VVIP Level
 

Does anyone know if there is a VVIP, invitation-only level at AA? (I can't find anything about one on these boards)

Yes there is a VVIP level but AA swore us all not to tell you about it!

Just kidding........never heard of it!

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I don't think so. Within OW, BA, QF and ,iirc, CX do have them but I don;t think that AA does

Dave

AA does have a VVIP level, but it's by invitation only; "requests" are submitted by your AA corporate sales rep, and then goes through an internal vote/verification process of sorts.

AA has their own special process, very very selective. The president of the company I worked out was treated to it and I thought being EXP was special..... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

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AA member since 1981

Actually, I talk to a ORD TA about this and yes, there is a VIP level.

I asked her what she thought was better to have, explt or VIP. She said that without a doubt it explt's got better service than VIP.

Can anyone verify this?

It sounds odd to me. I know that the QF and BA ones are better. They both give OW emerald status plus allow 2 guests into the 1st lounges rather than 1. On BA can pre allocate seats in the rows reserved for that tier. The QF one allows access to the private Chairman's lounges and gives complimentary upgrades. They both have dedicated lines for bookings et al.

I don't see why AA would set its invite only tier to be lower than EXP. I would have expected it to be higher

Dave

[This message has been edited by Dave Noble (edited 06-10-2002).]

AA does have a VIP level, just like most airlines do. It's all very hush-hush though. If you have to ask about what benefits it brings, however, that is a sure sign that you do not qualify for it. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/tongue.gif

FewMiles..

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I'm an EXP and, when agents have my screen up, have noticed that I'm listed as a VIP. I've generally found AA agents quite accomodating when I need to be rescheduled etc., although I do ocassionaly run into one who clearly views all pax as the enemy; in any case, I can't tell whether the VIP on the record gets any better treatment that EXP alone. It certainly doesn't result in more upgrade certs, free AC admission or anything of that sort.

At the AC in BOS there is a seperate room for VIP/Interbational FC travelers...free food/drinks and lots of sucking up...it was good by me...Rock on...

That was just the Flagship lounge. Anyone with OW Emerald ( other than AA members on domestic trips )has access to that

Dave

Here's another one. If an AA VIP is flying BA or QF then do their computers show them as an AA VIP or an OW EMERALD and vice versa?

Well , A BA Premier Card holder or QF Chairman's Lounge card holder will show up as OW Emerald.

Dave

I can clear up some dated/muddled information posted above, having enjoyed the various AA unpublished levels over the last seven years.

AA did have a totally distinct secret elite level called Top Platinum beginning around 1994 that offered really outstanding but ill-defined benefits (eg, ability to upgrade anyone flying AA even when not accompanying them with stickers, special services meet and greet, unlimited flexibility in ticketing and awards). This was invitation only and based on revenue or corporate status. The program had something like 4,000 members when it was "converted" into the public Exec Platinum level in 1997/98.

SEPARATELY, AA started putting these "VIP" tags on some accounts in the mid-90s. All of the original Top Platinum accounts got VIP tags, but over time they started letting travel agents, AA sales offices and who knows who else "nominate" an account for VIP status, including ANY level of AAdvantage account, so for a while you could have Gold, Platinum, EXP flying status but with a VIP tag. This was sort of nonsense, as there were no benefits at all and the VIP designation showed up all the time...as noted elsewhere, it does pop up a message window on the terminal whenever an AA employee pulls up your reservation and it prints on flight manifests, but that's it. The VIP "status" did not expire and remained on an account indefinitely once on it.

At the beginning of 2002, I understand that they cleared out that VIP status from ALL accounts and have re-designated a small number of high revenue EXP accounts as "VIP" with that same tag; the reasoning I heard for this was that they wanted a way to designate the really valuable flyers amidst the explosion in EXP membership in 2002 (due to TWA integration and auto-requalification of all 2001 AA EXP accounts). "VIP" still appears on their PCs and manifests the same way as before, but if you have this account designation now you should certainly expect a better level of service from the EXP desk, and I have observed some gate and check-in agents suddenly become much more helpful after seeing the pop-up. I don't know if this is a precursor to a new formal level above EXP, but I have heard speculation about that for a while -- but for the time being, there is no LEVEL above EXP, but an EXP can be designated as a "VIP".

This tag means nothing on other carriers, you are just an EXP/Emerald member on other oneworld airlines.

Ha! A few years back, when I was exlusively flying UA and had done about 250K miles in 12 months, mostly on full-fare Y tix, I became fascinated with UA's VIP status and what it would take to get it. Mostly I just wanted double-upgrades on 3-class 767 transcons, but thats another story. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

So, in my youthful exuberance (I was 25 at the time) I setup an appointment with Irene, the head of UA special services at BOS (where I was based at the time). I basically asked her straight out what it would take to get UA VIP. Her response was basically that "if I have to ask, I don't qualify". http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

She actually had pulled up my flight record before our meeting, and thanked me for my business (she said I was one of the top 1Ks out of the 700+ in BOS at the time) but that they generally didn't give out VIP based on miles/revenue alone.

Oh well, it didn't hurt to try.

Okay, that was pretty off-topic for the AA forum, but whatever. The point being that all major airlines have VIP programs, all of them keep it pretty hush-hush, and when you qualify, they'll contact you, not the other way around. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif