American Airlines Changes Frequent Flier Rules

American Airlines will change its loyalty rewards in the second half of next year so that customers earn frequent-flier miles based on the fares they pay rather than the distance they fly.

The move makes it harder to rack up free flights on American by booking cheap tickets to log thousands of miles. It follows similar changes at Delta and United.

The change does not make it more difficult or raise mileage thresholds for earning elite status on American.

American had held off on the switch while integrating the loyalty and reservations platform of US Airways so customers and employees were not overwhelmed by change.

Frequent fliers will earn five award miles for every dollar spent on tickets, with elite members earning higher amounts.

American also said it was lowering the number of miles needed for free flights to destinations in Latin America. Miles needed on some flights to Asia and Europe "will increase due to changes in market pricing and demand," it said in a news release.