Long Train Runnin

You can't apply for this card today...

I was hoping it would be more like a waiver for DL....also makes the Citi card feel silly.

thetaxman

This is it for me. All the changes that have occurred to the AAdvantage program over the last 18 months or so simply changed how and when I fly. A few years ago it was almost every week on lowest fares. Now it's 90%+ P fares so I don't really need to worry about status, upgrade windows etc.

I don't travel as often as I used to, but when I do it's always upfront domestically and in Business internationally. I need to plan more to manage costs involved using this approach, but it works just fine. DFW to ORD/LAX/SFO/LGA in First costs me about $200-400 more than coach and that's a price I'm quite prepared to pay.

I just hope that the more recent changes don't force more people into the same position so that costs go up for Premium cabins.

ethang801

yeah, what are the benefits on the Citi card that would make it worth keeping at $450 a year now? i kept both cards waiting for this announcement but now feel that keeping the Citi doesnt make sense...

Shareholder

Couldn't find any such link, but I thought the only cc here in Canada related to AA was the RBC Avion Visa, and it's just a points transfer card, not an AA affinity card with other benefits. The Canadian Diners (aka Mastercard) no longer shows an AA transfer as of earlier this year.

ssbmoro

I imagine if a large number of customers cancel their Citi card in favor of the Aviator Silver, Citi will reconsider whatever deal AA offered them that they didn't accept. And we can always hope that Barclay releases a version of the card with AC membership...

WiscAZ

For EQD calculations does the spend count for the year the ticket is purchased or flown? For instance, if I book a ticket now for travel in 2017, what year would that count towards for EQD purposes?

josmul123

People already reported this, but I got this response to AA when I asked them about the Citi cards (Along with another response saying you'd still earn EQM for $40k spend)

SeattleDavid

You can work out fairly easily for the last 6 months of the year, since RDMs are based on $$ - at least I assume that the RDM $ figure is the same as the EQD figure.

Going back through my last 6 months, I earnt 39000 EQMs and 3860 EQDs (some based on dividing RDM by 11 and some on 10% of the BA distance). If the 2017 year runs at that rate, then 100000 EQMs again next year will give me just under 10000 EQDs - and the credit card EQDs will be very important and hopefully just enough.

roundtree

I would review the wiki and thread here first:

FAQ: Earning EQD / Elite Qualifying Dollars on AA and partner airlines (2017 on)

That discussion has been ongoing for some time. IIRC, it's based on the timing of the flight, not the timing of the purchase.

rasheed

I have to give props to Barclaycard US for getting the win for the EQD option even though it is not really a waiver. I don't see AA being the one to cause this, but having two US issuers of cobranded cards gives the airline a massive advantage.

I also would like EQDs to get posted for 2016 to help give us an idea of how AA would have calculated it. I don't know if they will do this, but it would really be a smart idea I think.

Rasheed

roundtree

I'm hoping that that just add a column in the Activity/Upgrades section of the account summary. They already list EQM, EQS, and RDM there. Of course, I'm not likely to hold my breath that AA would make a change that's useful.

cova

I have both cards as well (with the silver). I got the Silver Barclay because of the 3X. I have gotten credit for the bonus EQM but never needed it as I travel more then 100K/year.

Only reason to keep the $450 Citibank card is for AC club access. While AA says no on Citibank, I have to assume that a similar requirement will be added to the Citi cards - and they likely won't add together. Likely $6K max total both cards (like the 10% reward rebate up to 10K miles).

jetsfan92588

Does anyone else think Citi is simply planning on ending its relationship with AA? They have to do it slowly, but with the changes to the Prestige card, and now this, I'd venture to guess that Citi didn't have any intention of continuing with AA. They have a relatively strong credit card portfolio and don't need airlines. It looks like they see the writing on the wall that people are slowly becoming less and less loyal to individual airlines (hence Citi's and other banks' card offerings that provide similar benefits to traveling with any airline).

It seems like a very slim chance that they improve their offerings with AA as they've already been publicly hinting at a diminished desire to work with AA since July of this year while at the same time throwing a lot into the ring for Costco. I bet AA threw them a little bone to hang on a little longer so they could get something better out of Barclays, but I would be surprised if it was ever Citi's intention to be exclusive with AA. The lack of elite qualifying benefits is the death nail of the Executive card and Citi obviously knows that. Maybe they continue to offer the regular AA card but in all likelihood it will just be a legacy offering that they won't push, and you can say goodbye to signup bonuses for it.

matinicus rock

Actually now reading all this, I wonder if it's better keeping the Citi Exec card and not getting the Aviator,. If I need to earn EQD's as well as EQM's and I get 10k free EQM's every year on the Citi Card, then I'll spend a little more on ticket purchases to meet the spend as it's a lot cheaper doing that than spending 50k to get 6k EQDs on the Aviator card. Plus the Citi Exec Card has lounge access.

asf-07

The Aviator Silver card gives you 5,000 EQM at $20k spend and another 5,000 EQM when you hit $40k spend. IMO it makes sense to dump the Citi Exec MC unless you're using it for club access as with the Silver card you can get both the 10k EQM and 6k EQD by spending $50k.