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
Earning AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points
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:
- Book directly with American and eligible partner airlines.
- Book travel anywhere as an AAdvantage Business member or as a contracted corporate traveler.
- Book through preferred travel agencies.
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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.
American raises checked bag fees
Beginning on Feb. 20, 2024, American is raising its checked bag fees.
The new fees for domestic flights are:
- $35 for the first checked bag purchased online
- $40 for the first checked bag purchased at the airport
- $45 for the second checked bag purchased online or at the airport
Short-haul international flights, including Canada and Mexico routes, will see a different fee structure:
- $35 for the first checked bag purchased online or at the airport
- $45 for the second checked bag purchased online or at the airport
With this move, American now holds the title of the most expensive checked bag fees of all the major U.S. network airlines.
A few weeks ago, Alaska raised the first checked bag fee from $30 to $35, and now American is one-upping its Oneworld partner. It remains to be seen if other U.S. airlines match these increased fees.
The new fee structure is effective immediately for tickets purchased as of Tuesday. Tickets that were already issued before Feb. 20 will maintain the previous fee structure before Tuesday’s announcement.
The good news is that American will maintain all of the existing bag fee waivers that it does today.
Those with AAdvantage or Oneworld elite status, or those flying in a premium cabin, will continue to receive their allotment of complimentary checked bags, as will those who hold one of American’s cobranded credit cards.
With this move, American is making it more attractive to pick up one of the carrier’s credit cards to avoid the higher first checked bag fee. We’ll see if this actually translates to more sign-ups, though.
Note that the aforementioned bag fees exclusively apply to standard-size checked bags. Bags that exceed the standard dimensions (62 linear inches) and weight restrictions (50 pounds) will be on the hook for additional fees, as you can see below.
Related: American Airlines baggage fees and how to avoid paying them
American’s new overweight and oversize bag fees
Along with the increased bag fees, the airline is changing how it prices overweight and oversized bags.
Previously, any bag heavier than 50 pounds but lighter than 70 pounds would cost an additional $100 to $200. (The same is true for bags that were bigger than 62 linear inches.)
Now, effective for travel on or after April 17, 2024, that fee will be broken down into two bands, as you can see in the table below.
| Checked item | Current fee | Travel on/after April 17 |
|---|---|---|
| Bag +50–70 lbs. | $100–$200 | +50–53 lbs. / $30 |
| Bag +50–70 lbs. | $100–$200 | +53–70 lbs. / $100–$200 |
| Bag +70–100 lbs. | $200–$450 | $200–$450 |
| Bag +62 linear inches | +62–126 inches $150–$200 | +62–65 inches / $30 |
| Bag +62 linear inches | +62–126 inches $150–$200 | +65–115 inches / $150–$200 |
| Items that are both oversize and overweight +50–70 lbs. | $250–$400 | $30–$200 (one single fee instead of two) |
| Items that are both oversize and overweight +70–100 lbs. | $350–$650 | $200–$450 (one single fee instead of two) |
As part of the move, American is reducing the oversize limit from 126 linear inches to 115 linear inches — meaning that the biggest bags will no longer be accepted on American flights.
Javelins, pole vaults and hang gliders will also no longer be accepted starting on April 17.
More AAdvantage-only benefits
At the beginning of the year, American shared its big 2024 loyalty update, which included news that some benefits would soon be restricted to AAdvantage members.
Now, the airline is ready to make good on that promise with the following news.
- Same-day standby: Beginning on March 1, any AAdvantage members can stand by for an earlier domestic flight free of charge.
- Extended Trip Credit: Beginning March 11, AAdvantage members will have six more months to use Trip Credits when canceling online. Non-AAdvantage members will only receive six months to use Trip Credits.
- Cancel basic economy tickets: American already rolled out the ability to cancel basic economy tickets for a partial Trip Credit (less a $99 cancellation fee). This benefit is exclusive to AAdvantage members.
- Transfer AAdvantage miles: American says that transfer costs for moving miles between AAdvantage accounts is now 66% cheaper than it was before.
- Upgrade with partners: American teased this big update in January. The airline declined to provide any additional details, but it said that you’ll be able to redeem miles for upgrades with “select partners” later this year.
- Redeem miles for Wi-Fi: Unlike some of its biggest competitors, American has done nothing to make its Wi-Fi offering more attractive. Flight passes still start at around $19 for domestic flights. That said, the airline will introduce the ability to redeem AAdvantage miles for Wi-Fi later this year at an undisclosed rate.
Several other AAdvantage-only perks and benefits were announced in January, such as free 24-hour holds and the ability to purchase lounge passes.
Though American says these benefits are now an exclusive perk of being an AAdvantage member, the airline used to offer all of these perks to every traveler, regardless of AAdvantage membership.
As such, American seems to be focused on growing its member base with these new benefits, and it seems that the airline is going full steam ahead with adding new perks and restricting access to other benefits for AAdvantage members.
Bottom line
American is making some major changes to how you do business with the airline.
The carrier is limiting the ability to earn miles and Loyalty Points depending on how you book your flights, and it’s raising bag fees to unprecedented levels in the U.S. airline industry.
Furthermore, the carrier is adding more perks and limiting certain benefits to AAdvantage members, as it continues to double down on its mission to boost loyalty program sign-ups and engagement.
The carrier has long said that loyalty program members transact more with the airline, and with Tuesday’s announcement, American has sweetened the deal to become an AAdvantage member and book directly with the carrier.
Whether this translates into more AAdvantage sign-ups and direct bookings is anyone’s guess, but that sure seems to be the airline’s focus right now.
After all, loyalty members tend to be more engaged with the airline and more likely to sign up for the cobranded credit card — ultimately boosting the airline’s bottom line.
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