When I returned home last night I found in my mail a an issue of Fast Company magazine, "compliments" of AA.com. This didn't appear to be just another of those endless "free" one month trial subscriptions which clog our mail, but a copy with a special cover which was printed to look like a christmas present wrapped in a bow with a gift tag which read "A Gift from AA.com". Inside the special cover was message to "dear AA.com customer" thanking me for choosing AA.com & American as my travel partner (blah blah blah) and once again thanking me for being a loyal AA.com customer.

As I had never heard of this magazine, needless to say I was extremely skeptical thinking this was just a beefed up verion of the in-flight magazine prettied up as a "free subscription". But it looks like a real enough magazine? (With a real enough cover price of $4.95? and its own web site?) But I couldn't find out who the pubisher was (an AA affiliate?) by flipping through the magazine.

Has anyone else recieved this "free" subscription? I have probably booked about 30 r/t tickets on AA.com so far (a few more if you count the old Reno Air web site) so if this is a marketing gimmick they are preaching to the chior. I have yet to believe that AA.com is really thanking me for using the web site (although by booking online, I have probably saved them $100's in travel agent commissions?)