20,000 Miles for American, British Air Flights

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Flying across the Pond between now and the end of June?

A new promotion from American and British Airways could make your trip a lucrative one, mileage-wise.

But mind the asterisk.

Offer Details

Through June 30, AAdvantage members will earn 20,000 bonus miles for every round-trip transatlantic flight booked in full-fare coach, business, or first class, on American, British Airways, or Iberia.

There’s a parallel offer in effect from British Airways, for members of its Executive Club program.

Since the fare type is critical to earning the bonus miles, here are the codes for the qualifying fares: F, A, J, R, D, I, Y, B, or H on American; F, A, J, R, C, D, I, W, E, T, Y, B, or H on British Airways; J, C, D, R, I, or Y on Iberia.

Registration is required.

The bonus is loosely tied to the Miles Millionaire Contest. After registering and completing a qualifying round-trip, you’ll receive an email with instructions on entering the contest. The prizes: 1 million miles for each of two winning AAdvantage members, and 1 million miles for each of two winning Executive Club members.

While there’s no requirement that you participate in the contest, and your odds of winning are miniscule, there’s no reason not to. And 1 million frequent flyer miles is hardly a trifle.

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Deal or No Deal

Since a round-trip to London from New York would normally net just under 7,000 miles, the 20,000 miles amounts to earning close to triple miles as a bonus.

To put it in a different light, with the bonus, any qualifying round-trip to Europe will net enough miles for a free domestic coach flight.

Worth a look, certainly.

What will make this a no-go for many travelers, however, is the premium fares requirement.

A quick search on AA.com showed qualifying B fares (Economy Flexible) priced two to three times higher than non-qualifying O fares (Economy Super Saver). So cost-conscious coach travelers would pay a significant premium to earn the bonus.

On the other hand, for flyers already planning to travel in full coach, business, or first, the bonus is effectively free and well worth signing up for.

Reader Reality Check

This promotion is clearly targeted at travelers purchasing the most expensive tickets. Are you a member of this select group?

If you generally travel on discounted coach fares—as most flyers do—would you consider paying more for a ticket that qualified for the bonus miles?

This article originally appeared on FrequentFlier.com.