weinskkb

I was close to the Mountain View store today and got some certs. The lady at the cage stated these were the hottest selling item. She said someone bought 20 just before me and they had over 200 in stock. She also said it only took two days to get more the last time she re-ordered. She said they were a trial that few stores carried the items now. She thinks all stores will carry them eventually because they are a big hit. Her feeling was American didn't want to over due it to start out. Just her opinion.

jackal

Costco in Hawthorne has a whole display rack of AA placards (picture to be uploaded later ), so I'd guess they have a ton in stock.

Great location. Easy access off the 405 (the southbound offramp literally dumps you in the parking lot), and for those on an LAX layover, it's mere minutes from the airport via the Green Line (take it westbound from Aviation Station to Redondo Beach, which is the end of the line, and the store is in easy walking distance—less than 10 minutes). There's an In-N-Out and an El Tarasco in neighboring Lawndale a three-minute drive away, too.

FWAAA

The number of pieces of cardboard on display on the sales floor has no relation to the number of gift cards actually in stock. I'd recommend calling before making a trip, either to Hawthorne or Westlake Village.

jackal

*No* relation? I can understand 10 pieces of cardboard standing in for 100 cards, but surely they wouldn't put out 100 cardboard pieces if they only have 10.

And there were at least 100 cardboard pieces out. It wasn't just a portion of a rack of other cards; it was its own half-endcap with 25 cardboard pieces on each level, stacked five-plus levels high.



(There are more below it—all the way to ground level.)

Ritz

This is a big "use your own judgement". In some clubs there is an actual correlation, and in some clubs there is no rhyme or reason.

sent

Please oh please bring them to the NY/NJ area soon!

deeseeel

Probably not no relation. But not a strong relation in my experience.

When I bought, there was clearly more cardboard cards than gift cards. My estimate it was at least 3x more (assuming they told me the truth about the number of gift cards in stock).

I'd expect it to be off by 10%, 20% or even 50%. But >300%?

FlyMeToTheLooneyBin

I don't think they monitor the ratio of actual cards and cardboard cards. Their inventory probably fluctuates a lot as they get more gift cards from AA and it's too much of a hassle to go to the floor and remove cardboard cards.

Scubatooth

You can not do delivery or signature confirmation on first class mail unless its a package, if you do it on a letter it will get kicked back to you with the postage cancelled. You can do anything with priority (flat rate or not)mail letter or package.

FightOnFlyer

The fine print on the cardboard pieces says "take this package to the register and exchange for the number of gift cards you intend to purchase."

So while there may be a slight correlation between the display and the number of gift cards, with the instructions that are given, it would be difficult to monitor the actual amount remaining using the display as a guide. I know that when I purchased, I only took one piece of cardboard and then told the cashier how many I actually wanted.

FWAAA

Costco most certainly would, and don't call me Shirley.

The Westlake Village store had a similar display with at least 100 pieces of cardboard on the morning of May 20 when I bought a couple dozen gift cards. I took just one piece of cardboard to the register and told the cashier how many I wanted. At the cage, I was told that I had purchased all but one of the inventory. As I left the store, there were at least 99 cardboard pieces remaining on display. And the store's inventory of gift cards was exactly one, not 100. The store had nowhere near 100 in stock when the store opened (yet had at least 100 pieces of cardboard on display).

Ok, there might be some very tiny, slight correleation - after all, the only stores with displays of cardboard are the very few stores in the country that are currently selling the gift cards, so if you see the cardboard display, it's possible that there are gift cards in stock.

But it would be inaccurate to conclude (and misleading to tell others) that a huge pile of cardboard cut-outs on display equates to a similar number of gift cards in inventory. There simply is no real-time correlation between the two.

I stand by my post: if you want to avoid disappointment, call ahead unless that particular Costco is on your way home (or you don't mind driving far out of your way and coming home empty-handed).

barelyelite

Pentagon City had over 50 left as of this afternoon. I bought a bunch

beckoa

There is no correlation with cardboard to inventory on hand. That being said, I was with jackal yesterday, and it was a very nice looking display and tempting. But like the fluidity of booking with AS as an MVPG.

mktozd

I need at least 25 of these cards and was wondering if you have seen them in Chicago?

jss

I have checked 2 of the Chicago area stores and they seem not to be available in this area at all.