American Airlines to Limit Loyalty Points to Preferred Agencies and Direct Channels

American Airlines is making another major move that seemingly leaves much of the travel agency and advisor community out in the cold.

American on Tuesday announced that starting on May 1, travelers booking through non-preferred travel agencies will not be able to earn miles and loyalty points. Only those booking with preferred agencies, or booking direct with American or one of its partner airlines, will then be able to do so.

“When you book directly with American, you enjoy the best possible travel experience. It’s simple to manage your trip online, receive travel credit for canceled trips, and more,” American said in its announcement to flyers on Tuesday.

Not all agencies will be able to become a preferred agency with American in 2024—the airline has three main qualification criteria that agencies have to meet in order to join its preferred program:

• Agencies must be on a 2024 incentive agreement with American, which the airline says is issued “by American at American’s sole discretion.”
• Agencies must fulfill all New Distribution Capability (NDC) adoption requirements.
• Agencies must display all their preferred agency requirements.

American said it will publish a list of preferred agencies in April.

The airline also said that basic economy fare tickets will not earn any points unless booked through American or partner airlines. Those who do book through a non-preferred agency can only earn points if they are part of the AAdvantage Business program or have a contracted corporate agreement with American.

The move accomplishes two things for American—it pushes travelers to book direct through American’s website, and it pushes agencies that it does still work with to move away from EDIFACT channels and either adopt NDC or potentially lose business.

That NDC rollout, which started last April, earned an official complaint with the DOT from ASTA, which alleged that the move caused “significant economic and non-economic injury” to consumers, advisors, TMCs, and more.

At the same time on Tuesday, American made an announcement that would make its AAdvantage program even more valuable for travelers.

The carrier raised its bag fees, pushing them up to $35 if booked online in advance, or $40 at the airport. It also pushed the price of a second checked bag up to $45. Travelers can avoid the fee by becoming an AAdvantage member, allowing them to check at least one bag for free on flights if they are part of a loyalty program that now cuts out non-preferred agencies.

American last raised bag fees in September 2018 and told CNBC on Tuesday that the increase in bag fees is because the cost of transporting bags, including fuel, is “significantly higher.” Others, including Alaska and JetBlue, have also recently increased bag fees.