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AA Gift Cards - Save 10% @ Costco [only remaining supply left - phasing out]

AA Gift Cards - Save 10% @ Costco [only remaining supply left - phasing out]

 
Old Jul 9, 2012, 10:07 am
  #1336  
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Originally Posted by brp
Our cards all came in envelopes. We've bought about 80 cards overall (50 this past weekend) and all came with envelopes. Not that it matters.

Cheers.
You've got good Costco housekeeping. Our Costco doesn't have them in envelopes, so they have to count the envelopes out separately and you get to insert the cards. I like to keep partially used cards in the envelope with the residual value written on the outside.
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Old Jul 9, 2012, 11:25 am
  #1337  
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Anyone find any left near New York?
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Old Jul 9, 2012, 1:24 pm
  #1338  
 
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LA area

Costcos in burbank and los feliz are now out. Huntington Beach and Irvine Tustin still have a few dozen between them. Person who sold me mine commented on how many large purchases have been made in the last few days and how she has to write out each number before they are picked up. Guess thats a new procedure. Also, computer showed the item as pending deletion. Looks like the end has arrived.

Last edited by FlyingTrojan; Jul 9, 2012 at 1:42 pm
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Old Jul 9, 2012, 2:38 pm
  #1339  
 
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The ending of the program might be a good thing. Sometimes I felt that AA is more expensive than the other airlines because the gift cards cause all the cheap fare buckets to sell out quickly. It will return things to normal.
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Old Jul 9, 2012, 2:48 pm
  #1340  
 
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Originally Posted by Xero
The ending of the program might be a good thing. Sometimes I felt that AA is more expensive than the other airlines because the gift cards cause all the cheap fare buckets to sell out quickly. It will return things to normal.
You vastly overestimate their prevalence.

Also, why would a constant 10% discount change people's buying patterns noticeably? I know I didn't book any extra flights just because of the gift cards.

edit: Oh, and of course, I blame the bankruptcy.
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Old Jul 9, 2012, 2:59 pm
  #1341  
brp
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Originally Posted by Xero
The ending of the program might be a good thing. Sometimes I felt that AA is more expensive than the other airlines because the gift cards cause all the cheap fare buckets to sell out quickly. It will return things to normal.
This makes no sense whatsoever. If you had surmised that they had raised all prices 10% to compensate for the gift cards, it would simply be wrong, but would make sense. What you have stated is both wrong and makes no sense.

Cheers.
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Old Jul 9, 2012, 3:01 pm
  #1342  
 
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Originally Posted by Xero
The ending of the program might be a good thing. Sometimes I felt that AA is more expensive than the other airlines because the gift cards cause all the cheap fare buckets to sell out quickly. It will return things to normal.
I don't get this at all.
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Old Jul 9, 2012, 4:18 pm
  #1343  
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Originally Posted by Xero
The ending of the program might be a good thing. Sometimes I felt that AA is more expensive than the other airlines because the gift cards cause all the cheap fare buckets to sell out quickly. It will return things to normal.
Like the others, I don't understand the argument that the sale of gift cards at Costco at a 10% discount caused the cheap inventory buckets to sell out more quickly than usual.

What is indiputable is that AA has been very successful at raising fares this year, as its first half unit revenue (passenger revenue per available seat mile) has increased nearly 10% over the first six months of 2011. Tickets are much more expensive this year, but I don't think it's because AA has sold gift cards at Costco.

If AA was able to raise its unit revenue by such a substantial percentage despite selling gift cards at a discount of upwards of 20% (assuming that Costco paid about 80% of the face value), then AA's performance in the first half of 2012 has been spectacular.

My WAG is that Costco sold fewer than one million of these gift cards since they were introduced in early 2011. That would mean that gift card revenue to AA was perhaps $240 million, or less than FOUR DAYS worth of revenue.
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Old Jul 9, 2012, 4:32 pm
  #1344  
brp
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Originally Posted by FWAAA

What is indiputable is that AA has been very successful at raising fares this year, as its first half unit revenue (passenger revenue per available seat mile) has increased nearly 10% over the first six months of 2011. Tickets are much more expensive this year, but I don't think it's because AA has sold gift cards at Costco.
I'll argue that AA have not raised prices much, per se. What they have probably done is limit the inventory in the lower fare buckets. While this may seem like a semantic argument, what it does mean is that one can still get fares similar to last year (we're paying about the same this year as last), but it's just harder to find. Overall, revenues will go up, but the fare structure is not all that different.

I'm just surmising that this is what is happening, but I do know that the lowe fares are still there. Just seems not as many of 'em.

Cheers.
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Old Jul 9, 2012, 5:47 pm
  #1345  
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Originally Posted by mathlete
I know I didn't book any extra flights just because of the gift cards.
I certainly did. In fact, the GCs plus the usability of codes (plus TEQM!) pushed me over the edge to make a lunatic run for EXP in January, having not flown a revenue AA flight in probably 10 years.

I bet some of the hundreds of other runners who flew alongside me had similar thoughts.

Of course, it's debatable how much effect we had on AA's overall situation/thinking/planning. Probably not too much.
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Old Jul 9, 2012, 6:48 pm
  #1346  
 
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Costco at Everett, MA had a bunch last week...more than plenty.
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Old Jul 9, 2012, 7:06 pm
  #1347  
 
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Originally Posted by toomanybooks
I certainly did. In fact, the GCs plus the usability of codes (plus TEQM!) pushed me over the edge to make a lunatic run for EXP in January, having not flown a revenue AA flight in probably 10 years.

I bet some of the hundreds of other runners who flew alongside me had similar thoughts.

Of course, it's debatable how much effect we had on AA's overall situation/thinking/planning. Probably not too much.
I was right there with you. But the 10% savings (which I stupidly did not get at the time) wouldn't have been the make/break point for most people on what was already an unbelievable deal.
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Old Jul 9, 2012, 8:31 pm
  #1348  
 
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Gift cards are still available at the clybourn/diversey Costco in Chicago. They have maybe 75 or so left.
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Old Jul 9, 2012, 9:04 pm
  #1349  
 
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Costco in Maui has 140+
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Old Jul 9, 2012, 9:11 pm
  #1350  
 
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Scottsdale has hundreds.....
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