American Airlines overhauls its loyalty reward program

American Airlines, the last major carrier to reward travelers based on the miles they travel, said it will follow the lead of the rest of the industry by converting to a program that doles out points based on dollars spent.

Starting next year, American Airlines announced its AAdvantage program will be overhauled to increasingly reward elite members of the program who spend the most on expensive seats and flights.

For example, each dollar spent by a regular AAdvantage member will earn five miles on the program, but “Executive Platinum” members will early 11 miles for every dollar spent.

The changes will mean fewer points will be awarded to travelers who fly primarily on discount fares or sale prices.

American’s biggest competitors, United and Delta airlines, already converted to reward programs that dole out points based on dollars spent. In April, Southwest Airlines made changes so that reward points earned by travelers on that carrier will vary in value based on destination, time, day of travel, demand and other factors.

American Airlines officials would not disclose the exact date that the changes will take effect, saying only that they will begin in the second half of 2016.

Reward points experts say the changes reflect how the country’s major airlines are trying to squeeze more profits out of their reward programs.

“It’s about reducing the cost of awarding miles and giving more of what’s left to high-fare fliers,” said Brian Karimzad, founder of Milecards.com, a website that compares reward programs. “That’s a loss if you always shop the lowest coach fare.”

In addition, American Airlines announced that it is recalculating the number of points it takes to earn a flight, with total points dropping for flights to Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America while flights to Europe and Asia will increase because of high customer demand.

Karimzad said the changes will greatly increase the overall number of reward points needed to travel on international flights or in first class or business class. But, he added, American’s reward rates are slightly lower overall than those of United and Delta airlines.

For more details on the changes, travelers can go to the AAdvantage website.

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