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American Airlines has launched a couple of Asia-related promotions which allow AAdvantage members to earn bonus miles on flights between the US/Canada and select cities in Asia as well as on round trip flights within Japan. These promotions are in conjunction with JAL so flights on both airlines will earn bonus miles.
Promotion 1 – Earn Up To 30,000 Bonus Miles On Flights to Select Cities In Asia
What You Can Earn
For every eligible round-trip you take during the offer period, you’ll earn bonus miles based on the fare class purchased (a maximum of 2 round trips will count):
Headline T&Cs
- Register between 31 August & 10 December 2016 with code ASF16 (Registration Page)
- Buy a qualifying First, Business or select Economy Class fare ticket
- Travel between 15 September & 10 December 2016 to any destination in Asia
- Promotion valid on American Airlines or Japan Airlines marketed and/or operated nonstop flights between the U.S. or Canada and Asia.
- Promotion not valid on American Airlines’ Dallas – Hong Kong route
- Promotion not valid on and JAL operated flights between Hawaii and Japan
- Offer applies only to AAdvantage members who register and purchase tickets on or after 31 August 2016.
- Maximum earnings 30,000 bonus AAdvantage Miles.
- Bonus miles can only be earned on a maximum of two round trips.
Link to promotion page and full T&Cs
Ticket Classes Included In Promotion
American Airlines marketed flights:
- First and Business Class fares booked in F, A, P, J, R, D or I
- Economy fares booked in Y, H, K, M, L, W, V, G, S or O
Japan Airlines marketed flights:
- First and Business Class fares booked in F, A, J, C, D, X or I
- Premium and Full-fare Economy Class fares booked in W, E, Y or, B
- Economy Class fares booked in H, K, M, L, V or S
Note: There is an inconsistency in the terms & conditions when it comes to what JAL fare classes are eligible for the promotion. The main T&Cs list the fare codes as set out above but a footnote adds fare classes G, O & R to the list as well (click image to enlarge in a new window):
I’ve contacted AA to see what they have to say and will update this post when I have a reply.
Promotion 2 – Earn Bonus Miles On Intra-Japan Flights
What You Can Earn
For every eligible round-trip you take during the offer period, you’ll earn bonus miles based on the fare class purchased (a maximum of 2 round trips will count):
Headline T&Cs
- Register between 31 August & 10 December 2016 with code FLY16 (Registration Page)
- Buy a qualifying First, Business or select Economy Class fare ticket on Japan Airlines operated flights within Japan
- Travel between 15 September & 10 December 2016
- Promotion valid on American Airlines or Japan Airlines marketed and Japan Airlines operated nonstop flights within Japan.
- Offer applies only to AAdvantage members who register and purchase tickets on or after 31 August 2016.
- Maximum earnings 2,000 bonus AAdvantage Miles.
- Bonus miles can only be earned on a maximum of two round trips.
Link to promotion page and full T&Cs
Ticket Classes Included In Promotion
American Airlines marketed flights:
- First and Business Class fares booked in F, A, P, J, R, D or I
- Economy Class fares booked in Y, H, K, M, L, W, V, G, S or O
Japan Airlines marketed flights:
- First and Business Class fares booked in F, E, J, or I
- Economy Class fares booked in Y or A
Tactics
In both cases American has inserted the rule that only flights booked after 31 August will qualify for bonus miles but, historically, this rule hasn’t always been applied (like with the European bonus miles promotion earlier this year).
Clearly the first promotion is the more interesting one and, thanks to the way the rules of this promotion are set out, regular flyers should be very selective when deciding on when to register.
Per the promotion rules you have to register to be eligible for bonus miles and only the first two round trips will count….and these two, when considered in conjunction, are important.
If you plan on making more than two round trips during the promotion period it’s worth holding off registration until just before the two trips that, combined, will earn you the most miles.
Here are two examples to illustrate what I mean:
Scenario 1
Three trips in the promotional period:
- 1st Trip – Discount Economy Class
- 2nd Trip – Business Class
- 3rd Trip – Business Class
This traveler should hold of registration until after the first Economy Class trip is complete to ensure that the two Business Class trips are the ones that count towards the promotion.
Scenario 2
Four trips in the promotional period:
- 1st Trip – Business Class
- 2nd Trip – Business Class
- 3rd Trip – Full Fare Economy Class
- 4th Trip – First Class
This traveler should hold off registration until after the second Business Class trip is complete as the Full Fare Economy Class trip combined with the First Class trip will earn the most bonus points when combined (18,000).
Bottom Line
The first promotion could be a nice way to earn some bonus AAdvantage miles but frequent fliers making more than two round trips in the promotion period need to be aware of the tactics I’ve mentioned above.
It’s disappointing that the Dallas – Hong Kong route has been excluded from the promotion as I’m sure that’s a route that a lot of AA loyalists will be looking to book. Still, if you have some flexibility with your bookings and if you’re planing to book a premium cabin, it may be worth connecting via LAX before traveling on to Hong Kong to make sure you earn the bonus miles.
I’d be interested to find out what peoples’ experiences are when it comes to seeing if American enforces the “must book after 31 August 2016” rule. Let me know in the comments when you find out if existing booking are or are not counting.
