American makes big changes to earning miles, jacks up bag fees

20.02.2024 - 20:20 / thepointsguy.com / Airlines

American Airlines doesn't really want you shopping around.

The Fort Worth-based carrier announced on Tuesday a slew of changes to the booking and travel experience that revolve around getting you to transact directly with the airline.

Many of these updates have been teased in recent months, but things like earning miles and Loyalty Points will soon only be possible when booking through an American-approved channel.

Furthermore, the airline is raising checked bag fees across the board — a no-notice devaluation sure to irk many of the airline's customers.

You'll find all the details below.

Related: American Airlines unveils 10 changes to the AAdvantage program

Starting with tickets issued on May 1, 2024, American will exclusively award AAdvantange miles and Loyalty Points for flights booked through select partners and preferred travel agencies.

American didn't share the full list yet — that's dropping in April — but the carrier did outline the three booking channels that will qualify for earning miles and status credits, including:

Basic economy tickets will earn miles and Loyalty Points exclusively when booked directly with American.

For the average traveler, this move means that any trips booked through non-preferred travel agencies will no longer earn miles or Loyalty Points.

It remains to be seen which agencies will qualify as "preferred," but hopefully this includes some of the biggest names.

This could be especially big news for those who like to redeem transferable credit card points directly through the Amex, Chase or Capital One platforms.

Hopefully, these partners will be on the list because otherwise, booking through those portals may no longer earn miles or status credits.

All told, this is a big move from American, the first of any U.S. airline to limit mileage earnings to certain booking channels.

From the airline's perspective, the move makes sense — it allows the carrier to keep tighter control of the overall experience, and it can lead to additional upsell opportunities, such as upgrades and preferred seats, during the booking process.

It remains to be seen if other airlines match, but this move shouldn't necessarily be surprising to industry insiders.

In recent years, American has been rethinking how it does business with travel agencies, forcing many of them to adopt the latest tech standards if they even want to sell American flights.

"We want to just make sure that customers understand what they're getting when they book with their specific agency... So it's really for the customer so they understand that there is a better way to find products and understand what they're buying," said Scott Chandler, American's senior vice president of revenue management and loyalty, in an