Jan 15, 2015, 5:11 pm
Last edit by: Prospero
Future of AA / US Lifetime Status / Million Miler program (consolidated)
Until the new (and current) Million Miler program was launched December 2011, any miles from all sources (all redeemable miles) counted as Million Miler miles. Lifetime status granted was the same as today: Gold at 1,000,000 miles ever earned, and Platinum at 2,000,000 lifetime miles ever earned; no lifetime top tier (EP / EXP) status was, or is, offered. Further million miles thresholds earn 4 SWUs.
The current Million Miler program "grandfathered" existing MM counts because until now there existed no way to differentiate miles for MM count. With the announcement of the new program, AA announced only Base / Elite-Qualifying Miles would count and be added to one's Million Mile counter.
AAdvantage® Million MilerSM program recognizes and rewards AAdvantage members when Million Miler thresholds are achieved. Base miles earned by flying on American Airlines, American Eagle® or any eligible AAdvantage program participating airline will count toward Million Miler status.
AAdvantage members will enjoy the following benefits when Million Miler status is reached:
At one million (1,000,000) Million Miler miles, AAdvantage members will receive lifetime AAdvantage Gold status and 35,000 AAdvantage bonus miles*
At two million (2,000,000) Million Miler miles, AAdvantage members will receive lifetime AAdvantage Platinum status and four one-way systemwide upgrades
At each additional Million Miler mark, AAdvantage members will receive four additional one-way systemwide upgrades
For all members, your beginning Million Miler balance will include every AAdvantage mile you ever earned in the program. This Program to Date balance is currently reflected in your AAdvantage account on aa.com. Million Miler activity will be displayed in your AAdvantage account on aa.com separately from award miles so progress toward reaching this special designation can be easily tracked.
It's a special honor to be recognized with Million Miler status - and it is our distinct pleasure to reward such loyalty.
US has had a lifetime status / million mile program, and it counts PQM.
The greatest likelihood is current million miler counts will be merged, and that there is no way to "beat the system" by trying to inflate Redeemable miles counts in AA or US accounts; they both differentiate the kinds of miles, and no indication the Million Miler program will include lifetime Redeemable miles counts when USDM accounts are brought over and merged into AAdvantage (nor has anyone who has already caused an account merger stated to the contrary).
In the second quarter of 2015, we’ll combine your million mile balances (if you have both a Dividend Miles and AAdvantage® account) or transfer your million mile balance to the AAdvantage program.
AAdvantage Million Miler program:
http://www.aa.com/i18n/utility/millionMiler.jsp
Delta's comparable program (no lifetime top tier status):http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_...er-status.html
United's comparable program (lifetime top tier status granted):
http://www.united.com/web/en-US/cont.../lifetime.aspx
Until the new (and current) Million Miler program was launched December 2011, any miles from all sources (all redeemable miles) counted as Million Miler miles. Lifetime status granted was the same as today: Gold at 1,000,000 miles ever earned, and Platinum at 2,000,000 lifetime miles ever earned; no lifetime top tier (EP / EXP) status was, or is, offered. Further million miles thresholds earn 4 SWUs.
The current Million Miler program "grandfathered" existing MM counts because until now there existed no way to differentiate miles for MM count. With the announcement of the new program, AA announced only Base / Elite-Qualifying Miles would count and be added to one's Million Mile counter.
AAdvantage® Million MilerSM program recognizes and rewards AAdvantage members when Million Miler thresholds are achieved. Base miles earned by flying on American Airlines, American Eagle® or any eligible AAdvantage program participating airline will count toward Million Miler status.
AAdvantage members will enjoy the following benefits when Million Miler status is reached:
At one million (1,000,000) Million Miler miles, AAdvantage members will receive lifetime AAdvantage Gold status and 35,000 AAdvantage bonus miles*
At two million (2,000,000) Million Miler miles, AAdvantage members will receive lifetime AAdvantage Platinum status and four one-way systemwide upgrades
At each additional Million Miler mark, AAdvantage members will receive four additional one-way systemwide upgrades
For all members, your beginning Million Miler balance will include every AAdvantage mile you ever earned in the program. This Program to Date balance is currently reflected in your AAdvantage account on aa.com. Million Miler activity will be displayed in your AAdvantage account on aa.com separately from award miles so progress toward reaching this special designation can be easily tracked.
It's a special honor to be recognized with Million Miler status - and it is our distinct pleasure to reward such loyalty.
US has had a lifetime status / million mile program, and it counts PQM.
The greatest likelihood is current million miler counts will be merged, and that there is no way to "beat the system" by trying to inflate Redeemable miles counts in AA or US accounts; they both differentiate the kinds of miles, and no indication the Million Miler program will include lifetime Redeemable miles counts when USDM accounts are brought over and merged into AAdvantage (nor has anyone who has already caused an account merger stated to the contrary).
In the second quarter of 2015, we’ll combine your million mile balances (if you have both a Dividend Miles and AAdvantage® account) or transfer your million mile balance to the AAdvantage program.
AAdvantage Million Miler program:
http://www.aa.com/i18n/utility/millionMiler.jsp
Delta's comparable program (no lifetime top tier status):http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_...er-status.html
United's comparable program (lifetime top tier status granted):
http://www.united.com/web/en-US/cont.../lifetime.aspx
AA Lifetime Status / Million Miler program - discussion, speculation (consolidated)
Jan 4, 2014, 11:47 am
#76
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Portland, OR, USA
Programs: UA 1K 3 Million/ex-many year GS, AA PLT/2 Mil, AS MVPG, HH Dia, Starwood Life Plat, Hertz PC
Posts: 1,401
Without rehashing a VERY long thread from the UA forum it is worth pointing out that there is a difference between the status you are promised and the benefits that come in any given year from that status level. The complaints in the UA forum are twofold, but in my view different. There are complaints about the loss of 2 RPUs - a quite possibly valid complaint legally because UA made an explicit promise of those to MMers. There are also complaints (as noted above) about the change of bonus from 100$ to 50%. This one is different because it wasn't about the MMer program - all 50K level flyers (previously called PE and now called Premier Gold) got that reduction. If AA changed the benefits given to Plats as a whole, I would expect those changes to also affect me as a 2MMer Lifetime Plat. From what I have seen in both programs the promise was to give lifetime status at a particular elite level (PE for UA and Plat for AA) rather than to give a specific set of benefits for life. The only (and I think very weak but that is just my opinion) possible issue in the UA case is that they renamed their elite levels and so in a formal sense PE doesn't exist any more, and so they needed to map PE into some level in the new program. While it seems clear to me that since PE was the level you got for 50K miles, it should map to PG now, there are others who have alternate theories about what PE should have mapped to. If you want the full scoop and this debate go read the UA thread while holding a large glass of scotch. 
Jan 4, 2014, 7:37 pm
#77
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Usually in SAN or Central Europe.
Programs: AA:EXP/1MM. Accor/Radisson:Silver; HH:Gold; ICH:Plt Amb.
Posts: 22,307
Hahaha! You're funny. The judge would have struck down the claim that the MM and MP program are separate if that claim had no merit (or, as you put it, "is total BS"). He didn't and the case is well underway. As for the rest of what you're going on about, that is UA-specific and should be discussed in the UA forum.
Jan 4, 2014, 7:45 pm
#78
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Michigan
Programs: AA EXP(4mm), DL Gold, UA Gold (1mm), HH Diamond, Bonvoy Amb(l/t Titanium). Former EA/PA elite
Posts: 993
For someone who just made the US 1MM mark, I am very curious to see how the merger plays out in this regard. US only counts BIS on US metal towards the 1MM, while AA until fairly recently has counted all miles earned in the AAdvantage.
So after the merger, I wonder if they will be going back and counting miles on an equal footing for both airlines? If that were to be the case, I probably would have 3MM if you count the 100% CP mileage bonus, credit card spend, and my approx. 0.5 MM on AA from the past... maybe just wishful thinking on my part?
So after the merger, I wonder if they will be going back and counting miles on an equal footing for both airlines? If that were to be the case, I probably would have 3MM if you count the 100% CP mileage bonus, credit card spend, and my approx. 0.5 MM on AA from the past... maybe just wishful thinking on my part?
Jan 4, 2014, 8:14 pm
#79
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,932
For someone who just made the US 1MM mark, I am very curious to see how the merger plays out in this regard. US only counts BIS on US metal towards the 1MM, while AA until fairly recently has counted all miles earned in the AAdvantage.
So after the merger, I wonder if they will be going back and counting miles on an equal footing for both airlines? If that were to be the case, I probably would have 3MM if you count the 100% CP mileage bonus, credit card spend, and my approx. 0.5 MM on AA from the past... maybe just wishful thinking on my part?
So after the merger, I wonder if they will be going back and counting miles on an equal footing for both airlines? If that were to be the case, I probably would have 3MM if you count the 100% CP mileage bonus, credit card spend, and my approx. 0.5 MM on AA from the past... maybe just wishful thinking on my part?
For me, this is the crux of the matter. How will million miler miles be calculated under the merged AAdvantage program? No doubt there will be a million miler program but the two separate million miler programs of US and AA have been very different in the method of calculation. Will they choose one method, the other, or a hybrid? That is the real question. Will the previous AA million milers who accumulated miles with bonuses and credit card purchases in addition to BIS miles still be grandfathered in? Or will the two programs be combined by counting BIS miles only to determine how many lifetime miles one has between both carriers? Questions. Questions. But no answers at this point.
You're forgetting how this all worked at AA. Until fairly recently (around the time the Million Miler program was announced, perhaps), AA had no way to tell apart miles earned from credit cards from miles earned from BIS on miles earned in the past. They simply had one counter they kept track of, miles earned to date. They had no other counters going backwards. And they have no easy way to go back through the decades of records of each individual and figure out how many miles were from what. (Those records are probably not online in ready-to-process form, they're probably archived in some format they no longer currently use. So they're researchable on an individual basis if occasionally needed, but unwieldy to reprocess for every AAdvantage member out there.)
Anyway, currently, AA has a Million Miler Balance, which factors in changes over the history of the program. US has a similar balance, and US is a merger of many more airlines than AA is, and who knows what changes there were over the history of all those programs (whose lifetime miles became US lifetime miles).
So why can't they just add the current AA Million Miler number (which is already incremting with BIS only) to the current US million miles number (which is already incrementing with BIS only) and be done with it? The issues they should have to figure out is how to resolve any differences in current earning methods (ie, does one airline include partners but the other not, etc). I don't see why they would to complicate it with any differences in the past when the AA Million Miler program "reboot" of Dec 2011 was specifically to put that all in that past already.
You're also forgetting that AA wasn't the only airline program ever to count non-BIS miles toward lifetime status. AA was simply (by a factor of at least a decade) the last airline to convert to BIS-only miles for lifetime status. So other airlines have had this "different past" issue in mergers too, and it's never come up as an issue before. Why should it come up this time simply because AA change the rules (to something quite consistent with US) only in Dec 2011?
Last edited by sdsearch; Jan 4, 2014 at 8:20 pm
Jan 4, 2014, 8:45 pm
#80
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Portland, OR, USA
Programs: UA 1K 3 Million/ex-many year GS, AA PLT/2 Mil, AS MVPG, HH Dia, Starwood Life Plat, Hertz PC
Posts: 1,401
I would imagine that AA would grandfather folks no matter what they decide to do but don't assume that they couldn't reconcile different counting methods. In the UA/CO merger the CO counting method was more generous historically since it counted partner miles and premium fare bonus miles and in the merge UA did, in fact, go back through decades of data to recomputed UA side balances to what they would have been using the CO rules and adjusted up the UA side balances by this amount. So don't make such sweeping blanket assumptions about what data is or isn't available for doing some reconciliation other than simply adding the totals.
Jan 4, 2014, 9:10 pm
#81
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Northern California
Programs: Inf Elite CO, lifetime AA Platinum
Posts: 1,937
I am still hoping that AA matches UA in offering million miler status levels above platinum - e.g., for 5 million miles you should get more recognition than those with just 2 million miles.
Jan 4, 2014, 9:19 pm
#82
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Michigan
Programs: AA EXP(4mm), DL Gold, UA Gold (1mm), HH Diamond, Bonvoy Amb(l/t Titanium). Former EA/PA elite
Posts: 993
Not possible.
You're forgetting how this all worked at AA. Until fairly recently (around the time the Million Miler program was announced, perhaps), AA had no way to tell apart miles earned from credit cards from miles earned from BIS on miles earned in the past. They simply had one counter they kept track of, miles earned to date. They had no other counters going backwards. And they have no easy way to go back through the decades of records of each individual and figure out how many miles were from what. (Those records are probably not online in ready-to-process form, they're probably archived in some format they no longer currently use. So they're researchable on an individual basis if occasionally needed, but unwieldy to reprocess for every AAdvantage member out there.)
Anyway, currently, AA has a Million Miler Balance, which factors in changes over the history of the program. US has a similar balance, and US is a merger of many more airlines than AA is, and who knows what changes there were over the history of all those programs (whose lifetime miles became US lifetime miles).
So why can't they just add the current AA Million Miler number (which is already incremting with BIS only) to the current US million miles number (which is already incrementing with BIS only) and be done with it? The issues they should have to figure out is how to resolve any differences in current earning methods (ie, does one airline include partners but the other not, etc). I don't see why they would to complicate it with any differences in the past when the AA Million Miler program "reboot" of Dec 2011 was specifically to put that all in that past already.
You're also forgetting that AA wasn't the only airline program ever to count non-BIS miles toward lifetime status. AA was simply (by a factor of at least a decade) the last airline to convert to BIS-only miles for lifetime status. So other airlines have had this "different past" issue in mergers too, and it's never come up as an issue before. Why should it come up this time simply because AA change the rules (to something quite consistent with US) only in Dec 2011?
You're forgetting how this all worked at AA. Until fairly recently (around the time the Million Miler program was announced, perhaps), AA had no way to tell apart miles earned from credit cards from miles earned from BIS on miles earned in the past. They simply had one counter they kept track of, miles earned to date. They had no other counters going backwards. And they have no easy way to go back through the decades of records of each individual and figure out how many miles were from what. (Those records are probably not online in ready-to-process form, they're probably archived in some format they no longer currently use. So they're researchable on an individual basis if occasionally needed, but unwieldy to reprocess for every AAdvantage member out there.)
Anyway, currently, AA has a Million Miler Balance, which factors in changes over the history of the program. US has a similar balance, and US is a merger of many more airlines than AA is, and who knows what changes there were over the history of all those programs (whose lifetime miles became US lifetime miles).
So why can't they just add the current AA Million Miler number (which is already incremting with BIS only) to the current US million miles number (which is already incrementing with BIS only) and be done with it? The issues they should have to figure out is how to resolve any differences in current earning methods (ie, does one airline include partners but the other not, etc). I don't see why they would to complicate it with any differences in the past when the AA Million Miler program "reboot" of Dec 2011 was specifically to put that all in that past already.
You're also forgetting that AA wasn't the only airline program ever to count non-BIS miles toward lifetime status. AA was simply (by a factor of at least a decade) the last airline to convert to BIS-only miles for lifetime status. So other airlines have had this "different past" issue in mergers too, and it's never come up as an issue before. Why should it come up this time simply because AA change the rules (to something quite consistent with US) only in Dec 2011?
Jan 4, 2014, 10:00 pm
#83
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Chicago
Programs: UA1MM*GL/1K, AA, BnVy PlatL, HH Silver,
Posts: 681
Not possible.
You're forgetting how this all worked at AA. Until fairly recently (around the time the Million Miler program was announced, perhaps), AA had no way to tell apart miles earned from credit cards from miles earned from BIS on miles earned in the past. They simply had one counter they kept track of, miles earned to date. They had no other counters going backwards. And they have no easy way to go back through the decades of records of each individual and figure out how many miles were from what. (Those records are probably not online in ready-to-process form, they're probably archived in some format they no longer currently use. So they're researchable on an individual basis if occasionally needed, but unwieldy to reprocess for every AAdvantage member out there.)
Anyway, currently, AA has a Million Miler Balance, which factors in changes over the history of the program. US has a similar balance, and US is a merger of many more airlines than AA is, and who knows what changes there were over the history of all those programs (whose lifetime miles became US lifetime miles).
So why can't they just add the current AA Million Miler number (which is already incremting with BIS only) to the current US million miles number (which is already incrementing with BIS only) and be done with it? The issues they should have to figure out is how to resolve any differences in current earning methods (ie, does one airline include partners but the other not, etc). I don't see why they would to complicate it with any differences in the past when the AA Million Miler program "reboot" of Dec 2011 was specifically to put that all in that past already.
You're also forgetting that AA wasn't the only airline program ever to count non-BIS miles toward lifetime status. AA was simply (by a factor of at least a decade) the last airline to convert to BIS-only miles for lifetime status. So other airlines have had this "different past" issue in mergers too, and it's never come up as an issue before. Why should it come up this time simply because AA change the rules (to something quite consistent with US) only in Dec 2011?
You're forgetting how this all worked at AA. Until fairly recently (around the time the Million Miler program was announced, perhaps), AA had no way to tell apart miles earned from credit cards from miles earned from BIS on miles earned in the past. They simply had one counter they kept track of, miles earned to date. They had no other counters going backwards. And they have no easy way to go back through the decades of records of each individual and figure out how many miles were from what. (Those records are probably not online in ready-to-process form, they're probably archived in some format they no longer currently use. So they're researchable on an individual basis if occasionally needed, but unwieldy to reprocess for every AAdvantage member out there.)
Anyway, currently, AA has a Million Miler Balance, which factors in changes over the history of the program. US has a similar balance, and US is a merger of many more airlines than AA is, and who knows what changes there were over the history of all those programs (whose lifetime miles became US lifetime miles).
So why can't they just add the current AA Million Miler number (which is already incremting with BIS only) to the current US million miles number (which is already incrementing with BIS only) and be done with it? The issues they should have to figure out is how to resolve any differences in current earning methods (ie, does one airline include partners but the other not, etc). I don't see why they would to complicate it with any differences in the past when the AA Million Miler program "reboot" of Dec 2011 was specifically to put that all in that past already.
You're also forgetting that AA wasn't the only airline program ever to count non-BIS miles toward lifetime status. AA was simply (by a factor of at least a decade) the last airline to convert to BIS-only miles for lifetime status. So other airlines have had this "different past" issue in mergers too, and it's never come up as an issue before. Why should it come up this time simply because AA change the rules (to something quite consistent with US) only in Dec 2011?
The harsh reality for all of us,...sort of like US gov't with Social security/gov't pensions, etc....is everyone in charge is waking up to realize they can't live up to these things they promised so they'll change the terms to something they think appropriate, whether you like it or not.
If you're a baby boomer, you'll likely get some benefit with these various 1mm+ programs through grandfathering; if you're a GenX or younger, forget it...get over it...1MM BIS or otherwise will mean nothing by the time the current airline leaderships are through racing each other to de-program the old loyalty-reward connections in their costly FF programs. The future is about you taking charge and looking for price for value on what ever airline best meets your needs on that trip and nothing else.
I truly hope AA, with the original idea to launch a FF program to generate repeat business will see things differently...but even so, it's hard to look at a new program based on BIS 1MM = Gold vs others that had 1MM BIS at Plat equivalent and get very excited one way or the other.
COua has devalued theirs, in conjunction with the overall operational / service cuts ($2b more this year to come) to render 1MM meaningless regardless of the UA court case...it's not like upgrades will suddenly materialize if 1MMers there win.
For anyone under 50 it's best to just reset the brain. social security will be decimated when the proverbial 'baby boom' pig passes through the python and so will the concept of airlines rewarding your 40-odd years of flying them with a few 'thank you' perks when you buy an occasional leisure fare in retirement, which is what I always assumed was the point of chasing this 1MM stuff.
Who knows, in 20 years the current airlines may all become the equivalent of a government run AirAmtrak while we all take competitive clean energy high speed super-sonic magnetic rail for domestic travel and Virgin sub orbital flights for international in which case all this will be meaningless anyways
Jan 4, 2014, 11:35 pm
#84
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,523
AA's policy has traditionally been to exclude the top-tier. So I wouldn't be surprised if once they add that 75k level, 3MM lifetime is go.
Jan 5, 2014, 6:52 am
#85
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: RBKC
Programs: AA EXP and Eurostar Carte Blanche
Posts: 3,849
At the moment, there's nothing to work toward after getting lifetime Platinum on AA. On the other hand, BA recently started offering lifetime Emerald. Those of us who mostly fly TATLs might want to switch to BAEC at some point… I've certainly thought about it.
Jan 5, 2014, 10:07 am
#86
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Midwest
Programs: UA GS, UA 1.6MM, AA LT PLT, AA 2.6MM, Intercontinental Royal Ambassador
Posts: 837
My flying decisions going forward will be based upon the program that gives me the best chance to attain and retain long term benefits. I completely understand that there are no guarantees in life but we will cross those bridges when we get to them.
Thus, if AA sets new lifetime hurdles and incentives, I may return all my flying to them. But if there are no more lifetime hurdles to chase, I will continue to fly with UA as well where, as a GS, I am treated very well.
Jan 5, 2014, 10:57 am
#87
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: JFK/LGA
Programs: AA EXP/5 MM, BA Blue Bayou, HH LT Diamond
Posts: 5,824
I wanted to roll to 5 MM in 14 for SWU shelf life purposes- wound up crediting flights to BA last year that otherwise would have went to AA.
No travel booked in 14 yet but it is just a matter of a trip or two.
Jan 5, 2014, 11:31 am
#88
Join Date: Sep 2011
Programs: AA SPG Amex
Posts: 4,644
Jan 5, 2014, 11:45 am
#89
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Southern California
Programs: Alaska MVPG,AA EXP, SPG Gold, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 50
Does is really matter? Everything that we get as MMers is a bonus, not required and if it changes then so be it. I dont understand why people sue and cry about it...every company has programs that change and sometimes they are for the better and sometimes for the worse. When FF are devalued all the time, I dont see every crying other than a little bit for a short while and then we all move on and accept it.
So whatever happens on January 7, we should all just sit back, relax and accept the bad with the good. And hopefully AA adds the Dollar qualification too this year, so the ranks from UNITED and DELTA stay away, or we will all be crying about how there are never upgrades and such!
So whatever happens on January 7, we should all just sit back, relax and accept the bad with the good. And hopefully AA adds the Dollar qualification too this year, so the ranks from UNITED and DELTA stay away, or we will all be crying about how there are never upgrades and such!
Jan 5, 2014, 12:01 pm
#90
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: SJC/SFO & ORD
Programs: LT Gold/BA Executive Club/AS MP/Marriott
Posts: 1,646
Does is really matter? Everything that we get as MMers is a bonus, not required and if it changes then so be it. I dont understand why people sue and cry about it...every company has programs that change and sometimes they are for the better and sometimes for the worse. When FF are devalued all the time, I dont see every crying other than a little bit for a short while and then we all move on and accept it.
So whatever happens on January 7, we should all just sit back, relax and accept the bad with the good. And hopefully AA adds the Dollar qualification too this year, so the ranks from UNITED and DELTA stay away, or we will all be crying about how there are never upgrades and such!
So whatever happens on January 7, we should all just sit back, relax and accept the bad with the good. And hopefully AA adds the Dollar qualification too this year, so the ranks from UNITED and DELTA stay away, or we will all be crying about how there are never upgrades and such!
I don't like promises and then have the other end of the promise taken away after I've fulfilled my obligations.
We've seen what has happened with UA after they've done exactly that.