American Is Limiting How Many Segments You Can Have On An Award

By: Ben Schlappig

Published: August 3, 2017

34 comments

As of today, American has added a new restriction to AAdvantage award tickets. Going forward, you’ll be allowed at most three segments on an AAdvantage award within the US and Canada, and at most four segments on an international AAdvantage award. Those limits are one-way, meaning you’d be allowed twice as many segments on a roundtrip.

I’m told that these changes are being implemented as they’re in line with American’s most direct routing rules, and allow them to “better support their partner airlines.”

In reality American doesn’t really have a strict “most direct routing rule,” but they actually let you exceed the maximum permitted mileage quite a bit. In a way, American’s award rules contradict themselves:

You can exceed the maximum permitted mileage of a city pair by up to 25% (which allows for huge “detours”)
You have to intend to take the most direct routing, which is explained in the rules as follows: “The number of awards assessed should be determined by the customer’s intentions. If the indirect routing is booked at the customer’s request, multiple awards should apply using Pricing Override Options – Force Fare Breakpoint. If the routing is booked based on lack of award availability on direct routes, then an exception may be made, allowing Sabre to price as one award.”

In other words, you can take a really indirect routing as long as you don’t intend to.

Ultimately this new restriction isn’t a huge deal, in the sense that you should always be able to get to your destination in 3-4 segments if award availability is good. However, given American’s lack of saver level award availability on their own flights, this could prove challenging in some cases for those who don’t live in an international gateway city.

For example, say you want to go from Tampa to Langkawi, Malaysia. It’s not unusual to travel from Tampa to Dallas to Los Angeles to Tokyo to Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi. Sure, it could be done in four segments, but I’d hardly call that route circuitous given the state of award availability.

In the grand scheme of negative AAdvantage changes this is fairly minor, though it is something to be aware of.

Will anyone be impacted by American’s new award segment restriction?

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Randy Guest

August 5, 2017, 10:43 am

This is a much bigger issue than you assume. You already suggest that this is actually a big hurdle in this contradictory excerpt: "Ultimately this new restriction isn’t a huge deal, in the sense that you should always be able to get to your destination in 3-4 segments if award availability is good. However, given American’s lack of saver level award availability on their own flights, this could prove challenging in some cases for those who don’t live in an international gateway city." I can't think of a case in the last two or three years where I was able to book an international award in four or fewer segments. I book 8-11 months out, and there is never availability for the most direct domestic connection to or from the international flight. Often, I spend hours hunting for any possible routing with availability, which typically has many extra segments than I want. Given how hard it is to find SAAver availability, this seems a capriciously cruel restriction. Perhaps AA got concerned at how many miles were piling up unused, and figured this would be a way to force people to redeem multiple awards, thus using up stockpiled miles. Presumably they just don't care that this will increase the frustration and anger when people are unable to use their miles in any sane or fair way. Didn't I read that AA has already seen a significant decline in revenue from miles purchased by credit card companies? Presumably people are figuring out that the miles are too hard to use. Doesn't AA care that this makes it so much worse? If AA were to add an "intent" exception, so that the segment limit can be waived when necessary due to no available more direct routing, then it would be OK.

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CF Frost Guest

August 4, 2017, 10:25 am

Getting saver award is becoming increasingly more difficult to the point that this change probably does not matter. AA should be more transparent that Saver Award levels are so rarely available

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John H New Member

August 4, 2017, 9:28 am

I'm burning my last AA miles on a trip to HKG and then leaving AA in my rear view mirror. And, I say this even though I live in DFW! One stupid AA example. Looked up award ticket, DFW-SEA for a 3-day weekend getaway. Simple right? Nope. No direct flights. At all. And, only red eye on the return. Also, had to connect through PDX. OK, no real issue. I also like to go to PDX. Checked award ticket to PDX. Well, those direct flights to PDX I saw on the SEA trip were now gone. Have to connect through SNA, shared AA/AS metal. These games AA is playing are infuriating! Life is too short, and I have other options, even in DFW.

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Martin Guest

August 4, 2017, 9:13 am

Simple solution. Book a cash fare from your regional airport to your closest AA hub. And then use your award to book from that hub. Annoying but not fatal.

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alex Guest

August 4, 2017, 7:03 am

@Lucky, I think this is actually a much bigger deal than you think. This now makes impossible to redeem AA miles for certain city pairs on a single award -- which is a significant break from their promise.

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