Originally Posted by
wendyg
So here's my question: when the programs merge if you have, say, 20,000 miles on AA and 30,000 on US within the same calendar year will they combine those to grant gold status? Or will you get status based solely on one of them?
wg
I agree with Kudzu that nobody knows yet, but my recollection of the America West (HP) / US merger (with Parker as CEO of HP taking over as CEO of US, as he will with AA) was that the combined mileage did count toward the new elite status.
I was HP elite at the time and didn't have any US miles to combine, so my recollection could be wrong. It would be conservative to assume the worst, but I think Parker's inclination is to incentivize the loyalty program and would not expect that to change. You may recall that his early years as an industry exec were at AA, which was the originator of airline loyalty programs.