A new AAdvantage Loyalty program was announced. Eveything is now bundled into "Loyalty Points"

I am very puzzled as an AAdvantage Gold Member. I have around 2050 EQDs and 20,000 EQM.

Are the new loyalty points determined by the classic EQMs or EQDs? 30,000 loyalty points seems much harder than the old method. Please correct me if I am wrong

AmericanAir88 wrote:

A new AAdvantage Loyalty program was announced. Eveything is now bundled into "Loyalty Points"

I am very puzzled as an AAdvantage Gold Member. I have around 2050 EQDs and 20,000 EQM.

Are the new loyalty points determined by the classic EQMs or EQDs? 30,000 loyalty points seems much harder than the old method. Please correct me if I am wrong

Looks like 1 EQM = 1 point going forward and EQDs and EQSs are out. And of course credit card spend and bonuses can also boost your point balance. Fly 20,000 miles on AA and spend $10,000 on your AA branded card should give you 30,000 loyalty points for example, notwithstanding any bonuses for cabin or existing status, e.g. AAdvantage Gold gets a 40% bonus.

So if you're already AAdvantage Gold it sounds like you can fly ~14,500 miles, get a 40% bonus since you're gold, and then you could also spend $10k / yr in unrelated purchases on an AA credit card. And that would get you back to 30k miles / AAdvantage Gold for 2022.

Source: https://aadvantagestatus.com/

Seems like decent changes.

Now we see what Vasu Raja meant earlier in the year when he said they wanted to reward engagement not just flying.

As example program will now let members work themselves to elite levels wholly on credit card spend. It really does not care if you earn a point onboard or at the mall.

From having heard Vasu, believe there will be additional point-earning opportunities rolled out in the future to further deepen member engagement with AA products and partners.

It's a lot to unpack and I'm still reading through all the details. I will say the marketing element of spinning this as a "simpler" system than what currently exists is a joke!

As many people have ranted on AA's Facebook post announcing this revamp, the new system goes back to rewarding distance flown over spend, so biz travelers who take short but expensive flights are going to lose out under this methodology. I thought that was the whole reason for getting away from the original concept of 1 frequent flyer mile = 1 mile flown.

Another interesting change that I didn't see a lot of attention given to is that the accrual cycle is changing from Jan 1-Dec 31 to March 1-Feb. 28. I wonder if part of that rationale is to encourage last-minute mileage runs during January and February--an extremely slow time of year for flying--versus December when there's already plenty of holiday and vacation traffic?

I am still doing the math to see how I am affected personally but it already gets bad marks from me due to how much more difficult it will be to know how far away I am from re-qualifying for status. Who knows how much or how little I will charge to my AAdvantage credit card in any given year?

Seems pretty straight forward for me. Better than convoluted miles/EQM/EQD etc.

UALFAson wrote:

Who knows how much or how little I will charge to my AAdvantage credit card in any given year?

Should not be too complex to look back at your historic spending. If its $2,000/month or $20,000 a month should be able to get some reasonable estimate.

Obviously, with this program move, AA wants to earn a bigger share of your daily wallet spend.

I need to get an AA card. Maybe I should consider the dining also.

I am still struggling with this. Here is my question and I hope someone can provide some response: I typically BUY first class seats so I can get the double bump on EQM's. For example, I fly from PHL to IAH and that means 2664 base miles and another 2664 for a total of 5328 EQM's It made sense to buy the FC seat. The way I read this is that it no longer matters what seat I buy -I can only earn a max of 2664 miles and maybe hope for an upgrade. If I am right, why would they just eliminate people buying the FC seat for this reason??? Are their accelerators as before ( the 2x bump). On a related note, it really does highlight how they can't make money flying, but the CC are very lucrative.

Might have to consider switching my commute to ANC on to AA for the next few months.

phlswaflyer wrote:

I am still struggling with this. Here is my question and I hope someone can provide some response: I typically BUY first class seats so I can get the double bump on EQM's. For example, I fly from PHL to IAH and that means 2664 base miles and another 2664 for a total of 5328 EQM's It made sense to buy the FC seat. The way I read this is that it no longer matters what seat I buy -I can only earn a max of 2664 miles and maybe hope for an upgrade. If I am right, why would they just eliminate people buying the FC seat for this reason??? Are their accelerators as before ( the 2x bump). On a related note, it really does highlight how they can't make money flying, but the CC are very lucrative.

No, it says Eligible AAdvantage® Miles include all base miles you earn, as well as elite bonus and cabin bonus miles you earn from flying. So if FC gives you cabin bonus, you would get extra AAdvantage miles, hence more Loyalty Points. The new system gives higher level flyers more loyalty points as it combines base miles, elite bonus and cabin bonus.

The danger I can see them running into is the elite levels getting flooded with card spenders like myself. I only fly 5 times a year but use my AA card for everything. Today I get the free bag and a nicer zone boarding opportunity. In this system I'm a Platinum member. Seems risky because you can upset me in not being able to take AAdvantage (see what I did there) of the benefits because everyone is platinum now and the frequent flier platinum who is losing out to schleps like me who don't fly often.

My question being unclear on what benefits a platinum gets (I tried looking but didn't see it), if I'm platinum from my card spend, does my family get the benefits when they fly with me?

UPlog wrote:

Seems pretty straight forward for me. Better than convoluted miles/EQM/EQD etc.

Obviously, with this program move, AA wants to earn a bigger share of your daily wallet spend.

Under the current system, I need 60 segments and spend $5,000 by Dec. 31. Absolutely nothing convoluted about that.

Now, as a Platinum to keep Platinum, I need to fly 46,875 miles from March through February, but that would be reduced by whatever amount I wind up spending on my AA credit card. But my monthly spending is not consistent from month to month or even year to year now that we're in COVID. I may only charge $500/month if I'm working from home; I may charge $3,000-$4,000 for a few months if work travel resumes. There are too many variables at play now.

The new system goes back to prioritizing miles over spend or segments, so a $200 JFK-LAX roundtrip flight returns a much higher reward than a $600 BNA-ORD-MSP roundtrip ticket. The new system doesn't make sense--to your last point, it rewards spend on credit cards but not spend with the airline on actual flights. What kind of business is American Airlines in, travel or credit cards?

TWFlyGuy wrote:

The danger I can see them running into is the elite levels getting flooded with card spenders like myself. I only fly 5 times a year but use my AA card for everything. Today I get the free bag and a nicer zone boarding opportunity. In this system I'm a Platinum member. Seems risky because you can upset me in not being able to take AAdvantage (see what I did there) of the benefits because everyone is platinum now and the frequent flier platinum who is losing out to schleps like me who don't fly often.

My question being unclear on what benefits a platinum gets (I tried looking but didn't see it), if I'm platinum from my card spend, does my family get the benefits when they fly with me?

You seem to have answered your own question: you talk about the elite levels getting flooded with card spenders like you, yet you only fly 5 times a year. If those people are not frequent travelers, then it will be harder for them to "flood" the upgrade list, and we also don't know how many people like that there are out there. In my view, it is difficult to have enough card spend to get much over Gold, and that would require about $30,000 a year in spend specifically on an AA card. A lot of people simply do not spend that much, and even if they do spend that much on an AA card, they would be concentrated in AA-heavy cities and would still have to compete against people with both flight and card spend. I honestly don't see much of a benefit to cardholders like myself who don't fly much. The points thresholds are still really high, and the benefits offered to lower-tier members aren't that great. AA cards also do not have many premium spend categories. I think the only way this new program will be that lucrative is if AA keeps using the mileage award chart. If they take it away, AA simply won't be attractive anymore unless you are a genuinely frequent flyer.

usdcaguy wrote:

TWFlyGuy wrote:

The danger I can see them running into is the elite levels getting flooded with card spenders like myself. I only fly 5 times a year but use my AA card for everything. Today I get the free bag and a nicer zone boarding opportunity. In this system I'm a Platinum member. Seems risky because you can upset me in not being able to take AAdvantage (see what I did there) of the benefits because everyone is platinum now and the frequent flier platinum who is losing out to schleps like me who don't fly often.

My question being unclear on what benefits a platinum gets (I tried looking but didn't see it), if I'm platinum from my card spend, does my family get the benefits when they fly with me?

You seem to have answered your own question: you talk about the elite levels getting flooded with card spenders like you, yet you only fly 5 times a year. If those people are not frequent travelers, then it will be harder for them to "flood" the upgrade list, and we also don't know how many people like that there are out there. In my view, it is difficult to have enough card spend to get much over Gold, and that would require about $30,000 a year in spend specifically on an AA card. A lot of people simply do not spend that much, and even if they do spend that much on an AA card, they would be concentrated in AA-heavy cities and would still have to compete against people with both flight and card spend. I honestly don't see much of a benefit to cardholders like myself who don't fly much. The points thresholds are still really high, and the benefits offered to lower-tier members aren't that great. AA cards also do not have many premium spend categories. I think the only way this new program will be that lucrative is if AA keeps using the mileage award chart. If they take it away, AA simply won't be attractive anymore unless you are a genuinely frequent flyer.

I get what you're saying but I do see that as a risk to their service. Definitely makes their card more valuable. Especially for moderate fliers who maybe were only getting to gold or just missing any level.

TWFlyGuy wrote:

usdcaguy wrote:

TWFlyGuy wrote:

The danger I can see them running into is the elite levels getting flooded with card spenders like myself. I only fly 5 times a year but use my AA card for everything. Today I get the free bag and a nicer zone boarding opportunity. In this system I'm a Platinum member. Seems risky because you can upset me in not being able to take AAdvantage (see what I did there) of the benefits because everyone is platinum now and the frequent flier platinum who is losing out to schleps like me who don't fly often.

My question being unclear on what benefits a platinum gets (I tried looking but didn't see it), if I'm platinum from my card spend, does my family get the benefits when they fly with me?

You seem to have answered your own question: you talk about the elite levels getting flooded with card spenders like you, yet you only fly 5 times a year. If those people are not frequent travelers, then it will be harder for them to "flood" the upgrade list, and we also don't know how many people like that there are out there. In my view, it is difficult to have enough card spend to get much over Gold, and that would require about $30,000 a year in spend specifically on an AA card. A lot of people simply do not spend that much, and even if they do spend that much on an AA card, they would be concentrated in AA-heavy cities and would still have to compete against people with both flight and card spend. I honestly don't see much of a benefit to cardholders like myself who don't fly much. The points thresholds are still really high, and the benefits offered to lower-tier members aren't that great. AA cards also do not have many premium spend categories. I think the only way this new program will be that lucrative is if AA keeps using the mileage award chart. If they take it away, AA simply won't be attractive anymore unless you are a genuinely frequent flyer.

I get what you're saying but I do see that as a risk to their service. Definitely makes their card more valuable. Especially for moderate fliers who maybe were only getting to gold or just missing any level.

For moderate fliers who would spend the money they put on the AA card anyway (just not necessarily on the AA card), isn't the status essentially gratuitous, though? By that I mean that any benefit they get from the status is more or less getting something for nothing so it doesn't matter if it isn't that big.

Depending on someone's travel patterns, upgrade chances can still be pretty high with Gold. I had a period a few years ago where I was Gold and doing a lot of weekend trips to Chicago because of some family issues. I'd routinely get upgraded (and F would routinely go out with empty seats) on Saturday morning CR7 flights BNA-ORD, and that route connects a hub with a former hub where AA is in a lot of ways still the legacy of choice. I get that if you're doing a lot of Monday morning SNA-DFW it's different, but it seems that the former travel pattern is more common than the latter among infrequent fliers.

chonetsao wrote:

phlswaflyer wrote:

I am still struggling with this. Here is my question and I hope someone can provide some response: I typically BUY first class seats so I can get the double bump on EQM's. For example, I fly from PHL to IAH and that means 2664 base miles and another 2664 for a total of 5328 EQM's It made sense to buy the FC seat. The way I read this is that it no longer matters what seat I buy -I can only earn a max of 2664 miles and maybe hope for an upgrade. If I am right, why would they just eliminate people buying the FC seat for this reason??? Are their accelerators as before ( the 2x bump). On a related note, it really does highlight how they can't make money flying, but the CC are very lucrative.

No, it says Eligible AAdvantage® Miles include all base miles you earn, as well as elite bonus and cabin bonus miles you earn from flying. So if FC gives you cabin bonus, you would get extra AAdvantage miles, hence more Loyalty Points. The new system gives higher level flyers more loyalty points as it combines base miles, elite bonus and cabin bonus.

Hi...where does t say that? I must be missing it or blinded by my anger

Most of the people on here have the wrong idea of this new program. It has not reverted back to earning based on miles flown. It is very much revenue-based, I would actually say it's even more revenue-based than before. Similar to UA, but with a little advantage.

You earn miles based on the amount you spend on your airfare, plus any cabin and elite multipliers. The program is a lot easier to understand, but it will be significantly harder to get to the higher tiers. For example, Executive Platinum normally took around $15K to reach, along with EQMs or EQSs. To make it simple, we will ignore the EQMs and EQSs. With the new program, you now need 200,000 loyalty points. Let us assume you are already an Executive Platinum frequent flier, you earn 11 miles on every dollar you spend on AA flights, excluding taxes and fees. At 11 miles per dollar, you now have to spend $18,182 to continue to qualify for the same tier. That's an extra $3,200 than before and that's not considering you starting from scratch, which would total up to $26,319. Here are the new spend amount needed for each tier if you start from scratch compared to the previous years:

Old New
Gold ------------------ $ 3,000 ----- $ 6,000
Platinum -------------- $ 6,000 ----- $12,429
Platinum Pro ---------- $ 9,000 ----- $17,985
Executive Platinum ---- $15,000 ----- $26,319

To earn Choice Benefits, you must fly a minimum of 30 segments on either AA, B6, or OneWorld partners.

The numbers are staggering, to say the least. Another difference in the program is the devaluation of partner flying. The loyalty points you'll earn on a given partner flight will be lower than the EQDs you would've earned previously, based on a ratio to the total of EQD or Loyalty points needed. The only advantage of this program is the extra push from AA credit card spending. However, multipliers, bonuses, and special offers do not count as loyalty points. You will only earn 1 loyalty point per dollar spent on the respective cards. The other advantage is the potential to earn loyalty points from the partners, such as AAdvantage Dining, eShopping, and others. I am not quite sure about partner hotels and such, so I cannot comment on those.

In my opinion, it is significantly harder for frequent fliers to earn their respective status on AA, unless they have high credit card spending. The program is a lot more revenue-based than before and will focus more on the heavy spenders.

As for how many Loyalty Points you'll earn, I can give another example. To make it easier, we will once again ignore EQMs and EQSs. Let's say you would like to take a flight from DFW - LHR. You have two scenarios, AA and BA. Here is a scenario if a Business Class (I) ticket was booked:

------------------Price-------- EQD ------- LP ------- LP w/EP
AA - 4750mi
DFW - LHR ----- $2,380 ----- 2,350 ----- 11,750 ----- 25,850

BA - 4750mi
DFW - LHR ----- $2,380 ----- 1,188 ----- 5,938 ------ 11,638

For AA, it hasn't changed much. The only difference is that now they will use the total amount of AAdvantage points to determine how many Loyalty Points you'll earn. 2,350X5=11,750 for non-elites and 2,350X11=25,850 for Executive Platinum. However, it's a bit different for partners, except B6. In the example provided, BA flies DFW - LHR in 4750 miles, which you earn EQDs based on mileage. At ticket "I", you would earn 25% of total miles as EQD which would result in 1,188 EQD. For the new program, it's the award miles metric used. 4750X1.25=5938 for non-elites and (4,750X1.25)+(4,750X1.2)=11,638 for Executive Platinum.

phlswaflyer wrote:

Hi...where does t say that? I must be missing it or blinded by my anger

Yes, you can miss that very easily. Go to the website a poster above mentioned:
https://aadvantagestatus.com/

Click Find Out Below.

Then in the centre of screen there are 2 circles. The left circle says 1 Eligible AAdvantage Mile, the right says 1 Loyalty Point.

Now move your mouse to the little i (information) on the right side of the LEFT CIRCLE where it says 1 Eligible AAdvantage Mile, it has the explanation I quoted in my reply.

chonetsao wrote:

phlswaflyer wrote:

Hi...where does t say that? I must be missing it or blinded by my anger

Yes, you can miss that very easily. Go to the website a poster above mentioned:
https://aadvantagestatus.com/

Click Find Out Below.

Then in the centre of screen there are 2 circles. The left circle says 1 Eligible AAdvantage Mile, the right says 1 Loyalty Point.

Now move your mouse to the little i (information) on the right side of the LEFT CIRCLE where it says 1 Eligible AAdvantage Mile, it has the explanation I quoted in my reply.

Ok, that's helps and thanks! This entire thing is so poorly written. So how does one calculate "cabin bonuses?" I am an EP flyer, so let's start there:

PHL to DALLAS is 1332 miles. Let's say I pay $600 for an FC seat. Today I earn, 5328 in EQM's and 600 in EQD. Now, I get 600x 120% + a cabin bonus. Is this right? So the number of miles don't even count anymore?

phlswaflyer wrote:

chonetsao wrote:

phlswaflyer wrote:

Hi...where does t say that? I must be missing it or blinded by my anger

Yes, you can miss that very easily. Go to the website a poster above mentioned:
https://aadvantagestatus.com/

Click Find Out Below.

Then in the centre of screen there are 2 circles. The left circle says 1 Eligible AAdvantage Mile, the right says 1 Loyalty Point.

Now move your mouse to the little i (information) on the right side of the LEFT CIRCLE where it says 1 Eligible AAdvantage Mile, it has the explanation I quoted in my reply.

Ok, that's helps and thanks! This entire thing is so poorly written. So how does one calculate "cabin bonuses?" I am an EP flyer, so let's start there:

PHL to DALLAS is 1332 miles. Let's say I pay $600 for an FC seat. Today I earn, 5328 in EQM's and 600 in EQD. Now, I get 600x 120% + a cabin bonus. Is this right? So the number of miles don't even count anymore?

I can't answer you on this. However, please see @Airlines0613 above reply in the scenario of LHR-DFW flight example.

The AA text is designed to cover all scenarios (itself and partner flights) in one simple sentence, hence more confusion if you do not know the program well, like me. But if Airlines0613's calculation is right, you won't loose your privilege by purchasing FC seats. In fact you would gets more if you pay the fare by your AA credit card.

I am sure soon all details will be communicated in a better organised way. At this moment it does appear the new program is designed to increase revenue from all streams, which can be a good thing if you are big spenders.

phlswaflyer wrote:

chonetsao wrote:

phlswaflyer wrote:

Hi...where does t say that? I must be missing it or blinded by my anger

Yes, you can miss that very easily. Go to the website a poster above mentioned:
https://aadvantagestatus.com/

Click Find Out Below.

Then in the centre of screen there are 2 circles. The left circle says 1 Eligible AAdvantage Mile, the right says 1 Loyalty Point.

Now move your mouse to the little i (information) on the right side of the LEFT CIRCLE where it says 1 Eligible AAdvantage Mile, it has the explanation I quoted in my reply.

Ok, that's helps and thanks! This entire thing is so poorly written. So how does one calculate "cabin bonuses?" I am an EP flyer, so let's start there:

PHL to DALLAS is 1332 miles. Let's say I pay $600 for an FC seat. Today I earn, 5328 in EQM's and 600 in EQD. Now, I get 600x 120% + a cabin bonus. Is this right? So the number of miles don't even count anymore?

That is correct. If it's 600 excluding taxes and fees, normally you will earn a total of 3,000 Loyalty Points. As an Executive Platinum, your total will increase to 6,600 Loyalty Points. There are no cabin bonuses when you fly AA and actual miles flown and segments no longer matter.

chonetsao wrote:

phlswaflyer wrote:

chonetsao wrote:

Yes, you can miss that very easily. Go to the website a poster above mentioned:
https://aadvantagestatus.com/

Click Find Out Below.

Then in the centre of screen there are 2 circles. The left circle says 1 Eligible AAdvantage Mile, the right says 1 Loyalty Point.

Now move your mouse to the little i (information) on the right side of the LEFT CIRCLE where it says 1 Eligible AAdvantage Mile, it has the explanation I quoted in my reply.

Ok, that's helps and thanks! This entire thing is so poorly written. So how does one calculate "cabin bonuses?" I am an EP flyer, so let's start there:

PHL to DALLAS is 1332 miles. Let's say I pay $600 for an FC seat. Today I earn, 5328 in EQM's and 600 in EQD. Now, I get 600x 120% + a cabin bonus. Is this right? So the number of miles don't even count anymore?

I can't answer you on this. However, please see @Airlines0613 above reply in the scenario of LHR-DFW flight example.

The AA text is designed to cover all scenarios (itself and partner flights) in one simple sentence, hence more confusion if you do not know the program well, like me. But if Airlines0613's calculation is right, you won't loose your privilege by purchasing FC seats. In fact you would gets more if you pay the fare by your AA credit card.

I am sure soon all details will be communicated in a better organised way. At this moment it does appear the new program is designed to increase revenue from all streams, which can be a good thing if you are big spenders.

Yes, aside from earning the 6,600, you can also earn one additional point per dollar spent with the AA credit card. If you do purchase it with your card, he will receive a total of 7,200 Loyalty points.

Airlines0613 wrote:

phlswaflyer wrote:

chonetsao wrote:

Yes, you can miss that very easily. Go to the website a poster above mentioned:
https://aadvantagestatus.com/

Click Find Out Below.

Then in the centre of screen there are 2 circles. The left circle says 1 Eligible AAdvantage Mile, the right says 1 Loyalty Point.

Now move your mouse to the little i (information) on the right side of the LEFT CIRCLE where it says 1 Eligible AAdvantage Mile, it has the explanation I quoted in my reply.

Ok, that's helps and thanks! This entire thing is so poorly written. So how does one calculate "cabin bonuses?" I am an EP flyer, so let's start there:

PHL to DALLAS is 1332 miles. Let's say I pay $600 for an FC seat. Today I earn, 5328 in EQM's and 600 in EQD. Now, I get 600x 120% + a cabin bonus. Is this right? So the number of miles don't even count anymore?

That is correct. If it's 600 excluding taxes and fees, you will earn a total of 6,600 Loyalty Points. There are no cabin bonuses when you fly AA and actual miles flown and segments no longer matter.

OK, almost there.....where is the 11 from? Is this different than the 120% bonus? is that award miles only? Thanks!!

phlswaflyer wrote:

Airlines0613 wrote:

phlswaflyer wrote:

Ok, that's helps and thanks! This entire thing is so poorly written. So how does one calculate "cabin bonuses?" I am an EP flyer, so let's start there:

PHL to DALLAS is 1332 miles. Let's say I pay $600 for an FC seat. Today I earn, 5328 in EQM's and 600 in EQD. Now, I get 600x 120% + a cabin bonus. Is this right? So the number of miles don't even count anymore?

That is correct. If it's 600 excluding taxes and fees, you will earn a total of 6,600 Loyalty Points. There are no cabin bonuses when you fly AA and actual miles flown and segments no longer matter.

OK, almost there.....where is the 11 from? Is this different than the 120% bonus? is that award miles only? Thanks!!

So from now on, your award miles earned will be the same as the Loyalty Points you'll earn. The 11 points is the same as the 120% extra miles. Normally you earn 5 points per dollar, but as an EP you earn an additional 120%. 5 miles X 120% = 6 miles -> 5 base miles + 6 bonus miles = 11 total miles earned per dollar. So, you earn 11 award miles per dollar. Since now you will earn the same amount of Loyalty points as award miles, it means you will earn 11 Loyalty Points per dollar. If you happen to have the AA credit card, you'll earn one additional point per dollar, totaling to 12 Loyalty Points per dollar. Although with the credit card, you'll also earn one point per dollar on the taxes and fees.

Airlines0613 wrote:

phlswaflyer wrote:

Airlines0613 wrote:

That is correct. If it's 600 excluding taxes and fees, you will earn a total of 6,600 Loyalty Points. There are no cabin bonuses when you fly AA and actual miles flown and segments no longer matter.

OK, almost there.....where is the 11 from? Is this different than the 120% bonus? is that award miles only? Thanks!!

So from now on, your award miles earned will be the same as the Loyalty Points you'll earn. The 11 points is the same as the 120% extra miles. Normally you earn 5 points per dollar, but as an EP you earn an additional 120%. 5 miles X 120% = 6 miles -> 5 base miles + 6 bonus miles = 11 total miles earned per dollar. So, you earn 11 award miles per dollar. Since now you will earn the same amount of Loyalty points as award miles, it means you will earn 11 Loyalty Points per dollar. If you happen to have the AA credit card, you'll earn one additional point per dollar, totaling to 12 Loyalty Points per dollar. Although with the credit card, you'll also earn one point per dollar on the taxes and fees.

I really appreciate your help - I do really get these programs and understand them but this had vexed me.......It was not clear how the 11 is the same as the 120.

phlswaflyer wrote:

Airlines0613 wrote:

phlswaflyer wrote:

OK, almost there.....where is the 11 from? Is this different than the 120% bonus? is that award miles only? Thanks!!

So from now on, your award miles earned will be the same as the Loyalty Points you'll earn. The 11 points is the same as the 120% extra miles. Normally you earn 5 points per dollar, but as an EP you earn an additional 120%. 5 miles X 120% = 6 miles -> 5 base miles + 6 bonus miles = 11 total miles earned per dollar. So, you earn 11 award miles per dollar. Since now you will earn the same amount of Loyalty points as award miles, it means you will earn 11 Loyalty Points per dollar. If you happen to have the AA credit card, you'll earn one additional point per dollar, totaling to 12 Loyalty Points per dollar. Although with the credit card, you'll also earn one point per dollar on the taxes and fees.

I really appreciate your help - I do really get these programs and understand them but this had vexed me.......It was not clear how the 11 is the same as the 120.

No problem, I'm happy to help. I've considered starting a blog in order to help people understand loyalty programs. Haha.

Airlines0613 wrote:

phlswaflyer wrote:

Airlines0613 wrote:

So from now on, your award miles earned will be the same as the Loyalty Points you'll earn. The 11 points is the same as the 120% extra miles. Normally you earn 5 points per dollar, but as an EP you earn an additional 120%. 5 miles X 120% = 6 miles -> 5 base miles + 6 bonus miles = 11 total miles earned per dollar. So, you earn 11 award miles per dollar. Since now you will earn the same amount of Loyalty points as award miles, it means you will earn 11 Loyalty Points per dollar. If you happen to have the AA credit card, you'll earn one additional point per dollar, totaling to 12 Loyalty Points per dollar. Although with the credit card, you'll also earn one point per dollar on the taxes and fees.

I really appreciate your help - I do really get these programs and understand them but this had vexed me.......It was not clear how the 11 is the same as the 120.

No problem, I'm happy to help. I've considered starting a blog in order to help people understand loyalty programs. Haha.

Do it. Seriously

phlswaflyer wrote:

Airlines0613 wrote:

phlswaflyer wrote:

I really appreciate your help - I do really get these programs and understand them but this had vexed me.......It was not clear how the 11 is the same as the 120.

No problem, I'm happy to help. I've considered starting a blog in order to help people understand loyalty programs. Haha.

Do it. Seriously

I most likely will!

Airlines0613 wrote:

phlswaflyer wrote:

Airlines0613 wrote:

No problem, I'm happy to help. I've considered starting a blog in order to help people understand loyalty programs. Haha.

Do it. Seriously

I most likely will!

Thanks for all the great answers. You have been very helpful. I do wonder, as I asked earlier, how many cardholders will benefit from status they otherwise might not have received. I know card companies have been more aggressive in expecting more for their cardholders given the help they provided carriers in bankruptcy and recently as well. So it wouldn't surprise me if some of the push came from that direction.

TWFlyGuy wrote:

Airlines0613 wrote:

phlswaflyer wrote:

Do it. Seriously

I most likely will!

Thanks for all the great answers. You have been very helpful. I do wonder, as I asked earlier, how many cardholders will benefit from status they otherwise might not have received. I know card companies have been more aggressive in expecting more for their cardholders given the help they provided carriers in bankruptcy and recently as well. So it wouldn't surprise me if some of the push came from that direction.

No problem, glad to help!

I think the confusion is that many people, myself included, are reading "1 eligible AAdvantage mile = 1 Loyalty Point" as if 1 EQM = 1 point, and that is apparently not the case. When they are referring to "miles", they don't really mean air miles, like BNA-DCA is 562 miles, but the "points" (formerly miles) that are currently earned with the AAdvantage frequent flyer program.

While that's less confusing than I initially thought, I still don't find this new program simpler to understand because I have always focused on re-qualifying for elite status versus how many AAdvantage miles I earn, which always seem like play money to me. I have no perspective because the same flight can earn significantly more or fewer "points/miles" based on the cost of the ticket.

So as a current Platinum, I earn 8 points/miles/credits per dollar. To requalify, I'll need 75,000 Loyalty Points, which means I'll need to spend $9,375 before taxes and fees, which probably means close to $11,000 in actual tickets. If I charge, say, $10,000/year to my AA credit card, that drops my required spend to $8,125 before taxes. Still highly, highly unlikely I'll get there, especially with significantly reduced work travel. This is really disappointing. Knowing it's almost impossible for me to requalify just makes me kind of want to give up. If I just buy Y+ tickets on whatever airline is most convenient, I'll get a lot of the same benefits I do now as a Platinum.

I'm a lifetime Gold from many past years of business travel + credit card spending (in the days when credit card "miles" counte toward total program miles.
It's this sort of complexity and continuing devaluation that has reinforced the wisdom of my decision years ago to go with a cash back credit card and forget trying to game and earn "miles" on an ever devaluing system. And I don't preferentially fly AA anymore.

I like it. Looks quite straightforward.

No more worry about calculating miles, segments and elite dollars. Now its just a simplified single metric of points that can be earned from flying or via credit card or partner spend.

Also seems logical to focus on total loyalty engagement across AA products, beyond just flying to earn elite status.

janders wrote:

Also seems logical to focus on total loyalty engagement across AA products, beyond just flying to earn elite status.

I guess my impression that AA was an airline and not a credit card hawker was mistaken. Then again, anyone who’s paid thousands of dollars for an F seat but then been solicited to sign up for a credit card at any time since the merger already knows that.

Cubsrule wrote:

janders wrote:

Also seems logical to focus on total loyalty engagement across AA products, beyond just flying to earn elite status.

I guess my impression that AA was an airline and not a credit card hawker was mistaken. Then again, anyone who’s paid thousands of dollars for an F seat but then been solicited to sign up for a credit card at any time since the merger already knows that.

HA! Indeed! Where's the like/love button for this comment?!

Its been well proven, the more engaged you can get customers, the higher becomes their retention and loyalty.

The lure of loyalty programs plays on behavioral science. By allowing people to engage ever more deeply into AAdvantage portfolio and now leverage valuable credit card and partner spend as part of the elite calculus, AA hopes to ultimately build its revenue and cement loyalty.

Me thinks, its pretty clever and likely a win-win for both members and the company.

Well, if status drives loyalty it might work.

I already achieved Gold and will receive Platinum this month despite flying zero miles, but BECAUSE I will be platinum I will probably book our whole family in AA for all trips from now through Feb 2024.

I earned the status with CC purchases remodeling our house, and will probably front load some purchases this month to reach Plat before our June trip.

Agreed. Got a friend that does about $25k/month spend for his business and is doing a large portion of this on his AA card to reach elite levels and make his and family trips more pleasant for everyone.

Previously he might book AA a handful times a year but now seems to be fully in on AA as his first choice. All this simply because of the new credit card spend benefit.

ikramerica wrote:

Well, if status drives loyalty it might work.

AA has been on the status drives loyalty bus for a while. I was gifted Platinum a couple of times in the mid-10s based on a small (<5) number of short but expensive domestic segments.

My experience was that it affected modestly my loyalty. I didn’t fly AA where it would mean forgoing a nonstop on another carrier or not using my preferred airport (Chicago and Dallas) but chose them almost without fail where they were one of a set of schedule competitive options.

I will be Plat as soon as my current CC bill posts to AA, which seems to take 2-3 days after the statement date. I hope there are still 4 MCE seats left on our 1st segment. The second segment has plenty left too, but because they are all in exit rows and we have kids, we can’t sit there.