In case you’ve checked out your American Airways account just lately, you have doubtless seen two numbers: miles and Loyalty Factors. Though Loyalty Factors and American Airways AAdvantage miles are associated, they differ enormously — and since Loyalty Factors reset to zero yearly on March 1, it is necessary to know the distinction.
So, this is what you should know.
American Airways miles vs. Loyalty Factors
While you open the American Airways cell app or log in to your account on-line, you may see two outstanding numbers: award miles and Loyalty Factors.
In brief, 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 more in-depth take a look at every.
Associated: Why American Airways AAdvantage has change into my Most worthy rewards forex
What are American miles?
You earn award miles — additionally known as American miles or AAdvantage miles — whenever you credit score paid flights on American Airways and choose accomplice airways (together with Oneworld alliance companions like Alaska Airways and British Airways) to the AAdvantage program. You may also earn American miles by way of different avenues, together with utilizing the AAdvantage eShopping portal and benefiting from SimplyMiles procuring presents.
You’ll be able to 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 below 21 years previous, otherwise you earn or redeem miles on American or with an AAdvantage accomplice not less than as soon as each 24 months.
What are Loyalty Factors?
Loyalty Factors, then again, 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 may also sometimes earn Loyalty Factors by way of promotions or by holding choose AAdvantage bank cards and assembly particular spending or Loyalty Level thresholds.
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You’ll be able to’t redeem Loyalty Factors for award flights; they’re solely good for incomes American Airways elite standing and Loyalty Level Rewards. As a reminder, Loyalty Level Rewards are further 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 in the course of the airline’s elite qualification interval. As an alternative of the calendar yr 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 night time credit reset to zero Jan. 1 annually, Loyalty Factors reset to zero each March 1.
Associated: How I earned 29,000 Loyalty Factors and 23,000 AAdvantage miles on a single $800 resort keep
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 ebook flights — will not reset then. You may hold your American Airways miles so long as your account is energetic, you are below 21 otherwise you’re the first cardmember on an AAdvantage bank card.
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