ksweeney

Devaluing as opposed to removal is likely. I fly DL as well as AA and have noticed that DL Silver (equivalent to AA Gold) has virtually no value other than I think they get to board ahead of steerage class On DL, even the next level up (Gold) does not seem to have much success on upgrades. With the DL Diamond program, I'm able to grant my wife DL Gold status, and at best she upgrades 40% of the time. It appears that most carriers are increasing the requirements for top tier attainment and lopping off an value for the bottom two tiers. For now at least, it is still easier to attain AA Exec Plat than to obtain DL Diamond or UA 1K (status match programs aside).

bubba198

1. Within the next month you will know if the contracts are canceled, left intact, or renegotiated prior to the judges decision. This and specifics of the result will give you better information on the future viability of AA.

2. Within 6 months you should have a good idea if AA will merge with US, other airlines, or standalone. Again details will provide you with a better ability to judge the future viability of AA.

3. The outcome of 1 & 2 plus relevant news regarding Aadvantage will give you better information to judge the future value of your position in Aadvantage.

It's no guess, these things will happen. Sometimes it is wise to wait for better information.

ksweeney

A better informed flyer is a happier flyer, but in the meantime you still need to go to the airport and fly to wherever your job takes you. I see no reason to hold back flying from AA in order to fly an alternative (e.g. DL or UA) unless the present conditions make one of them favorable to your patterns. I'm shifting to an increase in AA flying this year on a GUESS that the ultimate resolution will be AAdvantage left in tact and AA having additional hubs in PHX, CLT, and PHL. I don't see high risk in the AAdvantage program, although I am hedging by insuring that I keep my DL Diamond alive as well as reaching AA Exec Plat.

bubba198

I wasn't arguing don't fly, I was suggesting use miles for private travel until there is a clarification of the future. I will probably do mile usual 70 or 80k much of it on AA or Oneworld miles.

uszkanni

There's OneWorld status and I guess that there's also the possibility of a status match with another airline and LTP might get you matched to a higher level. Or not.

With only 90K to LTP, I'd go for it.

ksweeney

I agree - hopefully this will unfold sooner than the end of the exclusive rights period that AA management is currently working under. I'm never a fan of uncertainty

hbtr

Do you get miles applied to million-miler status if you book through AA Vacations? I just want to see if anyone has direct experience earning (or not earning) toward MM status.

Ritz

Not anymore. Only the flights themselves will count.

WestLA-FF

I was searching UA for something else, and found this page:
https://www.united.com/web/en-US/con...fetime.aspx#tc

One interesting section discusses how a Million Miler can share elite status with a spouse/companion.
"Annual Companion Premier status
As a Million Miler you may invite your spouse or significant other to share your current Premier status. This membership is non-transferable and will automatically renew each year unless you let us know otherwise."

Does AA have anything like this?

Thanks in advance. I tried searching the AA forum for 'spouse status match' and 'million miler spouse' and a few other phrases with no success.

brp

Nope.

Cheers.

fishferbrains

The only program that offers something similar is the AA Elite Rewards program that allows an EXP or Platinum flyer who reaches an (elevated) mileage level to gift Gold status to someone.

Details are here http://www.aa.com/i18n/urls/eliteStr...e=eliterewards

wjj

Doesn't UA award lifetime (i.e., life of the program) 1K status to the flyer and a spouse when they hit 3 million miles?

When I hit 3 million at AA I got.........2 bag tags and 4 SWUs. Though the tags are nice, lifetime EXP for my wife and I would be a whole lot nicer.

Seriously, after reaching 2 million miles on AA which gets you lifetime Platinum status, what is the incentive to rack up a couple million more miles on AA when moving to UA or even Delta could get you additional lifetime benefits.

I think the Advantage program is far superior to UA MP is many ways, which is why I fly mainly AA, but awarding bag tags and SWUs for million mile increments seems to be a gaping hole in the program when UA and Delta are awarding higher levels of lifetime status at those million mile increments.

Or is there some secret threshold out there? 4 million miles perhaps?

ps9a

Yup-- but in fairness to AA, until recently, 3MM (or any lifetime threshold) was far easier to hit on AA than UA/CO.

NiceLanding

Yes, my one regret in moving over to AA recently is that I've missed the chance for all the easy miles, yet the benefits of hitting the milestones are still reflective of those old days. Although UA downgraded their MM benefits when CO took over, they're still distinctly superior to AA's. One can hope that after slowing the growth of the MM ranks, AA will now now consider upgrading the benefits.

tom911

UA seems to view the word "lifetime" differently than I view it. When I reached 1 million flight miles at UA in 2010, I was promised a package of lifetime benefits that they have now reduced. If I had known they had planned to reduce those benefits, I would have moved my last 150K of flying over to AA. Are you sure the million mile benefits as published by UA today won't change again? I haven't put a single mile on UA since they changed the 1MM benefits.