Unannounced) First Class booking code changes by American—just a couple of letters—will yield big savings.
A reliable FCF source has been told that in the near future—late this year or early next—American will change its First Class “inventory” booking code, also referred to as “the cabin code” or “the fare basis code” on domestic flights (all 50 U.S. states) that use two-cabin aircraft. The current First Class codes, F, A, and P, will change to Business Class codes J, D, and I. This change is coming about in connection with AA’s launch of a new Premium Economy product.
[aside headline=" How to Get Business Class to Canada, the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico on American for Less Than the Price of Coach (or Just a Bit More)" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]See FCF's September report in which we outline how to get Business Class To/From Canada For Less Than Coach. Take Los Angeles-Vancouver, which on AA costs 60,000 miles round-trip in Business Class, but on BA costs only 30,000 miles (the cost of an AA economy award). Book the flight on AA with BA Avios points and you’re getting a free upgrade.[/aside]
What are Booking Codes?
They are the alpha-numeric codes used by airlines to identify an available seat (an “availability bucket” in airline parlance) in a given cabin. The codes indicate the class of service booked and will influence the number of miles it costs with partners.
The big opportunity here lies in the fact that AA is only changing the cabin name, not the cabin. As Business Class costs less than First, it means that the mileage cost, using partner miles, will decrease. You still get First Class, but at a discount. On British Airways that means 40% fewer miles on short-haul domestic flights; and to Hawaii using Japan Airline miles, it means 25% fewer miles.
Domestic First Class Upgrades for Just 5,000 Miles
New York-Miami flights in First on American now cost 50,000 AAdvantage miles round-trip OR 60,000 BA miles. Once the codes change, the costs will remain the same on AA, but on BA it will decrease to 30,000 miles (only 5,000 more than an AA economy award, practically a free upgrade).
Here are 21 routes that will offer American domestic First Class for 40% fewer miles when using BA miles.
Atlanta to/from: Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Philadelphia.
Chicago to/from: Albuquerque, New Orleans, Orlando, Philadelphia.
Dallas to/from: Albuquerque, Charlotte, Chicago, Miami, Phoenix.
Denver to/from: Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles
New York to/from: Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Miami, Orlando.
Even Better on British Airways
Through BA’s Avios & Money option, you can get a better deal if you pay more cash and use fewer miles. We can’t give a quote at this point, but the current deal usually allows you to buy miles for just 1.4¢ each. Translation: It’s a great way to conserve miles, or to get in the game with fewer miles. Look at Avios & Money before buying Amex Rewards points at 2.5¢ (500,000-mile annual limit).
No BA Miles? No Problem.
Anyone can get in the free-upgrade game overnight, even if you don’t have British Airways Avios points. Just transfer credit-card points from Amex Rewards, Chase (transfer time to BA is often instantly), and Starwood (transfer time generally takes two to six days), or buy the points from BA (35,000 annual limit). Cost starts at 2.8¢ each.
Up to 25% off to Hawaii
Los Angeles-Honolulu on American now costs 80,000 AAdvantage miles round-trip and 90,000 Japan Airlines miles. The code change should bring the Japan Airlines cost down to 60,000 miles, 20,000 (25%) fewer miles than AA’s cost. Get the miles by transferring credit card points from Starwood (transfer time generally takes five to seven days).
See chart below for sample routes that should decrease 19% to 25%—very soon.
Up to 25% Off to Hawaii with American Flights
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