If you happen to’ve checked out your American Airways account just lately, you have doubtless seen two numbers: miles and Loyalty Factors. Though Loyalty Factors and American Airlines AAdvantage miles are associated, they differ vastly — and since Loyalty Factors reset to zero yearly on March 1, it is essential to know the distinction.
So, this is what it’s good to know.
American Airways miles vs. Loyalty Factors
Once you open the American Airways cell app or log in to your account on-line, you will see two distinguished numbers: award miles and Loyalty Factors.
Briefly, award miles are what you may redeem for flights, upgrades and seats, whereas Loyalty Factors are the metric by which American Airways awards elite standing and Loyalty Level Rewards. Let’s take a better take a look at every.
Associated: Why American Airlines AAdvantage has become my most valuable rewards currency
What are American miles?
You earn award miles — additionally referred to as American miles or AAdvantage miles — whenever you credit score paid flights on American Airways and choose associate airways (together with Oneworld alliance companions like Alaska Airways and British Airways) to the AAdvantage program. You can too earn American miles by way of different avenues, together with utilizing the AAdvantage eShopping portal and profiting from SimplyMiles shopping offers.
You may redeem American miles for flights, upgrades, seats and extra. Award miles do not reset to zero or expire so long as you’re the main cardmember of an open AAdvantage bank card, you’re underneath 21 years previous, otherwise you earn or redeem miles on American or with an AAdvantage associate no less than as soon as each 24 months.
What are Loyalty Factors?
Loyalty Factors, alternatively, are the metric by which you earn American Airways elite standing and Loyalty Level Rewards. Some, however not all, award miles you earn offer you Loyalty Factors. You can too sometimes earn Loyalty Points by way of promotions or by holding choose AAdvantage bank cards and assembly particular spending or Loyalty Level thresholds.
Reward your inbox with the TPG Day by day publication
Be a part of over 700,000 readers for breaking information, in-depth guides and unique offers from TPG’s specialists
You may’t redeem Loyalty Factors for award flights; they’re solely good for incomes American Airlines elite status and Loyalty Level Rewards. As a reminder, Loyalty Level Rewards are additional advantages you earn as you attain particular quantities of Loyalty Factors all through your qualification interval.
Annually, you will need to requalify for American Airways elite standing and work towards incomes new Loyalty Level Rewards throughout the airline’s elite qualification interval. As an alternative of the calendar 12 months qualification interval utilized by most different packages, American AAdvantage makes use of a March 1 to Feb. 28 (or Feb. 29 in leap years) interval. So, simply as your Marriott elite evening credit reset to zero Jan. 1 annually, Loyalty Factors reset to zero each March 1.
Associated: How I earned 29,000 Loyalty Points and 23,000 AAdvantage miles on a single $800 hotel stay
Backside line
Your Loyalty Factors stability — the metric American Airways makes use of for elite standing qualification and Loyalty Level Rewards — will reset on March 1. However your award miles — those you may redeem to e book flights — will not reset then. You may preserve your American Airways miles so long as your account is energetic, you are underneath 21 otherwise you’re the first cardmember on an AAdvantage bank card.
Associated studying:
Trending Merchandise
