Originally Posted by
jan_believes
I am very confused about the 10K miles. When does that kick in for a cardholder? Both my DH and I on separate accounts were grandfathered into Aviator program from the old US MC.
Back in the old USAirways days, Barclays was pushing essentially the same card with no end of minor distinctions usually only visible to the most discerning legal specialist ... or anyone who follows this board.
On some of the cards, depending on when you applied (and which link), you would get the 10,000 mile bonus the first year, but not thereafter.
When Barclays converted to AA from US, they seem to have been compelled to honor the every year in perpetuity 10,000 miles for those that had it under the old regime. Thus there are Red Aviator cards with and without this perpetual blessing, just like there were Barclays USAirways MCs with and without back in the day.
My understanding is that if one upgrades a Red Aviator to a Silver Aviator, and that Red Aviator was a perpetual 10K beast, one forfeits this benefit. I have no first-hand experience here, but it is something that keeps us from upgrading my wife's Red Aviator card (see just above).
Originally Posted by
jan_believes
The discussion here swings between the 10K miles benefit and the retention/AF waiver attempts. They are mutually exclusive, right?
Yes and no. There is a logic and some evidence that suggests that Barclays feels stuck with the Red Aviators that payout 10K miles annually, and are thus more reticent about waiving the AFs for this one. Perhaps this is just a talking point for their CSRs, perhaps they have less remorse about losing these Red Aviator cardholders.