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A, F | 150% | 150% | 30% | 150% | 150% |
| C, D, I, J | 125% | 150% | 25% | 125% | 125% |
| W | 110% | 150% | 22% | 110% | 110% |
| R, E | 100% | 150% | 20% | 110% | 110% |
| Y | 100% | 100% | 20% | 100% | 100% |
| B, H | 75% | 50% | 15% | 100% | 100% |
| K | 0% | 0% | 0% | 100% | 100% |
| L, M, V | 0% | 0% | 0% | 50% | 50% |
| Q, S, G, N | 0% | 0% | 0% | N/A | N/A |
Flights Operated by Japan Airlines
| Fare Class | AAdvantage RDM | AAdvantage EQM | AAdvantage EQD | Mileage Plan RDM | Mileage Plan EQM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F, A | 150% | 150% | 30% | 150% | 150% |
| J, C, D, X | 125% | 150% | 25% | 125% | 125% |
| I | 70% | 150% | 14% | 70% | 70% |
| W, E | 100% | 150% | 20% | 100% | 100% |
| Y, B | 100% | 100% | 20% | 100% | 100% |
| H, K, M | 70% | 50% | 14% | 70% | 70% |
| L, V, S, G, O, R | 50% | 50% | 10% | 50% | 50% |
| N, Q | 30% | 50% | 6% | 30% | 30% |
Flights Operated by LAN Airlines
| Fare Class | AAdvantage RDM | AAdvantage EQM | AAdvantage EQD | Mileage Plan RDM | Mileage Plan EQM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | 125% | 150% | 25% | 125% | 125% |
| C | 125% | 150% | 25% | N/A | N/A |
| D, I | 100% | 150% | 20% | 125% | 125% |
| Z | 100% | 150% | 20% | N/A | N/A |
| P | 100% | 150% | 20% | N/A | N/A |
| W | N/A | N/A | N/A | 100% | 100% |
| Y, B | 100% | 100% | 20% | 100% | 100% |
| H | 75% | 50% | 15% | 100% | 100% |
| K, L, M, V | 50% | 50% | 10% | 100% | 100% |
| S, N, Q, O, G, A | 25% | 50% | 5% | 100% | 100% |
| X | 25% | 50% | 5% | N/A | N/A |
Flights Operated by Qantas
| Fare Class | AAdvantage RDM | AAdvantage EQM | AAdvantage EQD | Mileage Plan RDM | Mileage Plan EQM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F, A | 150% | 150% | 30% | 150% | 150% |
| J, C, D, I | 125% | 150% | 25% | 125% | 125% |
| R | 110% | 150% | 22% | 150% | 150% |
| T | 110% | 150% | 22% | 110% | 110% |
| W | 110% | 150% | 22% | N/A | N/A |
| Y, B | 100% | 100% | 20% | 100% | 100% |
| H | 100% | 50% | 20% | 100% | 100% |
| K, L, M, V, N, G, S | 50% | 50% | 10% | 100% | 100% |
| O, Q | 25% | 50% | 5% | 100% | 100% |
Conclusion
If you have upcoming travel planned on American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, or any of American’s oneworld Alliance partners, now is the time to seriously consider crediting those flights to a different loyalty program. You can generally do so up until the time you board the aircraft by changing the frequent flyer number on your boarding pass — or leave the field blank and submit the boarding pass after travel for retroactive credit.
Some people will still find that American AAdvantage provides the most value because they want to earn elite status, the award chart remains the most useful for their travel needs, or because they can add to their AAdvantage balance with a credit card or transferable points. There are both limitations and benefits to Alaska’s award routing rules (difficulty combining partners, but also generous stopovers), but in general I find myself redeeming fewer miles through Alaska’s program to book the same award.
