Public evidence of possible changes to Million Miler Program?
May 1, 2011, 8:24 am
#646
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA LT Gold; BA Silver; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 3,081
But not much, it appears. You're obviously not going to stop flying AA, otherwise you wouldn't bother with the other 96K miles to get to 1M. And transferring miles from your husband's account doesn't really produce any business for AA, just some small fees, perhaps, for the transfer.
And, judging from the way airlines brag about the big bucks they're raking in from $25 to check a bag, mandatory curbside check-in charges, etc., they need all the sources of non-BIS revenue they can get. No fee is too "small" for them!
It will be interesting to see what "enhancements" are coming, if any, but depending on the implications I could change a lot of my strategies.
May 1, 2011, 8:31 am
#647
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Everywhere
Programs: AA EXP - 3.7MM, Bonv LIFETIME Titan, HH Dmd, Hyatt Glob., Priority Clb Dmd, Ntnl Exec El., Sixt PLT
Posts: 1,680
- Whether or not AA is going to change their lifetime program/benefits, one effect of the ongoing speculations is an accelerated rate of acquiring AA miles from all the sources by at least some of the FTs . From perspective of marketing it is just brilliant - what could be better than word-of-mouth advertisement of a product that is available only for a limited time!
May 1, 2011, 10:08 am
#648
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: DFW, 3.5 MM, AA EXP, LIFETIME PLATINUM, MARRIOTT LIFETIME PLATINUM, STARWOOD AMBASSADOR 223 NIGHTS, AND LIFETIME GOLD, HILTON DIAMOND, NATIONAL EXECUTIVE ELITE
Posts: 5,847
I hit Lifetime Platinum back in 2002, and now am at 3.3M.
I will be really shocked if AA now comes back (9 years later), and tells me that the miles that were not BIS that helped get me to the 2MM all of a sudden do not count.
I just can't believe AA would be so crazy as to do something like that.
There really should be some sort of a grandfather clause or something if they do make significant changes.
I will be really shocked if AA now comes back (9 years later), and tells me that the miles that were not BIS that helped get me to the 2MM all of a sudden do not count.
I just can't believe AA would be so crazy as to do something like that.
There really should be some sort of a grandfather clause or something if they do make significant changes.
May 1, 2011, 10:25 am
#649
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: los angeles
Programs: Hyatt Courtesy card. Delta 2MM Diamond. AA platinum pro
Posts: 1,898
Since we received a letter telling us we were Lifetime Platinum for the duration of the Platinum program it is inconceivable to me that anyones lifetime status would be taken away.
May 1, 2011, 10:26 am
#650
Join Date: Nov 2010
Programs: AA PLT 3MM
Posts: 1,135
I hit Lifetime Platinum back in 2002, and now am at 3.3M.
I will be really shocked if AA now comes back (9 years later), and tells me that the miles that were not BIS that helped get me to the 2MM all of a sudden do not count.
I just can't believe AA would be so crazy as to do something like that.
There really should be some sort of a grandfather clause or something if they do make significant changes.
I will be really shocked if AA now comes back (9 years later), and tells me that the miles that were not BIS that helped get me to the 2MM all of a sudden do not count.
I just can't believe AA would be so crazy as to do something like that.
There really should be some sort of a grandfather clause or something if they do make significant changes.
May 1, 2011, 10:49 am
#651
Join Date: Jan 2010
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 130
May 1, 2011, 10:54 am
#652
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: AUS
Programs: AA Plat 2MM
Posts: 74
I hit Lifetime Platinum back in 2002, and now am at 3.3M.
I will be really shocked if AA now comes back (9 years later), and tells me that the miles that were not BIS that helped get me to the 2MM all of a sudden do not count.
I just can't believe AA would be so crazy as to do something like that.
There really should be some sort of a grandfather clause or something if they do make significant changes.
I will be really shocked if AA now comes back (9 years later), and tells me that the miles that were not BIS that helped get me to the 2MM all of a sudden do not count.
I just can't believe AA would be so crazy as to do something like that.
There really should be some sort of a grandfather clause or something if they do make significant changes.
May 1, 2011, 11:27 am
#653
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,932
Of course, I doubt he has either clout with or crystal ball into AA...
May 1, 2011, 11:50 am
#654
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 701
I had a slightly different take than gleff did on her comments regarding changes. He interpreted her reply as that something is definitely changing. I think she probably meant that but she didn't actually say it. More like a "we are always looking at ways to improve the program" type of comment that means everything and nothing all at once, depending on how much you want to read in to it.
May 1, 2011, 12:33 pm
#655
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, AS MVP, UA Silver, WN A-List, Marriott LT Titanium, HH Diamond
Posts: 52,554
This is an oversimplification. Yes, obviously, anyone who flies lots of times a year cannot be losing out on upgrades more than once to someone who flies only once a year. But they can still lose out that once, especially if lifetime status people tend to do mostly leisure travel booked far in advance, given that AA's current upgrade priority is based on time of booking within each status level. (Of course, AA could "fix" that by changing the algorithm for booking type, but for whatever reason they so far have felt that this simple algorithm is the best one.)
I guess philosophically I've always looked at low and mid tier statuses at airlines and hotels as acquisition and upsell tools...ways to get people engaging with your brand and using it more. Nobody gives away truly good customer service nor truly valuable upgrades (international) until the top-tier. That's where the CRM actvities with your (presumably) most profitable clients are. Keep EXP "clean" and the LT levels for Gold/Plat can still serve a valuable purpose.
Well, there's precedent. Somehow Delta went through this same process around 1997 (from all miles counting, to mostly only BIS counting now including alliance partners). Now, the landscape was different in 1997 (I don't think FT quite existed yet, did it?, and were people churning Delta credit cards then the way they churned Citi cards the past decade?), but Delta did decide that it wanted to do it more like UA (BIS only not including alliance partners) than staying like AA. Of couse, since it was at least the "second last" to change from "all sources" to mostly "BIS only", it wasn't "the only left" with a unique program the way AA has been since.
Btw, that's one thing BIS only proponent(s), like favalarry69, don't take the time to make clear: If you think it should be BIS onlly, should it be Delta-style BIS on all elite-earning metal (ie, simply lifetime EQM), or should it be UA-style BIS on AA metal only? Why does one major competitor think it's better one way and the other think it's better the other way?
(Actually, the same question can be asked of anyone who feels it should be more than BIS only but less than "all miles count".)
Btw, that's one thing BIS only proponent(s), like favalarry69, don't take the time to make clear: If you think it should be BIS onlly, should it be Delta-style BIS on all elite-earning metal (ie, simply lifetime EQM), or should it be UA-style BIS on AA metal only? Why does one major competitor think it's better one way and the other think it's better the other way?
(Actually, the same question can be asked of anyone who feels it should be more than BIS only but less than "all miles count".)
I hope AA doesn't consider itself a follower of Delta.
It seems like AA and UA watch each other closely but DL tends to do things somehow differently. (FWIW, I've always generally liked both the UA and AA programs.)
May 1, 2011, 12:48 pm
#656
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA LT Gold; BA Silver; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 3,081
I guess philosophically I've always looked at low and mid tier statuses at airlines and hotels as acquisition and upsell tools...ways to get people engaging with your brand and using it more. Nobody gives away truly good customer service nor truly valuable upgrades (international) until the top-tier.
May 1, 2011, 12:54 pm
#657
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, AS MVP, UA Silver, WN A-List, Marriott LT Titanium, HH Diamond
Posts: 52,554
Even if they made the aforementioned tweak to attempt to "protect" regular Plats from LT Plats (modifying the upgrade algorithm) as a way to effectively manage that demand I think overall they have a very, very good thing here.
May 1, 2011, 1:28 pm
#658
Join Date: Nov 2010
Programs: AA PLT 3MM
Posts: 1,135
What I meant is that no one seems to seriously believe that existing status will not be grandfathered. I realize that at least one person here would like it to be otherwise however.
May 1, 2011, 1:36 pm
#659
Join Date: Mar 2010
Programs: AA EXP, AA LT Gold, SPG Plat 75
Posts: 889
Question on how to get 500k AA miles by the time the change rolls around
First off, sorry for the lenghty post.
Currently I'm sitting at about 501k lifetime AA miles (mostly from credit cards). My goal obviously was to get to 1mm for lifetime gold. And eventually 2mm for lifetime platinum. Clearly 2mm is way out of the question with recent talk. I really want gold for the less of a hassle aspect of traveling + free checked bags.
Here's my situation:
Now on to the limitations:
By my calculations, transferring the SPG points, at the current exchange rate, will net me 275k AA miles (~371k if they redo the 35% bonus, which I can't count on). In addition I can "share" 100k miles from my father's account into mine for $1120 and buy another 40k for $830. If I put these fees on a credit card, that's another 2k in AA miles.
So that puts me at 501k + 275k + 100k + 40k + 2k = 918k. How can I get another 82k miles asap. Bankdirect is not an option as I don't have much in savings. Edit: If the energy plus bonus hits before the cutoff, I'll only need 75k.
Currently I'm sitting at about 501k lifetime AA miles (mostly from credit cards). My goal obviously was to get to 1mm for lifetime gold. And eventually 2mm for lifetime platinum. Clearly 2mm is way out of the question with recent talk. I really want gold for the less of a hassle aspect of traveling + free checked bags.
Here's my situation:
- I have about 215k SPG points (getting about 4k a month from CC spend, so we can safely assume 220k by the end of May). I was saving these in hopes of another 35% bonus on transfers like AA did last year.
- Also I have family members who are already lifetime gold (and several hundred thousand away from lifetime plat) who have well over 100k miles in their account.
- In addition, I have NOT ever purchased miles from AA so that is an option.
Now on to the limitations:
- I already seem to be maxed out on AA citi credit cards, having 2 personal cards and 2 business cards open right now.
- Also, I've done the netflix bonus, AA dining bonus, energy plus bonus (7500 miles, still pending so hopefully that hits before the changes), aa shopping bonus, and every other easy to obtain bonus I can think of.
By my calculations, transferring the SPG points, at the current exchange rate, will net me 275k AA miles (~371k if they redo the 35% bonus, which I can't count on). In addition I can "share" 100k miles from my father's account into mine for $1120 and buy another 40k for $830. If I put these fees on a credit card, that's another 2k in AA miles.
So that puts me at 501k + 275k + 100k + 40k + 2k = 918k. How can I get another 82k miles asap. Bankdirect is not an option as I don't have much in savings. Edit: If the energy plus bonus hits before the cutoff, I'll only need 75k.
May 1, 2011, 1:46 pm
#660
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: DSM
Programs: AA EXP .72MM
Posts: 188
Only thing they could do is change the labeling and not call it AA GLD or PLT...but these people already got their status.....
It would be an as AA moves forward the rules woould change!
