American Airline Miles earned on discount flight websites?

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Submitted by Review Editor on Thursday, 9 July 20093 Comments

Do you earn AAdvantage (American Airline Advantage) airline miles if you book an American Airline flight through priceline or hotwire or any other discount website?

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flash_flotsam said:

Mileage earned through the AAdvantage program is wholly dependent upon the type of fare purchased, and not necessarily where it was purchased. Typically, however, the tickets purchased through bidding at Priceline or Hotwire come from ineligible fare buckets that do not earn miles.

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- 9 July 2009 at 19:06

Gerald J said:

The above answer is right on, tickets purchased through the so called "discount websites" are often not eligible for frequent flyer miles. These types of websites are good for checking fares and schedules, but most of the time you can buy the ticket from the airline’s website for the same price or cheaper and almost always be eligible for frequent flyer miles. American’s website offers a low price guarantee, and is a lot easier to deal with if you need to make a change or have a problem than with a 3rd party website.

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- 9 July 2009 at 19:06

KangoTraveler said:

The previous respondent’s aren’t wrong, but I’ll add a bit of information to make those responses useful in a practical manner:

First, discount sites often beat the airlines’ own fare promotions, despite their "low fare guarantee."

Second, some of those discounted fares are in fact eligible for mileage points, others are not. Because mileage eligibility is not typically apparent on sites like Pricline, etc., I recommend the following strategy:

First, check fares with American’s own site, AND do a price-comparison with a good fare aggregator, such as Kayak (both links are below). Then do your price-shopping on the discount sites that are not covered by the aggregator. Assuming you find a lower price than what American offers directly, have a phone in hand before you click "purchase" — if you call American directly, they’ll be able to tell you if the pertinent fare base is eligible for mileage points or not.

In this way, you can make an informed desicion on the mileage/cost ratio, which sounds like what you’re driving at.

Good luck, and happy travels!

Kango Traveler

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- 9 July 2009 at 19:06