diver858

While it may take some work, such inconveniences are easily overcome - particularly if the award is booked more than 6 months out.
1. Schedule changes: With the current banked flight strategy, schedule changes create opportunities to switch from 2-stops to a non-stop - requires a phone call, possibly HUCA.
2. Subscription services like Expert Flyer are your friend, will notify you when more desirable inventory becomes available.

44C

My goodness I just realized what all the fuss is about! Preparing my annual trip to Asia with 2 family members flying JAL or CX 1st. I got the trans-pacifics down but it looks like MileSAAver never opens up for MIA-BOS or MIA-LAX with the exception of Tue, Wed, Thu. Unfortunately my trans-pac flights are just after midnight Tuesday morning so I guess I'll have to buy with cash? I remember the good old days when they would open up MileSAAver seats for EXP once you got the long-haul flight, but I imagine those days are over? Anybody tried this recently?

Happy

A decent program should NOT make the customers to find "tricks" to overcome the inconvenience. That is my point why AA award program has long been WORSE than DL. How things have changed in just 2 to 3 years time.

I actually managed to have AA opened up a LAX-MIA J seat on the coveted AA 68 under certain circumstances because I was lucky to get a super helpful agent who contacted the yield management by internal phone while we were on the subject and it came back positive.

Still, we the customers should NOT need to jump thru hoops to get what should be reasonably expected with a well-run program.

Happy

Never "play" with it because I dont have time to fool along on futile stuff.

I can only tell you that when looking for MIA-LAX either direction, it is near impossible to find the Saaver seat even in coach, let alone in J.

Yes, AA 68 is almost like an Unicorn.

Oh, forgot to mention that JFK/LGA to FLL/MIA or for that matter from YYZ, is also super difficult to find.

aCavalierInCoach

I suspect airline management has come to view a program that gives the illusion of rewarding redemptions while actually making it virtually impossible to do so without great inconvenience, cost, and additional investment is precisely what constitutes a "well-run" program.

Paulchili

Exactly.
And as long as people are fooled by this and continue to "try to make the best of it" under these new circumstances, then the airline has no incentive to change things - why should they. They might feel that people will just get used to it and accept things as they are - as in "what can we do but accept it and move on".
If, however, people decide that loyalty is a two way street and will be loyal only to a company that takes care of them in return or they will find better options with other alliances, AA might want to rethink their strategy.
Usually speaking with one's wallet speaks most loudly and carries the most weight.

wandertheglobe

YES! Just went through that and was able to get the CX F flights to/from HKG but am having to buy, for the first time ever, connections to/from DFW. In the past AA would just "make it happen" (and I've only ever been plat at best) and the domestic connections would be there.

Happy

Did you read the post from diver858, that it is no big deal if you do the following?

So it is not a concern to some here when others voiced their frustration and you, just realize why there is such frustration.

In fact that AA even releases some MIA-LAX flights is already better than what I have seen in the past year when there almost no saver on any of the direct flights out of 6 everyday.

I have long been using pay tickets to get to CX gateways then hoping for an AA domestic saver seat.

Paulchili

I've been there recently but never before the AA bankruptcy/merger time frame.
Well, you have 2 basic choices here as I see it - move on or move over:
1 accept the new AA reality and forget about the past - just move on and learn to live with the new reality, as some here advocate
2 Move over to someone who can accommodate you better - as some others advocate.
I don't see too many other options. Only you can decide which is a better option of these for you.

LDVFlyer

Why should an airline not make it more difficult to redeem mileage tickets, particularly at the saver level?

Indeed, a well-run airline would sell as many miles as it could, while keeping a tight control on its own seat inventory.

The only risk to the airline of such practices would be disaffecting HVC's. I doubt those who earn most of their miles from not flying AA would qualify as HVC's.

Herb687

The long-term risk is that the "currency" devalues so much that AA is no longer able to sell it to credit card co-brand partners.

If enough people realize that AA miles are becoming much less valuable, they will shift their spending away from the AA/Citi co-brand credit card and on to some other card.

So, in the grand scheme of things, airlines have some incentive to not let their FF programs devalue to the extreme. It's still a lot more profitable for an airline to sell miles than carry passengers. But they can't sell miles if nobody wants them.

diver858

There are several dynamics currently in play, which should allow an optimist to believe the current situation may be temporary.
1. Citibank has FINALLY turned off the credit card churning faucet, which should cut down on some of the demand for saver awards from those with no BIS miles.
2. Following the lead of DL and UA, AA's revenue-based elite qualification will mean the end of mileage runs as a means to earn status, earn lots of miles.
3. Low revenue DL elites who took AA status matches prior to the change to revenue-based elite qualification, who will end up dropping their loyalty to one carrier, simply shop around for the most convenient / lowest priced fares, independent of the carrier.

My guess is that the above make up a disproportional percentage of the more desirable saver award redemption, part of the reason why AA revenue management has become less predictable. As their stockpile of miles are depleted, they move on to other programs, I would like to believe that there will be fewer people fighting for more coveted awards, AA revenue management will be able to better serve the needs of its better customers.

Another factor that offers some encouragement: Analogous to the sale of discounted domestic first class, I expect AA revenue management would prefer award redemption of a percentage of first class seats over elite upgrades, which likely explains the more recent practice of last minute release of premium saver awards.

JonNYC

A few of your points I'd say I agree with (to varying degrees,) but, this one does not compute:

Happy

I gather you have not ventured to the Citi card forum and in particular, this particular thread...

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/citi-...24-months.html

Take a look on the EXTENSIVE WIKI of said thread, and the latest pages in the past few months...

For the current record, Citi has recently "accidentally" release 2, not just 1, link for the 50K miles WITHOUT any restriction. And, get this, happily match people with the 60K miles bonus too. In fact the additional 10K posted before the cardholder even meets the spend to earn the 50K which has NO 24 months restriction.
After these 2 links died, there comes up a business card link again without any restriction.

And, Citi continues to send out mailers to "targeted" individual for card application without any restriction. Also get this - the mailer code can be used AGAIN AND AGAIN, at least one to two months beyond expiration, plus not restricted to the recipients. So an individual receives a mailer - said mailer could be reused 1/2 doz times before the code finally dies. An individual could receive mailer every few weeks and the game continues.

So, NO, the spigot has not turned off. Far from it. It is just taking a different form. As long as the reddit folks exist, there will always be some links unearthed and the bonuses continue to flow...

If you think the card sign up bonus finally take a pause and the BIS miles would eventually become the way to earn, I have a bridge somewhere to sell to you as the cliche says.

With this volumes of miles floating around (read some reported their household have gathered over a million in just over a year), the scarcity of availability would be no end in sight - stingy release, extremely high demand with people flooded with easy miles... not a good combination.

Mountain Trader