American Airlines is making it harder to rack up frequent-flier miles

The airline will soon stop letting customers earn frequent-flier miles when they book trips on third-party travel sites

At the moment, American Airlines AAL passengers can earn miles when they buy a ticket via third-party websites such as Expedia EXPE or their credit card’s travel-booking portal. Currently, there are some restrictions on how many miles travelers earn on basic economy-class tickets purchased on third-party sites.

Key takeaways

• After May 1, if travelers want to earn miles for American’s AAdvantage program on their purchases of any flight they have to make the purchase directly from American Airlines, or through an agency or third-party travel site recognized by the airline;
• While American says that most AAdvantage Miles members won’t be affected by the new rules, some travel experts say the restrictions will penalize everyday travelers, especially those who spend a long time searching for cheaper tickets;
• Airlines want to push travelers to buy more premium tickets and have come up with restrictions on basic-economy seats, such as checked-bag fees, and boosted the rewards for their loyalty programs.

Get the full story at MarketWatch