Originally Posted by
VegasGambler
I think this is the reason that they won't (or shouldn't) let you combine them. If 4 solo travelers spending $4100/year each can't get MCE and free checked bags, why should 4 people traveling together, spending $4100 each, all get it?
It's not "4 travelers spending" though, it's 1 head of household spending and choosing where to spend. Just like AA attracts corporate contracts and buyers through various means (i.e. handing out CK), AA can attract those with families and purchasing power for that family. This where all the legacy carriers fall flat -- hence why you see most families using Southwest and LCCs because families get crud from the legacies anyways and at least Southwest doesn't block every aisle seat and half the window seats as 'preferred' for an extra charge. Families can actually sit together without extra fees!
Originally Posted by
VegasGambler
AA makes the same amount of money from 4 solo travelers as they do from 4 people traveling together. The fact that they travel together should not give them benefits above what the solo travelers get
Unless planes fly full, you have empty seats which are lost opportunities to sell tickets. MCE on fuller flights gets half-filled with Group 9 travelers anyhow. I think AA would make MORE money having a system like that I described, while not really hurting the value to the rest of their program or their other lines of income.
The solo traveler
is getting more.
1. I know this seems tangential to some of you, but for me it's a real annoyance-- AA doesn't allow upgrades for a PNR with more than 2 people, so the upgrade benefit is contingent on limiting the PNR to 2 people. If you want/need to collect benefits on all 4 travellers, you are forgoing entirely complementary upgrades on those trips.
2. The Solo traveller is collecting a lot more points -- if we are using my 5 LPs/$ earn rate on the non-statused members (which I think is reasonable), the head of household spending $16K on their family is racking in
104,000 redeemable points (and LPs) if they are exec plat and the others are just members (11 x $4,000 for themselves + 5 x 3 s $4,000 for the other three members). They'd have to find a way to get 96K more LPs to maintain Exec plat, otherwise, they'd fall to Platinum and have 92K LPs and redeemable miles. A solo traveler (exec plat) spending $16K would get 72,000 more miles! --
176,000 LPs and redeemable miles (11 x 16,000), needing to find another 24K LPs to keep exec plat or they'd fall to Plat Pro and get 144K LPs and redeemable miles.
3. That solo traveler likely is going to be getting to those 30 segments spending that much (unless they are just bying J/F, in which case status doesn't really matter to them). If they maintain exec plat, that could be 5 SWUs. Even if head of household cc spends to exec plat, they are getting 0 SWUs. Solo is going international on lie flats (up to 5 times!) while that family is going to Hawaii and Europe in MCE seats.