Originally Posted by
RobertHanson
Why? Let me count the ways:
When booking thru an outside agency, which I assume is the case with using AA miles, you usually don't get your status recognized. Hence at Hilton at least, no room upgrade. And while being HH Gold never gets me a Suite upgrade, it always keeps me from getting the lousy room in the basement next to the noisy HVAC. Worse than that is no free breakfast, (not to be confused with the swill you get at a Holiday inn Express) which can often run 25 Euros p/p at the Euro Hiltons we frequent.
Just looked up the Mestre (next to Venice) Garden Inn we stayed at last Summer. A refundable reservation rums 18,600 AA miles per night. For "only" 140K AA miles I can get 8 nights there or a O/W FC Anytime award, that if purchased (as a R/T) costs $6,500 each way. Whereas I can MS the points for 8 nights for just over $400. Trading the miles for the room is just not a bargain, even without considering the Elite benefits you'd miss out on.
Now if I knew for sure the mailer game would continue for 10 more years, I might do it anyway, since we have so many AA miles. But what if my 12/15 mailers are the last we ever get? Then we would be reduced to 60K (maybe 75K) miles every 24 months. And that's the best case scenario, as we were scheduled to get new Hyatt cards when our 24 months expired in Jan 2019, and now it seems it's gone 5/24 and we won't be getting those after all. While it's not likely that Citi will go 'once in a Lifetime', it's not unthinkable. I'd hate to find I'd traded a FC Anytime award for 8 nights in a Garden Inn. Even one as nice as the one in Mestre with a large outdoor swimming pool, a perfectly fine breakfast, and only a 10 minute bus ride to Venice.
And I must admit we are spoiled rotten. When I was much younger I did mileage runs to Europe in Economy in the Winter, when the rates were rock bottom, and the mileage bonuses were enormous. Now if we had to fly Intercontinental in Economy, we just wouldn't go. 10 to 12 hours without a flat bed has become unthinkable. And the new/improved Flagship Lounges are surprisingly wonderful. So despite being AA Millionaires, we are hording those miles since every Anytime FC award ( the only kind you can get these days) is 280K miles R/T. And we plan to go many more times...
I completely share your perspective. Despite being AA multimillionaires across 5 accounts we feel AA poor because this churn game could stop at any point. And while we have enough to book Etihad 1st class apts at the drop of the hat and it not hurt ... it could hurt a few years down the road if the mailer game ceases. For now I will rely on Hilton points and IHG points for the majority of our travels.
Back on topic (and don't call me Shirley)
We applied for 4 of 5 individuals almost a week ago. 1 auto denial (waiting for letter ... code had been used pre 10/15 by this individual ... will see what this letter says). 3 Waiting 7-10 days for contact. I suppose I could call but I usually don't until they call us. So I won't have need of matching for at least another 3-4 weeks. Hopefully the matching system /secure messaging system will be figured out by then.