The Great AA Mileage Race to "D-Day" (MM change day) - 12/1/11
Apr 16, 2012, 7:40 pm
#1366
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: varies
Programs: AA Plat; Marriott Plat, HH Diamond, BestW Plat
Posts: 202
Agreed, I think I would do this as well.
I am also hoping for some promo down the line where class-of-service and/or elite status bonus points count towards MM for limited periods.
I am also hoping for some promo down the line where class-of-service and/or elite status bonus points count towards MM for limited periods.
May 3, 2012, 8:33 am
#1367
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 2,905
Well all,
With the AA announcement today that Million Miler status qualification will officially change as of 12/1/11, many of us are wondering how and what we're going to do to get to that next Million Mile threshold. Whether its folks who are racing to get their First MM out of the way and finally get the Lifetime Gold benefits, striding forth to 2MM and Lifetime Platinum, or beyond - all of us who've been involved in this Great Mileage Race now have an actual deadline:
12/1/11
In the interest of full disclosure, I sit at roughly 1.3MM and would've liked nothing better than to make 2MM by sometime next year. Like most of you, I accrue with Citicards, Bankdirect, and Fidelity. I also used the Wells Fargo mortgage option on 3 properties.
Beyond that, I use National Car Rental 365 days/year and send it all to AA (long term business relo). Take the AA mileage option on all HH hotel stays and, of course, transfer SPG and Diners Club whenever possible. I use Energy Plus, DirecTV, AT&T Wireless and Netflix. And as nealy all of you do - I use e-shopping, Flowers, and AAdvantage Dining to its fullest.
So, 2 BIG questions ...
How are you going to make it to your next threshold before the big day? and...
What are you going to change in terms of "lifestyle earning" after 12/1/11 ??
With the AA announcement today that Million Miler status qualification will officially change as of 12/1/11, many of us are wondering how and what we're going to do to get to that next Million Mile threshold. Whether its folks who are racing to get their First MM out of the way and finally get the Lifetime Gold benefits, striding forth to 2MM and Lifetime Platinum, or beyond - all of us who've been involved in this Great Mileage Race now have an actual deadline:
12/1/11
In the interest of full disclosure, I sit at roughly 1.3MM and would've liked nothing better than to make 2MM by sometime next year. Like most of you, I accrue with Citicards, Bankdirect, and Fidelity. I also used the Wells Fargo mortgage option on 3 properties.
Beyond that, I use National Car Rental 365 days/year and send it all to AA (long term business relo). Take the AA mileage option on all HH hotel stays and, of course, transfer SPG and Diners Club whenever possible. I use Energy Plus, DirecTV, AT&T Wireless and Netflix. And as nealy all of you do - I use e-shopping, Flowers, and AAdvantage Dining to its fullest.
So, 2 BIG questions ...
How are you going to make it to your next threshold before the big day? and...
What are you going to change in terms of "lifestyle earning" after 12/1/11 ??
Did everyone stick to their declarations or did some waiver?
As for me, I closed my Bankdirect and Fidelity accounts completely. Of course, the writing was on the wall for one of them anyway.
As for Citibank, I've kept my 6 Citicards open, and even added the Citi Executive Card which I use as primary card for all purchases (although, if they cease to count all earned base miles toward MM status as of 12/1/12, then I will close that card). For the Citibanking, I kept one primary money market account open, since that entails me CitiGold status. I will likely not use the Wells Fargo mortgage option again, as there are better incentives on property financing without the AA MM counting.While I still move all National Car Rental miles into AA, I no longer take the AA option on HH stays, as it seems the HH points earned (double double) are more valuable then generic (not MM) AA. I have effectively ceased engaging in AA partnership options like DirecTV, AT&T Wireless, Energy Plus, Netflix, etc. I find that they're are better cashback/incentive options for partners like these out there.
Further, a big change has been to abandon AA e-shopping (run by Cartera) altogether. I now fully engage in the Amex shopping mall, where I find the Membership Rewards First earnings potential to be muc more valuable (and reliable) than Cartera, especially since they don't earn MM miles anymore. I also now have been liberated to "trade" (in the CC)without regard for having the preference of having AA miles transferred into my own AA account.
I would be remiss to not acknowledge that all our lifestyles might be very dramatically impacted with the AA Chapter 11 filing, and the subsequent US merger rumors - but, alas, those are topics for other threads.
As we're discussing how much the MM changeover has impacted out approach to AA mileage earning and partner usage, I can attest that my choices have, indeed, been greatly impacted by this change. How 'bout you?
May 3, 2012, 9:36 am
#1368
Join Date: Nov 2009
Programs: AA PLT, 60K "old miles"
Posts: 188
Well, here we are, 6 months out after the Big Day. I was recently prompted to update the thread, and see how everyone has progressed in their "lifestyle changes" since the Great Mileage Race has concluded (at least with most partnerships).
As we're discussing how much the MM changeover has impacted out approach to AA mileage earning and partner usage, I can attest that my choices have, indeed, been greatly impacted by this change. How 'bout you?
As we're discussing how much the MM changeover has impacted out approach to AA mileage earning and partner usage, I can attest that my choices have, indeed, been greatly impacted by this change. How 'bout you?
Having said that, I ended the run to LT Platinum w 700k miles. It is only reasonable to draw that down. I never took advantage of the fringe offers, spending another penny per kWh to get a couple of thousand miles doesn't make sense. It is also reasonable to consider and sample other airlines, go to cards that give you miles you can use anywhere ( picked up a nice deal on CapitalOne ), bulk up on miles in other airlines programs, and delay conversion of miles to AA ( Starwood ).
The MM related behavior is the result of the mileage glut. The bankruptcy behavior will be played out.
May 3, 2012, 2:08 pm
#1369
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: varies
Programs: AA Plat; Marriott Plat, HH Diamond, BestW Plat
Posts: 202
I think the bankruptcy has had a greater impact on my behavior than the end of the MM race. I am an AA fan and have been for a long time. The sullen attitude of some FA's is a minor issue for me and I think management in the form of the Aadvantage program does a pretty good job of taking care of me. I don't realistically think there is a better alternative for me.
Having said that, I ended the run to LT Platinum w 700k miles. It is only reasonable to draw that down. I never took advantage of the fringe offers, spending another penny per kWh to get a couple of thousand miles doesn't make sense. It is also reasonable to consider and sample other airlines, go to cards that give you miles you can use anywhere ( picked up a nice deal on CapitalOne ), bulk up on miles in other airlines programs, and delay conversion of miles to AA ( Starwood ).
The MM related behavior is the result of the mileage glut. The bankruptcy behavior will be played out.
Having said that, I ended the run to LT Platinum w 700k miles. It is only reasonable to draw that down. I never took advantage of the fringe offers, spending another penny per kWh to get a couple of thousand miles doesn't make sense. It is also reasonable to consider and sample other airlines, go to cards that give you miles you can use anywhere ( picked up a nice deal on CapitalOne ), bulk up on miles in other airlines programs, and delay conversion of miles to AA ( Starwood ).
The MM related behavior is the result of the mileage glut. The bankruptcy behavior will be played out.
May 3, 2012, 6:51 pm
#1370
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: AA Million Miler Gold, BA, UA
Posts: 59
After many years, as of January I no longer have any AA Citi cards in my wallet. I am mostly using my Amex Platinum these days and occasionally my Capital One Visa. Like many of you, I would consider a Citi Executive if they reopen the window for MM credit in the future.
May 3, 2012, 9:09 pm
#1371
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Texas
Programs: AA EXP, UA Premier Plat, Alaska MVP Gold, HHonors Diamond, SPG Platinum, Hyatt Platinum
Posts: 2,053
Now that only BIS miles count (and not even the 500 minimum,) I've split my travel between AA and Delta. AA has lost revenue from me this year.
May 4, 2012, 7:54 am
#1372
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: west of DFW airport
Programs: AA LT Gold 1.9 MM flying my way to LT PLAT
Posts: 11,074
I also switched my HH points to all Hilton and no AA.
I have reduced my use of Citi AA credit cards and have switched to a real cash back card for nearly all purchases.
I'm still flying AA and have had recent flights with very fine and positive FA's on board.
The gap between my PTD AA miles and my status miles is now 35,000 and the climb to LP may be several years in the making.
I am using up my AA miles in a reasonable manner as I don't want to keep a huge stash as I have done in the past.
I have reduced my use of Citi AA credit cards and have switched to a real cash back card for nearly all purchases.
I'm still flying AA and have had recent flights with very fine and positive FA's on board.
The gap between my PTD AA miles and my status miles is now 35,000 and the climb to LP may be several years in the making.
I am using up my AA miles in a reasonable manner as I don't want to keep a huge stash as I have done in the past.
May 4, 2012, 9:06 am
#1373
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Suburban Chicago
Programs: AA LTP; SPG Gold
Posts: 359
Here's an idea for AA since they seem to monitor this forum:
Why not let people redeem miles in their account for the sole purpose of increasing their MM balance? For instance, if I have 1,500,000 oustanding miles in my account with a lifetime MM balance of 1,800,000; let me redeem 200,000 miles to get to the 2 MM mile threshold. This would get rid of a liability on AA's books and throw a bone to those of us who got caught in the middle of a push toward the next threshold. Many would think this is a complete waste of miles, but I bet there is a group of loyal AA customers that would take advantage of this offer.
ExitRowAisle
A Dissatisfied 2nd Class Starwood Platinum Member
Why not let people redeem miles in their account for the sole purpose of increasing their MM balance? For instance, if I have 1,500,000 oustanding miles in my account with a lifetime MM balance of 1,800,000; let me redeem 200,000 miles to get to the 2 MM mile threshold. This would get rid of a liability on AA's books and throw a bone to those of us who got caught in the middle of a push toward the next threshold. Many would think this is a complete waste of miles, but I bet there is a group of loyal AA customers that would take advantage of this offer.
ExitRowAisle
A Dissatisfied 2nd Class Starwood Platinum Member
May 4, 2012, 11:08 am
#1374
Join Date: May 2003
Programs: AA (1MM), Marriott (LT Gold)
Posts: 1,766
This option was available pre-December 1st, sort of. I looked into transferring miles out and then back to get MM credit. The best I could figure was about 4-to-1; meaning 100,000 AA netted about 25,000 MM via the roundtrip. So 1 for 1 would be very generous on their part considering the mileage bonus that comes with platinum. Would you be willing to do it if it were 3-to-1 in order to top off your account?
The exchange rate has to appeal to the audience to which it is directed. I'm talking about people who have anywhere from 1.5MM to 1.85MM LT miles who have no reasonable expectation of ever flying the number of miles it takes to get to 2MM. If those customers were savvy enough to generate that large of a LT balance, they are not going to hand over the majority of their unredeemed mileage to get to LTP, especially when AA is changing its rules at an ever increasing rate and has an uncertain future.
I'm not even sure I would necessarily top up completely at a 1:1 rate, but I'd at least consider it. With AA controlling when you can use your miles and at what rate, I don't see a tremendous amount of downside to such an offer (1:1) from its perspective.
ExitRowAisle
A Dissatisfied 2nd Class Starwood Platinum Member