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While
American AAdvantage program
is one of my favorite mileage programs to use for premium cabin’s redemption on
AA’s partner airlines, AA has an award routing rule that when you travel between two regions, you can
or cannot transit through another region known as the “third region.”
The third region when not permitted, AA will charge you for two separate awards instead of one. However, there are some exceptions, and therefore it is important to understand the rule and know what those third region’s exceptions are when booking a mileage ticket with American Airlines.
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American Airlines Award Region Definitions
First of all, it is important to know which country belongs to which region
according to American Airlines’s definition for AAdvantage award travel’s
redemption.
according to American Airlines’s definition for AAdvantage award travel’s
redemption.
Region |
Countries |
| Africa |
Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Melilla, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
| Asia Region 1 | Japan, Korea |
| Asia Region 2 |
Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam |
| Caribbean |
Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts/Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, Trinidad/Tobago, Turks/Caicos Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands |
| Central America | Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua |
| Europe |
Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom |
| Indian Subcontinent |
Bangladesh, India, Kazakhstan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan |
| Middle East |
Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates |
| North America | United States including Alskas and Hawaii, Canada, Mexico |
| South America Region 1 | Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Manaus (Brazil), Peru |
| South America Region 2 |
Argentina, Brazil (excluding Manaus), Chile, Falkland Islands, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela |
| South Pacific |
American Samoa and Samoa, Australia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu |
Third Region Award Routing Rule
American Airlines AAdvantage program has a rule when it comes to
how you can route an award ticket. The rule is basically:
how you can route an award ticket. The rule is basically:
When you are traveling between two regions, you cannot transit
through a third region. If you do that, you will be paying for two separate awards instead of one.
In other words, the route has to be as “direct” as possible; otherwise,
you will be charged for two award tickets as opposed to one award
ticket. For example, you cannot fly from United States to Austria and
route through Asia (third region). Similarly, you cannot fly from United
States to Asia Zone 1 and route through Asia Zone 2.
you will be charged for two award tickets as opposed to one award
ticket. For example, you cannot fly from United States to Austria and
route through Asia (third region). Similarly, you cannot fly from United
States to Asia Zone 1 and route through Asia Zone 2.
American Airlines understand this type of restriction does not always
work in real life routing scenarios, so they also make some exceptions
to the rule by allowing certain routes to include a transit through a
third region or with a particular partner airline. With that being said, it
is useful to look at the following table so that you know which third
region you can transit through when trying to price out an award ticket
with AAdvantage program.
work in real life routing scenarios, so they also make some exceptions
to the rule by allowing certain routes to include a transit through a
third region or with a particular partner airline. With that being said, it
is useful to look at the following table so that you know which third
region you can transit through when trying to price out an award ticket
with AAdvantage program.
Complete List of Allowable Third Region Exceptions
Origin
|
Destination
|
Allowed Third Region Transit |
| Africa | Asia Zone 1 |
Asia Zone 2 Doha (Qatar Airways) Abu Dhabi (Etihad) |
| Africa | Asia Zone 2 | Doha (Qatar Airways) Abu Dhabi (Etihad) |
| Africa | South Pacific | Abu Dhabi (Etihad) |
| Asia Zone 1 | South Pacific | Asia Zone 2 |
| Central America | Indian Sub Continent | Europe |
| Central America |
Middle East |
Europe |
| Central America | Africa | Europe |
| Central America | South Pacific | South America Zone 2 |
| Europe | Africa | Doha (Qatar Airways) Abu Dhabi (Etihad) |
| Europe | Asia Zone 1 |
Asia Zone 2 Doha (Qatar Airways) Abu Dhabi (Etihad) |
| Europe | Asia Zone 2 | Doha (Qatar Airways) Abu Dhabi (Etihad) |
| Europe | South Pacific |
Asia Zone 1 Asia Zone 2 Doha (Qatar Airways) Abu Dhabi (Etihad) |
| Indian Sub Continent | Asia Zone 1 | Asia Zone 2 |
| Indian Sub Continent | South Pacific | Asia Zone 2 |
|
Middle East |
Asia Zone 1 | Asia Zone 2 |
|
Middle East |
South Pacific | Asia Zone 2 |
| North America | Africa | Europe Doha (Qatar Airways) Abu Dhabi (Etihad) |
| North America | Asia Zone 2 | Asia Zone 1 |
| North America | Indian Sub Continent | Europe Hong Kong (Cathay Pacific) Middle East |
| North America | Middle East | Europe |
| South America Zone 1 | Africa | Europe |
| South America Zone 1 | Indian Sub Continent | Europe |
| South America Zone 1 | Middle East | Europe |
| South America Zone 1 | South Pacific | South America Zone 2 |
| South America Zone 2 | Africa | Europe Doha (Qatar Airways) |
| South America Zone 2 | Indian Sub Continent | Europe |
| South America Zone 2 | Middle East | Europe |
American Airlines Stopover Policy
Any stopover that is over 24 hours is not permitted by American Airlines
AAdvantage program without paying for two separate award tickets. This means that, you
cannot transit through a third region and spend time there for more than 24
hours without being charged for two mileage tickets.
AAdvantage program without paying for two separate award tickets. This means that, you
cannot transit through a third region and spend time there for more than 24
hours without being charged for two mileage tickets.
With some creative planning using American Airline’s third region exception above, you may be able to transit in a region and spend
time there under 23 hours layover. Doha and Abu Dhabi are great examples to
spend such a short period of layover time to enjoy each city’s
highlights before reaching your final destination.
time there under 23 hours layover. Doha and Abu Dhabi are great examples to
spend such a short period of layover time to enjoy each city’s
highlights before reaching your final destination.
