American Airlines may have rejected a plan to limit how members of its AAdvantage loyalty program can earn miles or points based on their booking channel, but a copy of the email says the airline will continue to pursue a rewards plan for travel agents it designates as “preferred.” It's a plan. The airline sent them to corporate customers and travel agencies, which BTN reviewed.
The memo, signed by Scott Laurence, U.S. SVP of Partnerships and Retail, does not provide specifics about the program, but the agency said it will “receive additional information soon about our preferred agency program and will continue to promote and book agencies.” “You will receive future incentives for compensation,” he noted. “Travel through new distribution capabilities and technologies.”
Enterprise customers were told they would “soon receive additional information about our preferred agency programs and sales and distribution strategies.”
The First Agency program was announced in February and initially planned to launch on May 1, but has since been delayed until July 11. Agencies had to book at least 30% of their U.S. volume through NDC channels by April 21 to qualify as a priority agency. This figure will increase to 50% by October 31, 2025, and 70% by April 30, 2025. It was unclear how to measure this ratio.
The email also repeated comments made by U.S. CEO Robert Isom during Wednesday's investor conference that the company had no plans to make any further changes to the way AAdvantage members earn miles or points. Isom also pointed out that the airline had moved “faster than we should have” in terms of its NDC strategy and that it had “not been executed well.”
The mistake comes a day after American Airlines announced that Chief Commercial Officer Vasu Raja, a key architect of the airline's distribution strategy, will leave the company in June.
Each note cited Isom's comments that the airline is “reexamining our policies” to ensure mutual customers of corporate travelers and agencies “give them the best experience on American and make it easy to do business.”
Additionally, Laurence said American is “adjusting our approach across the board to prioritize travelers to ensure that they are not adversely affected by future policy changes, no matter where they book. The decisions we make are with our mutual customers in mind; The experience of our agencies and corporate partners is second to none.”
American did not provide additional information about its preferred agency program.