American airlines is getting rid of its traditional loyalty rewards chart as the carrier moves towards dynamic pricing for mileage redemption, last shift in his lucrative AAdvantage Loyalty Program.
Starting Wednesday evening, the carrier will publish starting levels for the number of frequent flyer miles redeemable for a ticket in certain regions – for example, 7,500 for a one-way ticket in the 48 contiguous US states and Canada . Previously, the chart showed static redemption levels.
In December, American said it would get rid of different redemption categories, MileSAAver and AAnytime rewards, which have set minimum rates. The new level of redemption will be called “Flight Primes” and the table will serve as a reference guide.
“Like cash notes, these will float based on demand,” Chris Isaac, US Loyalty Manager, said in an interview.
American introduced dynamic pricing for award tickets in 2019, which means the number of miles required to redeem for a ticket fluctuates based on supply and demand.
“This product has become the product our members have turned to,” Isaac said. This category required the same or fewer miles than the rewards defined in the “until 85% of the time for the past few years,” American said.
Award tickets on US and other airlines may also vary depending on the time of year.
For example, it costs 126,000 frequent flyer miles for a round-trip ticket in standard economy class on American between New York and Rome between June 1 and June 8, during peak season, but only 89,500 miles from October 1. to October 8, during the season of least demand.
“What I think is good about it is that it aligns the rewards chart to where America is today. Say [travelers] that an award ticket is going to cost them a certain number of miles is no longer accurate,” said Henry Harteveldt, founder of Atmosphere Research Group, a travel industry consultancy.