Originally Posted by
Airrage
I've been watching my AA account closely since August 1st. While I knew the new system was going to suck, the reality is worse than I imagined. Traveling for work can be a royal PIA. One of the few upsides is the freebies we can earn doing so. For me do I use my hotel points? Not often. Do I use my rental car free days? Rarely. Do I use my FF miles? Constantly! And under AA's new system my FF miles earned have declined about 40% since August 1st. This absolutely sucks.
I have a travel budget. And I have goals. So simply buying more expensive tickets is not an option. I purchase on AA's website. I always try to buy a minimum of 21 days ahead (not always possible). So my travel process isn't going to change. It can't. But my wife and I have now taken a real hit with our future "free" travel.
No point to my post. Just whining. But I am definitely not a happy camper.
I guess I'm in a similar situation...12 consecutive years ExPLat and my loving wife ExPlat for about 9 years. Both flying AA steadily since July of 1996. I'm over 5 million and she's over 3 million although some of that was credit card spend back in the day.
Without being all melodramatic or pouting, and while recognizing that AA
might be making the smart "business" decision, they should consider that they might not be.
Some decisions that appear clever in the short-run prove not to be smart in the long-run. It now appears AA does not have a long-term view to ensure loyalty of long-term customers. We "lifers" have been willing to forgive the many AA shortcomings because they have rewarded us. But now...with their rigorous attention to making every transaction favorable to them, the reasons for me to fly them are growing weak. So, I'm trying to figure out again why I get on an old 767 with cranky FAs who don't want to be there, enduring the predictable "Mechanical" delays?
To be fair, i get upgraded domestically over 50%. But it's not that big a deal to me, I have plenty of other pleasures in life. The loss of SWUs and the radical cutback on redeemable miles (I just received 957 Total Award Miles, including bonus, for flying Santiago Chile to Dallas!) doesn't just create ill-will, it prompts decisions. Decisions about how I spend. And that is the long-term play that I think AA hasn't figured out. Maybe they've got it right. Maybe they haven't. I'm guessing they've overshot their mark and would be smart to give us something back.