There was that 3MM a couple weeks ago who said he was met when he deplaned.

My question for that AA 2MM is whether it was because he passed 2MM, or because he Tweeted about it

This probably cost AA what, $200 to put together?

...for someone who's spent hundreds of thousands of dollars with the airline?

Don't underestimate those $3000 EXPs

I can figure out how to do it for $6,000, but what am I missing?

There were some really cheap F fares to Asia not that long ago. I made up the $3000 number, but it wouldn't surprise me.

Heh... yeah, I got to my $6,000 number based on mileage-running that DCA-PEK error fare.

maybe the SFO/LAX-CHI promotion that ran a few years back?
(as well as easily achieved flying BA exEU/OSL fares, including one that hit American soil and got me my 4 AA flights requirement.)

Indeed. Not only was this very well appreciated by the flier, but the ROI of this thing must have been something out of this planet. As some dude that got his MBA in marketing, I can tell safely tell you that this will most likely end up in some textbook one day.

$200 and not only will it drive lots more revenue for AA for this guy, but the amount of people that it touched just on FT alone must be absolutely nuts when it comes to further revenue.

AC's FB marketing has gone down the toilet. In the past, I'd get a reply within a few hours, I am still waiting to an answer to my query (I'm just ordering a replacement luggage tag, nothing crazy). If AC's twitter team got a tweet, i'm not too convinced the left hand would know what the right hand is doing and there's a slim chance AC would have treated that guy the same way. (again IMO).

It's an excellent example of what I call a surprise. I don't care how much money they spend on it. It's showing appreciation and caring about your frequent customers. You can hardly expect that AC would throw your own money back to you. There quickly wouldn't be airplanes flying around anymore.

Unplanned surprises like this also speak to the culture and management of the company. Does Joe Blow employee on the Twitter feed feel empowered to start making phone calls to gate staff when he sees that an FF will be hitting 2MM in a few hours or does he need to clear everything that isn't a documented benefit by three levels of management (by which time Mr. Newly-2MM will be off the plane and at home in bed)?

If you want your customer service to be truly top-notch in undocumented ways, you need to give your front-line staff the tools to actually deliver that, which means having a bit of discretion to do something special.

Genuine question here. Does AA have a culture of empowerment? I didn't think so?

More like millions. If you have millions of miles, you've been spending since the days when tickerts were a lot more expensive. I haven't done the exact math, but I'm sure I'm close to 2 million in exenditures with AC.

Very cool. Now keep in mind that the AA million mile program includes every single mile flown with every single partner ... so as a percentage, the number of AA 2MM's must be the same ballpark as the number of AC MM's.

In other words, good for the OP ... but even more kudo's to AA - because this is not close to the AC 3MM event (where there are just a handful across the company). This is an event (AA 2MM) that must be happening with "boring" regularity across the company, and yet they still made a big deal out of it, and got the publicity that comes with that.

As a long standing Loyalty Member of many programs, espt *A, , I think their Best Before Date has expired on most programs. The rules have become so strict, the benefits so less and the rewards so few that it is time to announce the funeral on most Loyalty Programs.

One needs to spend too much time to figure out all of these new rules. Clearly the system does not want us.

I know AA's shines above others at this moment but it too will likely adjust itself into the new mold.

It was a great game when it lasted but it is pretty much over now. The benefits of flying 100,000 miles are pretty negligible, perhaps only 2 upgrades now, or 3, which is really not much for such loyalty and far less than in previous years.

I am thinking it is better to buy discounted J or P or Z fares rather than play the game anymore. Which is of course exactly what the Airlines want us to do.

I should point out that I have been very successful with up/gs over my career of 20 + yrs. Only once did I not get an up/g on a major *A carrier but I know that is not likely into the future.

100,000miler

I can tell you as a 1MM member and very close to being a 2MM member, I am NEVER met by AC staff at the door or the gate. In the good old days, CP concierges were always there to welcome one.