lwildernorva

I'm not a million-miler although I've pretty much flown nothing but AA domestically over the last fifteen years. Even if the Verizon/Cartera/AA shopping mall thing had worked out to my best advantage, I'd still be several hundred thousand miles short of MM status.

Yet, from a business perspective, I totally understand this move. I'm almost certain that AA was the last domestic airline to count non-flying miles towards lifetime status. It might have been nice had AA decided to give some partial credit for non-flying miles (one-fifth of a mile for every dollar spent on affiliated credit cards; maybe some other multiple for those odd miles like the kgb deal), but that's my wishing for an easier avenue to lifetime status. As a business decision, AA's move seems perfectly reasonable to me.

And, take it from somebody who has used BA's website fairly extensively in arranging a trip to Scotland this summer, AA's website generally works fairly well. I have received the occasional "fare no longer available" message, but that's happened a whole lot less frequently than the total freeze ups that are an unfortunate aspect of BA.com.

Cdn007

Dear AA,

Thank you for congratulating me on my 10 year anniversary as a part of your AAdvantage program. It took me that long to earn 524k miles, about half I would estimate from actual flying (have been a platinum member for the last 2years and on pace to make it for year 3). Most of the miles I have earned in the last five years as I switched my allegiance from Delta to your airline largely because I was having great difficulty in actually using my Delta SkyMiles. A large part of my activity has been to try and reach that elusive 1 million mile mark and enjoy lifetime status. Given the changes you have made, please expect the following changes from my account:

1. I intend to cancel my Citi AAdvantage Gold credit card, likely switching to a card that earns cash rewards

2. I intend to stop earning AA points from your partners: hotels, car rentals, dining, online shopping, car service, etc. Instead earning those points in United Airlines, which as a result of its recent merger, has become a much more appealing airline given its larger network for partners (Star Alliance), greater number of destinations and sizeable hub in the New York City area.

3. I intend to reduce my travel aboard your airline and switch to United and seek to earn a higher elite status on that airline instead of AA. Since the bonus miles earned no longer count towards lifetime status, it has become less appealing to be an elite member here.

I don't know if I am in the same camp as others as to whether this will change their behaviour, but I really felt that this was one differentiating factor that made your program stand out versus the others and something that would draw much more activity from your members.

Best of luck with the change.

Maui Time

Is it a correct understanding that if the 8 sticker transfer for 35k miles occurs prior to 12/1 those 35k miles will qualify for LT status and if done after 12/1 will count only as redeemable miles?

Jacobin777

@GeoGirl - I pay for my own tix as well and have been an AAdvantage Member since 1997. I've been Platinum for a while and have been looking to hitting the 1MM (and eventually 2MM). While I'll be hitting the 1MM sometime this year or certainly next, 2MM is quite far. Unfortunately, I never really took advantage of the Citibank offers, dining, shopping, hotels, etc.

Regardless, even if takes you 10-15 years, so what? Keep hanging in there. You'll get there. :-: I'm basically in the same boat as you are...

The only part I don't like about how they changed the program is lack of miles for the Bonus part of BIS+Bonus..I was enjoying my 100% bonus miles towards lifetime status.

Regardless, I'll still be earning bonus/extra miles on AA for future travel-just not for LT status...oh well still can't complain. 5 years ago I only had just a little over 200K miles and now fortunately at the very least I'm going to hit LT Gold..

pindento

Can't see how this can be announced as a promotion, or imagine anyone seeing this as welcome news. Other than maybe a handful of people who have already achieved LT status who prefer the door be closed after them (there was actually one db in this thread that had a "Na na" post), but that's gotta/should be a small number.

LT Gold isn't much of a motivation since sustaining Gold annually isn't much of a challenge regardless, and LT Platinum (without bonus miles included) isn't gonna happen for most leisure travelers. So for me, it's done nothing but shut down what I saw as an objective ... figuring 2-250K miles a year (BIS + bonus miles) was reasonable enough to pursue over the next 6-7 years, now not sure I could care less doing much more than maintaining gold for the seating options while booking.

I'm 10K miles from making EXP for the first time with AA ... previously loyal to OnePass ... picked a bad year to focus on it - hard to get back to be excited about maintaining the status.

canyonleo

Wow, 16 pages (I think my setting is 40/ or 100/page, not 25), I think I'll make a first post.

I hit 4MM LT level this year. For someone already above 2MM (LTP), the only impact is no longer receiving the threshold 4 SWUs every so often (for me it was about every 2.5 years) - it will now take 5-8 years for each 1MM threshold. ...not good, but not huge.

So, again, the only impact is to those not yet LTP (or LTG). For those, I see a lot of comments asking "what's so great about LTP". I say c'mon, it's pretty clear there's huge value in LTP: bag fees, exit row seating, special counter and x-ray (don't call it security please) lines, priority boarding (ever been forced to gate check your 22" - no way!), better phone line, no losing your previously accumulated stickers (if you slip to non-elite you lose those I think), international club access (and those JL and BA and QF clubs are nice, not like AC), etc.

On the other hand, I see a lot of comments from those that now have pretty much lost hope of hitting LTG/LTP (without flying for like 8 more years), and they plan to stop flying AA and/or close their regular (non-$450/yr version) AA credit card. Again, c'mon, AA is still better than UA or DL and having AA miles is still better than UA or DL, in so many ways (unless you can't value its network), I don't think I'd every move to UA or DL (and I live in a DL hub, and I'm not a DL hater), certainly not just because LT on UA or DL would come incrementally sooner than now on AA.

canyonleo

Certainly not to single anyone out, but this is the kind of comment I just can't understand. Here is an example of someone that will hit EXP, but because LTP is now a non-reality the poster is not so interested in maintaining EXP?

If one flies a lot (EXP) then one might choose AA because it's the best product, and has the best EXP-level, and has the best program (award availability). But the poster implies that as soon as next year this program change would motivate not flying AA, even as a EXP.

2millionquest

GeoGirl, you truly have my sympathy. I know precisely what you're saying and feeling. I became aware of the existence of the MM program about four years ago, and I had roughly 775K lifetime miles at that time. As my username implies, it was at that point that I started to get more aggressive about gaining LTP status. I've had a Citibank AA card since 1993, when I joined AAdvantage, but I had only had that and actual flying getting credited to my account for all those years. I joined FT in 2009 for two reasons: learning how to get to EXP more easily and getting to LTP.

As of today, I'm sitting at 1.902K LT miles -- without changing any of my current plans, I'll get at least 25K more before 1 Dec 2011. I crossed the 1MM mark on Halloween 2008. My goal had been to achieve 2MM by 1/1/2012. My travel patterns changed last year, so I moved my goal forward to 1/1/2013. Since I'll probably still fly enough to get EXP next year (and this year), I should be able to meet that goal even with the new changes; but I'm counting my lucky stars that I got as aggressive as I did just after crossing the 1MM mark.

For the last three years, I've done everything I felt comfortable doing to increase my mileage balance. I'm squeamish about cc churning and the mint, and I rarely eat out; but everything else, I did it/am doing it. I got two more Citi cards after I crossed the 1MM mark. I still use all three. I'm really debating applying for the one that offers the 75K bonus, but I truly do not want another credit card. I've thought about buying 40K (with 10K bonus), but can't really justify spending the 1K. I've debated other tricks and schemes, but ultimately can't see what difference it will make whether I get there this year or next year, and my finances aren't such that I can really afford to start doing extraordinary things just to get the miles.

I'm lucky -- I'm so close to my 2MM that I can taste it. I'll make it soon enough, one way or another. But, yeah, it's been a thrill-a-minute ride the last few years, working and working to gobble up each and every extra mile I could get my grubby little hands on. It was fun. It was hard work, but doable.

I can really understand why AA is doing this and I don't fault them for it, but my heart goes out to everybody who is stuck with a now virtually impossible goal. It makes my stomach turn to think of how you must feel. All the fun has gone out of the game. So sad. Completely reasonable change from AA's perspective, IMO, but still sad.

brp

It's a promotion and welcome news to the vast majority of AAdvantage members who didn't even know that this program existed.

As LT PLT, I really don't care, except that it will take longer to hit MM thresholds and get SWUs. But it's pretty minor. mrs. brp is not yet LT PLT, but we plan to be EXP for the foreseeable future, so she'll get there in about 3 years.

Again, no big deal.

Cheers.

living near shamu

+1 and I'm barely at quarter of a million. It would take me 15 years to reach 1 MM at this rate. I too have turned everyone in my family to AA. Oh well, such is life. Full of enjoyment one moment, plenty of dissatisfaction the next.

NYC1K

ROFL! I was thinking to a flower shop instead of the grocery store.

sent

Geogirl, your post reminds me of myself. I like the "hubby tickets" - I think I may start doing that myself. I learned about the program 2 years ago when I was contemplating AA, DL, or CO as my primary carrier in NYC. Now that I no longer was in school, had money to travel and a husband to do it with, the million mile quest made me feel like I finally had a "hobby"

AAExPlat

I'm sure you already know, but just in case you don"t...

1) On UA, only BIS miles count towards lifetime status, too. No elite status bonuses, etc.

2) On UA, all BIS miles have to actually be flown on UA metal. That means a TATL on LH earns you exactly nothing towards LT while BA earns BIS towards Lifetime status on AA.

3) 1MM BIS miles on UA metal gets you 1P for life (instead of Gold on AA), but it's obviously also kore difficult to be able to earn BIS only on UA metal as opposed to all partner airlines.

mach92

Same here have LTPLT moved to Asia this summer.

pindento

I didn't say I wouldn't be flying AA, but just possibly not with the same motivation or intent - I have to rethink whether maintaining the level of AA travel make sense ... I am allowed to have my opinion, right?

Getting to EXP this year was almost entirely personal travel, and a large amount of it was above and beyond what I would normally do to take advantage of the DEQM and start the travel-trend for years to come, taking advantage of the SWUs and maintain EXP while getting to LT Plat before retirement.

I'm just saying, that from my perspective it's demotivating to continue as much discretionary AA travel ... and it's far from anything worthy to promote.

For anyone who travels enough for a MM mile threshold to be in the realm of possibility, the previously unpublished rules weren't as much of a secret as some of the folks on this board believe ... and even if I wasn't aware of the previous rules, it's certainly not marketing to my motivations - and perhaps that's not a big deal to AA, but it's difficult to see who this would be good for. Even maintaining 100K BIS miles or EXP level travel, that's 10 yrs per threshold - for me, this is absolutely no longer something that's going to factor into my decisions.

And this goal did previously factor in.