American Airlines will stop awarding AAdvantage points for bookings through many travel agencies starting May 1. The exception will be agencies that qualify as “preferred” under a new policy.
American has also increased its checked-bag fees, effective immediately for new bookings.
The new rules for AAdvantage accrual eligibility are American’s latest move toward increasing direct bookings and agency bookings enabled by New Distribution Capability (NDC) technology.
By the end of last year, American had removed more than half of its fares from traditional Edifact-enabled GDS channels. One result was that in the fourth quarter, American said 80% of bookings came through direct or NDC channels, up from 69% a year earlier. CEO Robert Isom said last month that American’s ultimate goal is to sell 100% of its fares and ancillary products through direct or NDC channels.
Under the new AAdvantage accrual policy, American will discontinue accruals for basic economy tickets for all travel agency bookings. The only basic economy tickets that will earn loyalty points will be those booked directly with American or an American airline partner.
For the remaining tickets, American will continue to offer AAdvantage point accrual on bookings with preferred partner agencies as well as bookings made