How American Airlines Fare Classes Work

Booking a flight used to be simple. Travelers had the option of booking a seat in either economy or first class. However, more recently, airlines like American Airlines have focused on "product segmentation" — adding in additional fare classes and cabins in an effort to maximize revenue.

Now, travelers have seemingly endless fare options when trying to book a flight. Should you book basic economy or "Main Cabin" — American Airlines' new term for a standard economy ticket? And what the heck is Main Plus? Let's dig into the American Airlines class codes, fare classes and more so you can make sense of it all.

American Airlines uses the following booking classes for revenue (non-award) fares:

• Basic economy: B.

• Main Cabin: O, Q, N, S, G, V, M, L, K, H, Y.

• Premium economy: P, W.

• Business class: I, R, D, C, J.

• First class: A, F.

You'll notice that there aren't separate booking fare classes for Main Cabin Extra, Main Plus, Main Select or Flagship Business Plus as these are just add-on packages on top of the standard fare in that cabin.

» Learn more: Business class vs. first class on American Airlines

At current count, American Airlines offers at least 11 different fare classes:

1. Flagship First.

2. Flagship Business.

3. Flagship Business Plus.

4. First class (domestic).

5. Business class (short-haul international).

6. Premium economy.

7. Main Select.

8. Main Plus.

9. Main Cabin Extra.

10. Main Cabin.

11. Basic economy.

Not every flight is going to have every one of these classes. For example, a domestic U.S. flight will typically offer first class, Main Cabin Extra and Main Cabin seating — with basic economy, Main Plus and maybe even Main Select fares sold on that flight.

Meanwhile, an international flight on American Airlines' flagship Boeing 777-300ER will offer Flagship first class, Flagship business class, premium economy, Main Cabin Extra and Main Cabin seating — typically with basic economy, Main Plus, and sometimes Main Select fares sold in the Main Cabin and the option to buy Flagship Business Plus in business class.

» Learn more: American Airlines' basic economy vs. Main Cabin

Almost every American Airlines flight offers Main Cabin Extra, Main Cabin and basic economy fares. There are also two fare options — Main Plus and Main Select — that give you access to Main Cabin Extra seats and a few other perks.

So, let's break down the differences between these American Airlines economy fare classes:

Compared to other airlines — looking at you, United Airlines — American Airlines' basic economy isn't as punitive. Basic economy passengers still get a full-size carry-on bag, are able to purchase seats from the time of booking and AAdvantage elites are still eligible for upgrades to first class.

However, American Airlines passengers earn 60% fewer miles when booking a basic economy seat compared to a Main Cabin fare. Plus, you won't be able to change your booking.

Purchasing a Main Cabin fare gets you a higher mileage earning rate, free changes (though a fare difference may apply), free seat selection and a slightly earlier boarding group. However, your seat and in-flight experience will be the same — unless you purchase a Main Cabin Extra seat.

» Learn more: American Airlines boarding groups and how you can upgrade your group

Main Cabin Extra technically isn't a different fare class. Instead, you score a couple of extra perks by purchasing a "Main Cabin Extra" extra-legroom seat — or selecting it for free if you have AAdvantage elite status. In addition to extra legroom, perks include an earlier boarding group and complimentary beer, wine and spirits. However, you still generally get the same seat type and service as Main Cabin.

Main Plus is essentially a fare class package that adds a free checked bag and Main Cabin Extra on top of a standard Main Cabin ticket.

Likewise, Main Select is a different type of fare package that makes your fare fully refundable, bumps you up to Group 4 priority boarding and lets you make confirmed flight changes the day of departure. However, you don't get a free checked bag with this option.

» Learn more: American Airlines boarding groups and how you can upgrade

If you're opting to earn AAdvantage miles on an American Airlines flight, your booking class generally doesn't matter. If you booked basic economy, you'll earn a base of 2 miles per eligible dollar spent. Otherwise, you'll earn a base of 5 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent. And AAdvantage elites earn a bonus on top of those base earning rates.

However, your booking class matters if you booked a special fare (e.g. as part of a package), plan to apply a mileage upgrade or plan to credit your flight to another mileage program. In these cases, your American Airlines class codes will determine how many miles you earn or how much your upgrade will cost.

For instance, let's take a flight from New York-John F. Kennedy to Los Angeles. Booking a $108 one-way basic economy fare will earn a base AAdvantage member 174 miles (2x the base fare of $87). If you book the flight as part of a package, it may code as a special fare and earn 248 miles (10% of the 2,475-mile distance). Or, you can credit this basic economy flight to British Airways to earn 619 Avios (25% of the 2,475-mile distance).

However, if you select the $153 Main Cabin fare instead, you'll earn 645 AAdvantage miles (619 if booked as a special fare) or 619 Avios. Plus, you gain the ability to upgrade this fare to business class for 15,000 miles plus $75 — if there's upgrade availability.

If you book at the last-minute or a flight is almost sold out, you'll likely book into a higher American Airlines fare class. AAdvantage mileage earnings would still be calculated based on the cost, but you'll earn additional miles when crediting to another mileage program.

» Learn more: How to know how many miles you’ll earn from a flight

When you’re shopping for a ticket on American, the fare classes are listed under "Details" under each departure time.

Click the "Details" button and a screen will pop up with class code info, broken out by ticket type.

For example, in the screenshot above, the flight from Chicago to Dallas has the following fare classes: B in basic economy, N in main cabin and I in first class.

You can stock up on miles for booking American flights by applying for one of the following cards and meeting the requirements for the welcome offer.

If you're a loyalist, applying for an American Airlines credit card can be a smart money move. But if you value flexibility, consider other card options that allow you to transfer points to AAdvantage or book American flights without "chaining" you to a single brand.

• AAdvantage is a partner of Marriott Bonvoy. You can transfer points to American from the hotel brand at a 3:1 ratio.

• Because of a special partnership between Alaska Airlines and American, members in either program can use their miles to book flights with either brand.

Unfortunately, AAdvantage is not a transfer partner of any of the major bank / transferable points programs (Chase, American Express, Capital One or Citi).

American Airlines offers a large variety of fare classes and booking codes.

While the alphabet soup of booking fare codes has been a part of airlines for years, new American Airlines fare classes like Main Plus, Main Select and Flagship Business Plus add new complications when travelers are booking a flight.

However, knowing the differences between the fare classes and picking the right one can help you get the features you value most — whether that's an extra legroom seat or higher mileage earnings.

(Top photo courtesy of American Airlines)

The information related to Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer or provider of this product or service.