American Airlines Fare Classes [2024 Guide]

American Airlines fare classes, also known as booking codes or fare buckets, are an essential part of American Airline’s pricing strategy. They are alphanumeric codes that AA assigns to specify ticket prices, each representing a different level of service, flexibility, and price. These codes help differentiate among various categories of tickets, such as First Class, Business Class, Premium Economy, Economy, and Basic Economy.

These days, most people are curious about their AA fare class if they purchased a special fare. Special fares are usually third-party tickets, purchased through a tour or vacation package, cruise company, or booking portal like Expedia or Chase Travel.

The Different American Airlines Booking Codes

American Airlines has over 20 different fare class codes, which belong to various cabins and varying restrictions. You’ll earn AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points towards AAdvantage status on most American Airlines flights. You may even earn a bonus, depending on your cabin and booking code.

Base miles are earned based on the flight distance for special fares. Cabin bonuses are awarded on top of base miles, if provided by your booking code.

Fare Class	Cabin	Base Miles	Cabin Bonus	Earns Loyalty Points?
F	First	100%	100%	Yes
A	First	100%	100%	Yes
J	Business	100%	100%	Yes
C	Business	100%	75%	Yes
D	Business	100%	50%	Yes
R	Business	100%		Yes
I	Business	100%		Yes
W	Premium Economy	100%		Yes
P	Premium Economy	100%		Yes
Y	Economy	100%		Yes
H	Economy	100%		Yes
K	Economy	100%		Yes
M	Economy	75%		Yes
L	Economy	75%		Yes
V	Economy	50%		Yes
G	Economy	50%		Yes
S	Economy	50%		Yes
N	Economy	50%		Yes
Q	Economy	25%		Yes
O	Economy	25%		Yes
B	Basic Economy	10%		Yes

American Airlines Upgrade Order

While American Airlines booking codes don’t carry as much weight as Delta’s fare classes when it comes to upgrades, they may come into play if your complimentary upgrade hasn’t cleared 24 hours before your flight.

1. AAdvantage Status
   • Concierge Key (120 hours before departure)
   • Executive Platinum (100 hours before departure)
   • Platinum Pro (72 hours before departure)
   • Platinum (48 hours before departure)
   • Gold (24 hours before departure)
2. Type of upgrade
   • Systemwide upgrades
   • Mileage upgrades
   • Complimentary upgrades on purchased tickets
   • Complimentary upgrades on award tickets
3. 12-month Rolling Loyalty Points
4. Booking code
5. Date and time of request

Closing Thoughts

American Airlines fare classes and booking codes can be overwhelming and confusing. There are over 20 different codes! They can be important to understand if you are looking to earn elite status with American Airlines. Most fare classes earn Loyalty Points, but some come with a Cabin Bonus that can earn significantly more towards your elite qualification. Your fare class also comes into play with upgrade priority, although it is towards the end of the list.