A few months ago, American Airlines say it will switch to fully dynamic mileage rewards on US-operated flights. Now, it looks like those changes will go into effect soon.
After an internal memo from American Airlines was leaked, View from the Wing reports that these changes will be incorporated in the coming weeks.
While American has not shared an exact date when the changes will go into effect, the airline recently confirmed that MileSAAver and AAnytime Award Leaderboard will be removed. We should then expect all US-run awards to be dynamically priced.
Here’s why you should consider booking your reward flight now.
Lock your fixed price award ticket now
Obviously, dynamic pricing is not new to American Airlines. The carrier has long provided Web Special Award, price fluctuations. You can choose Web Special or AAnytime rewards on most US-operated flights. AAnytime and MileSAAver rewards are fixed-price award tickets based on America’s Award Rankings.
However, what is changing is that the service provider will only offer Web Special awards for the foreseeable future.
According to a leaked internal memo, “American Airlines Static Mileage Awards, commonly known as MileSAAver and AAnytime awards, will be shutting down in phases over the next several weeks. After that, all awards will be discontinued. The mileage bonus will be a Web Special Award, providing a more dynamic pricing model.”
So if you need to book any flights, consider booking any AAnytime or MileSAAver rewards you need before they expire.
However, it is worth noting that the partner award tickets will not yet convert to dynamic pricing. When Americans announced the move to dynamic pricing for the first time late last year, Heather Samp, America’s chief executive officer of AAdvantage, told TPG that the plan was to keep the partner’s ticket on the prize leaderboard for the time being. So the amazing AAdvantage redemptions for Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways business class tickets will last at least for the foreseeable future.
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Related: 6 quick and easy ways to earn Loyalty Points before the end of America’s elite year
You can re-price or cancel later
On the plus side, American Airlines award tickets offer a lot of flexibility.
If you need to cancel your Web Special, MileSAAver or AAnytime rewards, American will re-deposit the miles to your account and refund the taxes and fees to your credit card. So, if the ticket you booked drops in price after the prize leaderboard disappears, you can rebook and credit the difference in mileage to your account.
Related: How to change or cancel an American Airlines flight
Uncertainty for non-AAAdvantage American redemptions
It’s not clear how removing MileSAAver rewards will affect inventory and reward rates when booking US-operated flights through programs like British Airways Executive Club, Alaska Mileage Plan And Etihad guests.
After all, it is not possible to reserve Web Special Offers in partner currency at this time. Previously, the following MileSAAver fare classes were required to book American Airlines rewards in partner currency.
- Economy class: T.
- Business Class: U.
- First place : Z .
Some of the current partner attractions on American Airlines flights include exchange at least 7,500 British Airways Avios for US and Alaska short-haul award tickets and just use 62,500 Etihad Guest miles from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Sydney Airport (SYD) in first class.
Accidental, Etihad Guest recently announced that they will be offering American Airlines redemptions on their website with a new award leaderboard.
When asked about how these changes affect partner awards, an American Airlines spokesperson told TPG it “has no clarity on that right now.” However, we will have more information in the coming weeks and will update this post as we know more.
Related: Americans Are Sending Status Purchase Offers: Here’s Why You Should Probably Skip It
bottom line
Based on a leaked memo, American Airlines plans to remove the award rankings for its own metal-on-air flights booked through the AAdvantage program in the coming weeks. However, this may not make immediate sense for your miles. Over the past few years, most of my AAdvantage rewards for US metals have been Web Specials. In our experience, many other TPG employees have had a similar experience to the airline, with little room for economizers on many of the airline’s top routes.
In addition to this, there is also uncertainty about how this could affect travelers’ ability to book US-operated flights through partner programs.
Regardless, now is a good time to look for prize trips you might want to take in the near future and lock your redemptions before the prize pool disappears. You can always cancel your prize for a full refund if needed.
