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American Airlines has stopped offering loyalty points and miles for basic economy fares.
The change in policy came to light when an update to the terms and conditions was seen on the carrier’s website by regular passengers on Wednesday. No email was sent to members of the carrier’s loyalty plan, AAdvantage, and no press release was issued.
airline It later confirmed the new rule in a statement, saying: “We regularly evaluate our rental products to remain competitive in the market.
“Customers who purchase Basic Economy tickets on and after December 17, 2025, will not earn AAdvantage miles or loyalty points toward AAdvantage status.
“Basic economy customers will continue to receive one free personal item and one free carry-on bag, free snacks, soft drinks and in-flight entertainment.”
If you purchased your Basic Economy ticket on or before December 16, 2025, you will still earn miles and points, even if your flight is in 2026.
U.S. travelers can earn points on every other ticket type – Main Cabin (standard economy fare and typically $30 to $90 more than basic on domestic flights), Main Cabin Extra, Premium Economy, Business Class and First Class.
How much you earn, regardless of cabin type, depends on your AAdvantage status level, with zero-status members earning five loyalty points and five miles per $1, and Executive Platinum members earning 11 points and miles.
Over the past three years, basic economy fares earned two miles and two loyalty points per $1 spent, down from five miles and five points before 2022.
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There is no doubt that this move by American Airlines is an attempt to induce passengers to purchase more expensive tickets, but it may also put them at risk of booking extremely cheap fares with rival carriers. Soul And marginal,
However, delta air lines Loyalty points were stripped from its base fares in 2021, and far from the move hurting the carrier’s market share, it has gone from strength to strength.
Rob Burgess, editor of Frequent Flyer Site headsforpoints.comSaid: “Basic economy is a strange concept. The ‘big three’ US legacy airlines created it so that, in flight searches, they could match low-cost carriers like Frontier and Spirit.
“However, they really don’t want you to book it. It’s been as unappealing as possible – tickets can’t be changed, you don’t get free checked luggage, you don’t get free seat selection and you have to board last, which means your hand luggage can be taken away from you because the overhead bins are full.
“American clearly wants to make basic economy even less attractive. These tickets already earn fewer miles than standard economy tickets, but going to zero is a very drastic step.
“A few years ago US carriers began awarding status based on spend, not number of flights, but apparently AA now recognizes that you have to make the “right” kind of spend if you want your ticket to count toward earning status. Even more worrying is that members have not been informed of this change, except in a message posted on the AA website.