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American Airlines has dropped its $75 close-in booking fee for awards ticketed less than 21 days from the date of travel. At this point, this seems to be a genuinely positive change, without any obvious downside. While United made a similar change back in November 2019, they simultaneously increased the number of miles required for trips booked within a month of departure—effectively canceling out any positive impact.
In American's case, we haven't seen any increases in the miles required for close-to-departure bookings. We're cautiously optimistic that this is a rare case of giving customers more value without taking something away. That said, AA's lack of fanfare about the change could be a sign that a negative development is on the horizon.
Avoiding AA Close In Fees
Prior to this change, it was possible to book American-operated flights without a close-in fee by using points from a partner program like Etihad, British Airways, or Iberia. It's worth noting that each of these programs prices award travel differently than American AAdvantage®, so it's still worth looking at options before you commit to spending American miles.
Still, in cases where American offers better award pricing—like these sweet spots and these Web Special awards—the elimination of the $75 fee is a significant improvement. If you need to stock up on AAdvantage® miles, you can currently get a 75,000-mile sign-up bonus through the Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard®.
- Free checked bags for you and up to 4 companions on domestic itineraries
- Priority boarding to help you win the race for overhead bin space
- A 25% discount on inflight food, beverage, and Wi-Fi purchases
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on cable and satellite providers
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent at gas stations
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on select telecommunications merchants
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on car rentals
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases
- Earn 1X mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases
Our Take
Unless the other shoe drops, we'll take this news as a well-deserved win for American loyalists. Only time will tell whether American will follow United and Delta by charging more miles for trips close to departure. If they do plan to adjust their pricing, they're certainly taking their time. At a minimum, it's great news that the AAdvantage® program hasn't copied United's punitive 2,000–3,500 mile close-to-departure premium.
With American's expanded Web Saver Awards and the ongoing Reduced Mileage Awards for Barclay and Citi co-brand cardholders, there are tons of great booking opportunities—especially if you can be flexible about dates or destinations. Now, you can book those discounted award tickets as last-minute getaways without forking over an extra $75.
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