Dec 9, 2013, 1:06 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
AA / US Reciprocal Elite Benefits [Master Thread]
Please contribute summary information and links to key posts here in this wikipost!
Soon after migration of US accounts to AA, SWUs will be usable on US by US flights. (JonNYC)
AA Press Release: US Airways to Join oneworld on March 31, 2014
As of Dec 15, signs appeared at some airports inviting elites of either airline to use the First Class ticket counter check in lines. See posts 82 & 83.
Update to aa.com as of January 7th detailing reciprocity of elite status benefits. Answers to many of the FAQs on this forum can be found here.
Elite/Preferred Seating, not Upgrades
For the purpose of seating on US, all AA elites are eligible for US Preferred Seating equally (no difference between the status levels).
US Preferred Seating is typically the front of coach and the exit rows. There is no MCE product so only some exit rows and bulkhead will have more space (depending on the aircraft). There are seats called ChoiceSeats that are not free for any US or AA elites. Pick a Preferred Seat for free.
For the purpose of seating on AA, US Silver will have the same as AA Gold. All other higher US Preferred will have full access to all AA reserved seating. including Main Cabin Extra.
AA Preferred Seating is in two parts, Main Cabin Extra and Preferred Seats.
Starting 3/18/14, US Silver/AA Gold only have free access within 24 hours of departure (based on availability). Preferred Seating does not have additional leg room as compared to MCE, but might be better than a normal seat depending on the aircraft. The only special seats for sale for any elite will be MCE for US Silver/AA Gold ahead of the 24 hours free access (50% off the normal price).
Upgrades
Please see: AA and US cross program and merged FFP upgrade questions (merged threads)
Starting 6/11/14, AA and US elite customers have the opportunity for reciprocal upgrades.
For AA elite members on US Airways-marketed (US flight number)/US operated flight:
-At 24 hours check-in, if a seat is available on a first-come, first-served basis, a complementary upgrade would be available for any AA elite. One non-status companion is also included in the benefit. If it is a mixed itinerary, you will likely need to ask a US agent to be considered if an AA flight was first.
For AA elite members on US Airways-marketed (US flight number)/AA operated flight:
-At 24 hour check-in, if a seat is available on a first-come, first-served basis, a sort of like 500 miles unit upgrade option will be available for AA Plat/Gold at $30 per unit. AA EXP will have a complementary option.
For both programs, it is very likely that elites who were eligible for normal upgrades on the flights before the 24-hours new program will have priority. Also, status in program does not indicate priority, it is first-come, first-served.
There are some other exceptions for AA elite members which you can find here.
For US elite members on AA marketed (AA flight number)/AA operated flight:
-At 24 hour check-in, if a seat is available on a first-come, first-served basis, a sort of like 500 miles unit upgrade option will be available for US Plat/Gold/Silver at $30 per unit. US CP will have a complementary option.
Non-US elite companions are not free nor discounted and may have a different priced option (LFBU).
For US elite members on AA marketed (AA flight number)/US operated flight:
Still no upgrade option.
There are some other exceptions for US elite members which you can find here.
Other features, such as (new AA) SWU use, etc. will come about when both AA and USDM FFPs are fully merged into the new AAdvantage FFP "some time during the second quarter".
AA / US Reciprocal Elite Benefits [Master Thread]
Jan 9, 2014, 5:56 pm
#421
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Yellow Springs
Programs: AS 75k
Posts: 1,523
Jan 9, 2014, 6:41 pm
#422
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: High Point, NC
Programs: None
Posts: 9,171
It's British Airways' program (and Iberia's as well).
It is quite compelling to use Avios miles to book short and mid-haul flights within the United States on AA, because of the distance-based zones of the Avios and because there are no fuel surcharges on those flights (whereas a BA flight to London would have insane fuel surcharges). If you do an Avios award booking, you can simply erase your BA #, then use the record locator to add your <redacted> to the flight. Then, you will get any elite benefits you have with AA on that award booking. You should be able to do the same with a US DM # now, and receive the elite benefits.
It is quite compelling to use Avios miles to book short and mid-haul flights within the United States on AA, because of the distance-based zones of the Avios and because there are no fuel surcharges on those flights (whereas a BA flight to London would have insane fuel surcharges). If you do an Avios award booking, you can simply erase your BA #, then use the record locator to add your <redacted> to the flight. Then, you will get any elite benefits you have with AA on that award booking. You should be able to do the same with a US DM # now, and receive the elite benefits.
As my signature line implies, the rest is greek to me since I've got zero miles in any airline's program and expect it to stay that way.
Jim
Last edited by miamigrad; Jan 10, 2014 at 3:05 pm Reason: redacted AAdvantage number
Jan 9, 2014, 7:27 pm
#423
Join Date: May 2008
Programs: US CP, HH Diamond, Marriott Silver.
Posts: 325
Attention AA FF flyers....this guy knows what he is talking about when it comes to US! Thanks Jim.
Last edited by coswellnc; Jan 9, 2014 at 7:28 pm Reason: Damn spell check...or is it my fat fingers on this iPad?
Jan 9, 2014, 7:58 pm
#424
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: High Point, NC
Programs: None
Posts: 9,171
It's been a pleasure. I met a few US FFs (you may know of them - the cockroaches at first), started to read FT to see what the US FF community thought/liked/didn't like, found the occasional question or subject would come up that I could answer/explain so joined, learned a tremendous amount about stuff I'd never thought about, and the rest is history.
Jim
Jim
Jan 9, 2014, 8:17 pm
#425
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Austin, TX
Programs: AA GLD .25MM, CO, UA, US, DL, HH, SPG (all cardboard)
Posts: 1,951
I think combination of programs or emergence of new program will happen when the reservation systems are merged or the technological merge happens ala UA/CO. Based on what's involved, I doubt they'll be able to do that by the end of the year.
The announcements today were expected and I don't see why they waited a month after merger close to announce them. It's all straight forward. I guess it's a sign that immediately after merger close they announced the survey for what the new AA livery would look like. It appears to me major decisions have yet to be made even though the merger of was announced 11 months ago and the structure of both FFPs is public information listed on both carriers' websites for everyone to see. I'm sensing this will be painful ala FL/WN.
They are deliberately saying that balances are not combinable at this time (and may not be until the new program is announced), no matches are to be granted in either program and no decision about upgrades either. That signals to me that either there's more than meets the eye here or they are just dragging their feet.
The announcements today were expected and I don't see why they waited a month after merger close to announce them. It's all straight forward. I guess it's a sign that immediately after merger close they announced the survey for what the new AA livery would look like. It appears to me major decisions have yet to be made even though the merger of was announced 11 months ago and the structure of both FFPs is public information listed on both carriers' websites for everyone to see. I'm sensing this will be painful ala FL/WN.
They are deliberately saying that balances are not combinable at this time (and may not be until the new program is announced), no matches are to be granted in either program and no decision about upgrades either. That signals to me that either there's more than meets the eye here or they are just dragging their feet.
Jan 9, 2014, 8:29 pm
#426
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: High Point, NC
Programs: None
Posts: 9,171
There's also the little factor of the DOJ suit. Until that was resolved there were anti-trust limits on how much coordination could be done. The date of the merger announcement really means little.
Jim
Jim
Jan 9, 2014, 9:19 pm
#427
Join Date: May 2008
Programs: US CP, HH Diamond, Marriott Silver.
Posts: 325
See, I take the opposite point of view. If they're taking it slow, it's because they want to deliver on their promises when they are announced and not have the situation UA did where promises weren't met by the deadlines announced. I don't think they're too slow in making decisions, they're probably verifying that the systems will work as intended before announcing them. Notice there are very few reports of things not working that have been announced so far.
Jan 10, 2014, 5:20 am
#428
Join Date: Aug 2003
Programs: Bonvoy Amb; AA EXP
Posts: 1,136
Has anyone been able to book an award with a US booking in one direction and an AA return? Or vice versa.
ANSWER: I went ahead and called AA EXP line and they said that it was possible to do this so long as it was the same award type.
ANSWER: I went ahead and called AA EXP line and they said that it was possible to do this so long as it was the same award type.
Last edited by Score8; Jan 10, 2014 at 7:02 am Reason: Got reply from AA
Jan 10, 2014, 8:35 am
#429
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Cote d'Ivoire
Programs: BA Gold - HH Diamond
Posts: 3,423
well, i tried the locator on US air - - to no avail. but, I was able to use the ticket number and it worked perfectly, seat selection (with expanded inventory due to status). looks to be working well.
Jan 10, 2014, 9:46 am
#430
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Yellow Springs
Programs: AS 75k
Posts: 1,523
Jan 10, 2014, 12:38 pm
#432
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Sun Prairie, WI
Programs: AA Executive Platinum, HH Diamond, National Executive
Posts: 1,786
Saw today that certain routes are now able to be entered into US website IE PHX to OKC or PHX to MSN but they don't have any availability. Any idea when these code shares are going to be active. I can't seem to find anything on a date.
Jan 10, 2014, 2:38 pm
#433
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: SOF
Programs: A3 Gold, IHG Platinum, Marriott Silver
Posts: 849
See, I take the opposite point of view. If they're taking it slow, it's because they want to deliver on their promises when they are announced and not have the situation UA did where promises weren't met by the deadlines announced. I don't think they're too slow in making decisions, they're probably verifying that the systems will work as intended before announcing them. Notice there are very few reports of things not working that have been announced so far.
February - merger announced
June - executives of new AA announced
November - DOT settlement
December - Merger closed
My beef is that it is the beginning of a new qualification year and they did NOT the process they will use for upgrades - keep the AA model or switch to CPUs. This would have been the time to do so. They also explicitly stated no mileage balances would be combined (at least for now). US is still part of *A and AA is in OW. They are supposedly trying to minimize disruption but I'm a member of both and if I fly *A carrier, I can't credit that to AA and if I fly OW for the next 3 months, I can't credit that to US, so I am forced to credit to both programs. What new AA is saying right now is that balances will not be combined and some people speculate the programs will merger next year, which is troublesome for me and I refuse to go along with it. Based on past mergers, those balances were ALWAYS combined including the HP-US merger and this was done right after merger close. Besides structure and policies of FF programs were available on the respective websites - it wasn't a secret. I was quite surprised when they announced the vote on the livery - they had plenty of time to make a decision on that. With past mergers, that was resolved as soon as they were announced. And on top of everything else, before Day on January 7th, the week before, they are announcing new employee benefits for buddy passes. If they are placing emphasis on this instead of resolving issues dealing with FFers who spend the most time (and maybe money) on their planes, I think they got their priorities wrong.
And there are some reports of things actually working before they are officially announced. Another positive sign in my opinion. As a US CP, I was actually able to book an AA flight with my US FF number and select MCE before the "official" reciprocity date of 1/7. So it does appear they are working on systems and making stuff work right even before the promised date. I think that is a good sign.
Jan 10, 2014, 2:48 pm
#434
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: NYC/CLT/LHR
Programs: AA Plat, Bonvoy Gold, SkyMiles Dirt
Posts: 446
My beef is that it is the beginning of a new qualification year and they did NOT the process they will use for upgrades - keep the AA model or switch to CPUs. This would have been the time to do so. They also explicitly stated no mileage balances would be combined (at least for now). US is still part of *A and AA is in OW. They are supposedly trying to minimize disruption but I'm a member of both and if I fly *A carrier, I can't credit that to AA and if I fly OW for the next 3 months, I can't credit that to US, so I am forced to credit to both programs. What new AA is saying right now is that balances will not be combined and some people speculate the programs will merger next year, which is troublesome for me and I refuse to go along with it. Based on past mergers, those balances were ALWAYS combined including the HP-US merger and this was done right after merger close. Besides structure and policies of FF programs were available on the respective websites - it wasn't a secret. I was quite surprised when they announced the vote on the livery - they had plenty of time to make a decision on that. With past mergers, that was resolved as soon as they were announced. And on top of everything else, before Day on January 7th, the week before, they are announcing new employee benefits for buddy passes. If they are placing emphasis on this instead of resolving issues dealing with FFers who spend the most time (and maybe money) on their planes, I think they got their priorities wrong.
The UA/CO merger was for two airlines in the same alliance, this one is a bit tricky since each is still in their own. I would guess that they might 'decide' to combine the accounts and EQMs but only after US is fully in OW. Something tells me much more will be forthcoming on April 1st. But as with many things in here, this is only speculation! I understand people's frustration, but if they decided to close the merger November 1, 2014, then would as many people be complaining about combining accounts? Probably.
Jan 10, 2014, 2:55 pm
#435
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2013
Programs: DL PM, MR Titanium/LTP, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 10,133
I don't like generic talk. From what I recall of the UA/CO merger, it closed on 10/1/10 and 10 days later, elites from BOTH programs were eligible for CPUs on both carriers. Don't recall how the DL/NW merger went through as I didn't follow it. The issues with United came towards the end of integration, I. e. on reservation systems merge - 3/3/12 when there were technological issues and I agree with the statement by United that given the size of the endeavor, there were bound to be issues. The other one was the issues that summer of 2012 of delays because of too few spare aircraft and United acknowledged that, too. But we're talking over a year since the merger closed and almost 2 years after it was announced. I don't recall any issues in the beginning and I apologize if my memory is deceiving me.
If you recall UA and CO made a number of moves aimed at a broader partnership well before they actually moved to a formalized merger announcement including CO's move to *A and upgrade / reciprocal benefits linked above.
US and AA have never even code-shared a flight AFAIK and they certainly weren't bed-fellows before the merger. So to expect that suddenly they could sync things up is crazy.
Maybe if the merger had closed when it was originally planned instead of being delayed due to the Justice Department they could've been ready to have things go by this new year, but I think that pretty much went out the window and anti-trust aside, why would you work with your competitor on harmonizing things if there's a chance it's going to be dead in the water. I think the timing of the DOJ suit forced them to wait until next year to make any permanent changes to the structure because they simply didn't have enough time to vet them and make them live before January 1.
It's also just being greedy to actually be upset that you can't credit *A flying to AA? Why would you be able to do that? AA is not and has never been part of the *A and they aren't moving to *A. Why don't you just credit all your miles (including AA flights) to US this year if you're going to fly that much *A before the end of March and you'll have no problem.