> And it doesn’t impact how many frequent-flier miles you collect for a flight on an airline that pays out miles by price instead of distance.
Not true exactly, at least on American. I fly them almost exclusively and I just went to check this out. To move up to the next tier of status in their frequent flier program, you need to spend a certain amount of "Elite Qualifying Dollars" (or EQD) every year. The EQD are based only on the fare price, exclusive of taxes and fees.
So, this would allow them to control how many people are moving up to the different status levels, by adjusting the fees vs. fares for each ticket.
Not true exactly, at least on American. I fly them almost exclusively and I just went to check this out. To move up to the next tier of status in their frequent flier program, you need to spend a certain amount of "Elite Qualifying Dollars" (or EQD) every year. The EQD are based only on the fare price, exclusive of taxes and fees.
So, this would allow them to control how many people are moving up to the different status levels, by adjusting the fees vs. fares for each ticket.