American Airlines has done away with its static awards chart for points redemption.
Going forward, all AAdvantage redemptions for American and American Eagle flights will be priced dynamically, following the approach that has been used for several years by United and Delta.
Nevertheless, American has not actually done away with its awards chart. Instead, the AA.com website now features a chart with redemption prices listed as “starting at.” For example, main cabin frequent flyer tickets for one-way domestic bookings begin at 7,500 points. One-way business class tickets to Europe start at 75,000 points.
In an email, American spokeswoman Rachel Warner said that the carrier’s new approach to redemption pricing is a simplification from its previous bifurcated system that had been in effect since 2019. Under that system, American offered static redemption prices per its award chart but also offered dynamically priced offers called Web Specials.
“Over the last few years, these Web Specials were equal to or less expensive than static awards up to 85% of the time,” Warner said.
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While the specials were popular, American’s redemption chart didn’t offer a guide to book those specials. The new award chart will provide AAdvantage members with a starting point price for award redemption, Warner said.
The carrier’s awards map, though not new, offers further clarity on routes and dates in which redemption prices are low. Flyers can use the map to plug in their origin, the region where they’d like to travel, their desired travel dates and their desired cabin class. Then, the platform will display the redemption cost for various destinations.
At least for now, American continues to use static pricing for AAdvantage redemptions on partner airlines. For example, main cabin fares in the continental U.S. on a partner carrier start at 12,500 points one-way.
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