American Airlines has joined the crowd offering premium economy to award travelers on international flights—and unlike Delta and United, they’ll tell you how many points it costs.
American’s new Award Chart show the charges by region and booking schedule, but for an example, a ‘MileSAAver’ award—AA’s standard economy award—is shown as 30,000 miles for a U.S.-to-Europe flight in economy, and 40,000 in Premium Economy.
Delta pulled its award chart, listing cost in points for flights four years ago, angering many SkyMiles members, but it has stuck to its model of varying the price dynamically. United is a bit more transparent, but you can’t plan in advance what a reservation will cost.
Premium Economy-style fares, usually offering a bit more legroom and a few other perks, have become a popular upsell from economy, and for some, a still-comfortable step-down from business. As planes have been reconfigured for the class, airlines have been feeding some of them into award inventory; in the beginning, when there were few seats, they generally did not go to awards.
