American Airlines Adds Features to Its New Award Booking Tool, With Disappointing Results
In late January, American Airlines teased a "new desktop award booking tool" that the airline said would "give customers easier access, at-a-glance views of the lowest mileage days, availability." The next day, AA launched this new award search engine as a way to search and book its premium economy awards.
Many points and miles award searchers were underwhelmed by the new tool. Sure, you could see a week's worth of award prices on the new tool, but you could still see up to a month's worth of pricing using the existing award searching tool. There was no way to filter the results and there was no way of seeing a bigger calendar view. Both of those features were listed as "coming soon."
We were optimistic that "soon" would mean in a few weeks. However, the new booking tool has remained the same for almost half a year.
Now, "soon" has finally arrived — at least for one of these features. Starting today, when you use the new AA award booking tool, you'll now have the option of seeing a calendar of award availability.
This slight improvement brings the new tool closer to the functionality of the classic calendar search tool. However, there are some critical differences.
First, the classic calendar lets you filter the results to nonstop flights only. As AA has doubled down on its obnoxious "married segment logic" award restrictions, this nonstop filter can turn a wide-open seeming calendar...
... into one that's much less exciting:
Without this nonstop filtering feature, the new award search calendar can make search results look much better than they actually are.
Also, the new award calendar only shows economy award prices without giving travelers any way of checking business or first class prices in a calendar view. On the classic tool, you can easily toggle the calendar between the different classes of service and even MileSAAer vs AAnytime awards.
The filter feature is still listed "coming soon." Hopefully when it does, it will let you filter out results that require an overnight layover in order to get the lowest listed calendar price.
So, even with this new calendar feature, the new booking tool remains far inferior to AA's legacy award booking tool. But, you can't just ignore the new tool completely. Remember that American Airlines has confirmed that different award results can be returned for the two different award searching systems.
Sure enough, when you're able to take a look at calendar results for the two different systems for the exact same search, you can see clearly that the prices don't match.
Hint: Look at August 2 (71k vs 55k), August 10 (37.5k vs. 22.5k), August 11 (39.5k vs 36k), August 15 (38.5k vs. 37.5k), August 16 (30.5k vs. 27k), August 17 (27k vs. 22.5k), August 19 (35k vs. 34.5k), August 20 (25k vs. 24.5k), August 25 (20k vs. 22.5k), August 27 (20k vs. 22.5k) and August 28 (32k vs. 31k).
A close inspection of those pricing mismatches shows that the classic award searching tool is generally — but not always — better. There are some dates in this example where AA forgets to discount the off-peak dates to 20k on the classic tool, but this off-peak price correctly shows on the new tool.
Still, I'd recommend travelers ignore AA's new award booking tool for most searches until additional functionality goes live. If you want to be sure you're getting the best rates, you can always double-check the new tool right before you book.
TPG featured card
at American Express's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 5X | New! Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotel stays booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App. |
| 3X | Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked through AmexTravel.com, the Amex Travel App, or purchased directly from airlines. |
| 2X | Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App and cruises booked and paid through AmexTravel.com. |
| 1X | Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases. |
Pros
- Valuable dining and food-related credits
- Flexible rewards with airline and hotel transfer partners
- Multiple travel and purchase protections
- No foreign transaction fees
- Access to Amex Offers for additional savings (enrollment required)
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- New! Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotel stays booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked through AmexTravel.com, the Amex Travel App, or purchased directly from airlines.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App and cruises booked and paid through AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- Pay It® lets you tap in the American Express® App to quickly pay for small purchase amounts throughout the month and still earn rewards the way you usually do. Plan It® gives you the option to split up big purchases into equal monthly payments with a fixed fee. You’ll know upfront exactly how much you’ll pay.
- Updated! $120 Dining Credit: Earn up to a total of $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Gold Card at Grubhub (including Seamless), Buffalo Wild Wings, Five Guys, The Cheesecake Factory, and Wonder. This can be an annual savings of up to $120. Enrollment required.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year at over 10,000 qualifying U.S. Resy restaurants after you pay for eligible purchases with the American Express® Gold Card. That’s up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: Earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin’ locations. Enrollment required.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Enjoy up to $120 in Uber Cash annually with your Gold Card. Just add your Card to your Uber account and you'll get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an Amex Card for your transaction.
- New! As an American Express® Gold Card Member, you can enjoy complimentary Hertz Five Star® Status. Enjoy benefits like skipping the counter at select locations, adding an additional driver at no additional cost*, and vehicle upgrades**. Benefit enrollment and Hertz Gold+ registration are required. *Additional drivers must meet standard rental qualifications and must be a spouse or domestic partner to qualify as complimentary. Other additional drivers subject to fees. **Benefits are subject to availability and vary by location. Additional Hertz program Terms and Conditions including age restrictions apply.
- Take advantage of a $100 credit towards eligible charges* at over 1,300 upscale hotels worldwide when you book The Hotel Collection through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App **. *Eligible charges vary by property. **The Hotel Collection requires a two-night minimum stay.
- Book your travel through the Amex Travel App with added peace of mind – backed by American Express® service and support. Only for American Express® Card Members.
- Whenever you need us, we're here. Our Member Services team will ensure you are taken care of. From lost Card replacement to statement questions, we are available to help 24/7.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.