American Airlines says that starting with tickets issued on May 1, customers will have to buy tickets directly from the airline or its partner carriers, or from preferred online travel agencies, if they want to earn points in its AAdvantage loyalty program. The airline said it will list the preferred travel agencies in late April. Corporate travellers won’t be affected.

About 60% of American’s ticket sales are already made directly through the airline, said Scott Chandler, VP of revenue management.

The changes are part of a long shift by airlines away from using travel agents – and paying them commissions – and bringing ticket sales in-house.

“The old way of booking a ticket relied on agents having a ton of experience and understanding product attributes,” Chandler said in an interview. “The old technology doesn’t let us explain things very well, and it is a little more confusing for customers when we introduce new products.”

Chandler likened it to the way that Amazon.com explains features that it sells on the site.

Baggage fees

At the same time, American is raising the cost of checking bags. The airline said Tuesday that checking a bag on a domestic flight will rise from $30 now to $35 online and $40 if purchased at the airport. The fee for a second checked bag will rise from $40 to $45 both online and at the airport.

The airline is also raising bag fees by $5 for short international flights including those to Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean – now $35 for the first bag and $45 for the second.

The airline will generally allow customers to check at least one bag free if they hold elite status in American’s loyalty program, buy a premium-class ticket or use an American-branded credit card.

American will give a break to customers whose bags are slightly overweight or oversized. Instead of being hit with the full extra fee – ranging from $100 to $650 – graduated fees will start at $30 for bags that are no more than 1.36 kg. or three linear inches over the limits.

And it is cutting the cost of transferring points between frequent-flyer accounts.