In a previous post, chanye mentioned one key advantage of the AA frequent flyer program over UA/DL: redeemable miles were earned based on flight distance rather than ticket price. Well, although AA hasn’t officially announced the change, it now looks like AA will soon follow UA/DL down the same path.
So let’s take a look at what may be included in this round of changes to the AA mileage program.
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Good News
No minimum spending requirement for elite status
This is one of the few bright spots in the upcoming changes. After all, UA/DL shamelessly added a minimum spending requirement to elite qualification for members with U.S. addresses, which is obviously bad news for those trying to earn status through mileage runs. AA has not followed UA/DL on this point, which still leaves the door open for travelers hoping to earn elite status via MR. And the next change may be even better.
Simplified elite qualification criteria
AA is eliminating elite qualification based on points (EQP) and moving to a system based only on miles (EQM). Even the lowest fare classes will earn at 100%.
Specifically:
- Full fare First/Business F/J 3 EQMs per mile flown
- Discount fare First/Business 2 EQMs per mile flown
- Full fare Y/B 1.5 EQMs per mile flown
- Discount Main Cabin 1 EQM per mile flown
No major changes expected to the award chart
Since AA has not officially released this news yet, this is still mostly speculation. We’ll have to wait and see. That said, when it comes to mileage programs, devaluations are the long-term trend, and that probably isn’t changing.
Neutral News
- Earn 4 500-mile upgrade certificates for every 12k5 EQM (currently 10,000 EQM)
- The EQM thresholds for elite status will not change
- The elite qualification thresholds based on segments (EQS) will not change
Bad News
Redeemable miles will be earned based on ticket price
Booooooooo! AA has finally joined the dark side. Ever since DL started this trend, UA and AA have both jumped into the same pit. And the earning rates are all pretty similar.
Specifically, the earning structure looks like this:
- General member: 5 m/d
- Gold: 7 m/d
- Platinum: 8 m/d
- Executive Platinum: 11 m/d
Anyway, chanye feels this devaluation may have been unavoidable. If everyone is earning in roughly the same way, then for necessary ticket purchases, paying more attention to fare price may actually not be a bad thing for most people.
Systemwide Upgrades (SWU) cut to 4
For Executive Platinum members, the current number is 8, so this is a 50% cut. That’s a pretty significant reduction, and it would leave AA behind even UA1K and DL DM.
Bottom Line
Basically, frequent flyer program devaluations are the trend, and there’s not much anyone can do about it. So chanye wants to emphasize once again: points and miles are not meant to be hoarded—the real value comes from using them.