Originally Posted by
TxDucky
Kirby is talking a big game before his employee costs shoot up. I don’t think anything is nearly as clear as any of the participants want it to be, and since AA’s credit card game seems stronger than UA and DL, it’ll be interesting to see how this plays out. As long as AAdvantage maintains a clear position as a better program, AA is far from cooked…it they devalue like SkyMilies, well, the fall will hurt.
Just because AA miles are more valuable doesn't mean their CC game is stronger. DL generated $7.4 Billion from Amex in 2024 vs. $6.1 Billion for AA from Citi. For 3Q 2025, DL reported 12% year-over-year growth from Amex spend while AA reported 9% from Citi. Most people are not as focused on things like CPM value compared to FTers. That said, I'm not convinced AA is in any real danger of going under.