mmthomas44

Did not get priority boarding in June for flights booked with Avios. Did before.
Did not get free bag check by showing card. Was told flights had to be paid with card.

sent

Not sure if this has been mentioned here.

My husband booked a Citi Reduced Mileage award for JFK-YUL in May and traveled in June. These are the awards that are 17,500 miles for roundtrip travel between North American cities that vary by quarter. I saw he received a "CITI 10% AWARD RDMPTION BONUS" of 1750 miles for this. That reduces the Reduced Mileage award even further. ^ The only downside to this is that these awards can't be booked online so you have to pay the $25 telephone booking fee.

aznaphrodite

This is still my conclusion and so far no one has said they experienced otherwise, no matter what AA "says".

1. You must pay for the ticket with the card in order to get priority boarding and checked bag benefits.

2. If you paid for your ticket with the card but the tickets are later reissued, you will not receive benefits. I know changing flights will cause you to lose your benefits. Not sure about changing seats at the gate though.

no1cub17

But does it actually say that in any of the fine print? I bought a ticket with miles in May, before I had the card, so technically I should still get a free bag, yes? The language in the card agreement states "For benefit to apply, at the time of booking, Citi® / AAdvantage® account must have been open at least 7 days and reservation must include the primary cardmember's American Airlines AAdvantage® number. This benefit is valid for travel booked and ticketed on or after April 2, 2012."

I fly this Thursday so I'm curious what happens.

aznaphrodite

As I said, AA may say one thing but do another. I'm pretty sure you will not get the benefits unless you used your card to pay for the award fees on your ticket but since you didn't have the card yet, you won't get them. If you plan to fight them on it, you may want to allow extra time at the airport.

index411

Actually, 2 more data points from my side. And I don't have any status on AA, yet:

1. Went on a business trip (coach) and payed with my business Amex. When I checked in at the counter, the agent didn't charge me for my bag and my ticket said PRIORITY ACCESS. On the way back, I used the kiosk and also got 1st bag free and priority access. Ticket was "Restricted Coach" (don't remember what class)
2. Booked 2 domestic tickets on AA earlier this year with BA miles. Called AA last week to change my BA number on the reservation to AA, and the agent was questioning why I did that at first. But as soon as she pulled up my account she said "ahh, because you get the free bag and priority access". this was the AA 800 number I called. The tickets are "T" Class tickets (Award Coach)

So seems like the benefits are tied to my AA account, regardless of how I pay/book for the tickets.

ma91pmh

You do NOT need to pay for the ticket with the card. Read the terms & conditions.

That said, AA is not doing a good job of implementing. I posted my recent experience in another thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/19074183-post12.html

aznaphrodite

LOL. Your post only proved my point. Allow extra time at the airport to fight it because you will not automatically get the benefits. You mentioned the agent waived the checked bag charges but did u get priorty access as well?

ma91pmh

Yes they got priority access. Seems the gate agent "fixed" it

no1cub17

This is great - when I applied for the card, I didn't realize that the benefits may apply to a reservation I already had; I just assumed they'd apply to future reservations only. I'm glad to hear it's worked for others. Will definitely try to print out the T&Cs before I head to the airport just in case I need them.

aznaphrodite

Good news! Looks like AA is starting to get their act together.

DH just checked into a flight that was purchased by his work and he's got Priority Access printed on it! He doesn't have any Elite status so this is a good sign that his card benefits have finally been attached to his AAdvantage account. He's checking a bag tomorrow so we'll see if it turns out to be free as well.

danielonn

I just applied for this card as well and am looking forward to getting the free checked bag and Priority Access. I am flying in September on AA to LA so it will be nice to check this out. My ticket was booked a few weeks ago not using the American Credit Card as I had not aplied then.

What I read online is the account needs to be open for 7 days and the agent at Citi told me that it has to be open for 7 days to activate the benefits. Fair enough.

Being able to access Priority Access Security will speed up the process.

When my anniversary date nears I will Call Citi Retention to see what offers they can give. One time I called up a Credit Card with an annual fee and they knocked off $25 of my fee + a $50 statement credit so it was good that I asked.

Also how do I get the Admirals Club passes mentioned?

Thanks

aznaphrodite

To follow up from my last post, DH just boarded his plane. He got free checked bag so it does look like the benefits are attached to his AAdvantage account! Good news! It wasn't like that in May when he flew before.

danielonn

Thanks for the update. Yes what happens is AA links the card to your AAdvantage Number so it triggers the benefits entitled to the cardholder. Does the boarding pass say"Priority Access"? If so this is a great feature to skip the long lines at Domestic and International terminals.

After the first year it seems like $95 is a small price to pay to get that precious bin space especially during the holidays. The free checked bag is great.

With regards to the AA Admirals Club Passes how does one get two free passes at signup? The Citi Agent noted my account to offer me any special signup bonuses such as miles etc.

Thanks

index411

Yes, mine say Priority Access. I'm on my 4th leg on AA since the new benefits kicked in and they have all had Priority Access on them. And I don't have any status on AA.