Updated 3:30pm PT on 2/8: I just received an update from Brant, here is what he said:

After another lengthy phone call to AA, turns out that the agent I originally talked to yesterday was only half correct. You CAN use GC’s to buy a basic economy fare, which I was told you could not. However, you cannot use residual funds from a canceled ticket purchased with a GC to book another flight in a lower category. The original tickets were in economy and I was trying to use the funds for basic economy. The original agent assumed that this restriction applied to using GC’s to make a basic economy ticket from the start. In other words, bad information.

Sorry for the misinformation everyone  it looks like you can use AA gift cards to buy American Airlines basic economy tickets, but only if the AA funds do not come from a regular American Airlines economy ticket  I hope that makes sense.

Good morning everyone, I just received a Facebook message from my friend, Brant, that I wanted to share with everyone (he said it would be helpful for others to know).  Here is what Brant said:

So, I just got off the phone with American Airlines and after a 30 minute ordeal I discovered something interesting that you might want to write on your blog for those who have been collecting AA gift certificates. I have around $2,700 worth of certificates that I bought using airline credit on AMEX Plat, Chase Sapphire Reserve, etc. Anyway, you cannot purchase a “basic economy” tickets using gift certificates. No way, no how, period even if you have status with AA. Just an interesting but aggravating fact you might want to mention.

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