If you happen to’ve checked out your American Airways account lately, you have doubtless seen two numbers: miles and Loyalty Factors. Though Loyalty Factors and American Airlines AAdvantage miles are associated, they differ tremendously — and since Loyalty Factors reset to zero yearly on March 1, it is essential to know the distinction.
So, this is what it’s essential 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 outstanding 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 more in-depth 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 known as American miles or AAdvantage miles — while 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 too can earn American miles by different avenues, together with utilizing the AAdvantage eShopping portal and making the most of 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reset to zero or expire so long as you’re the major cardmember of an open AAdvantage bank card, you’re below 21 years outdated, otherwise you earn or redeem miles on American or with an AAdvantage accomplice at the least as soon as each 24 months.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 provide you with Loyalty Factors. You too can often earn Loyalty Points by promotions or by holding choose AAdvantage bank cards and assembly particular spending or Loyalty Level thresholds.
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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 further advantages you earn as you attain particular quantities of Loyalty Factors all through your qualification interval.
Annually, you have to requalify for American Airways elite standing and work towards incomes new Loyalty Level Rewards through the airline’s elite qualification interval. As an alternative of the calendar yr qualification interval utilized by most different applications, 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 every year, 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 lively, you are below 21 otherwise you’re the first cardmember on an AAdvantage bank card.
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