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Thinking about this last night, this new published benefit really does give AA a lot of room to run some promos that can really be spun to look good without having much impact at all on AA's bottom line.
Imagine: "Fly XXX to YYY during the promo period and earn 10 times MM miles for each round trip flown!" "Fly XXX to YYY 12 times between January and April and we'll give you a 100,000 MM bonus!" "Extend your earning power -- each time you check in online for a trip between April and June, we'll deposit an extra 10,000 MM miles into your account." "Between October and December, each time you preorder and prepay your Y meal, we'll give you an extra 5,000 MM miles!" "Looking to reach that next MM goal? For a limited time, you can buy MM miles for only .05 a mile!" Each of these offers would likely help a small percentage of pax achieve a MM goal. It could also serve as an additional revenue stream for those who are within striking distance of a MM goal but want to get there faster, and are willing to pony up additional cash/fly more to get there. But for the vast majority of pax, it would be a fairly invisible bonus, something AA wouldn't have to pay out on for potentially a decade or more and maybe even never. Sort of a FF program version of vaporware? :eek: |
I see a lot of people who previously were strong users of the Citi AAdvantage card posting they will no longer use it (that some hotel card they might have is a better "mile/point earning value").
I have the Citi card, and mostly because I earn miles I can use to get easier (than other airlines) award travel... not because I'm trying to hit a MM plateau (I'm already LTP). What card would you Citi experts advise I might switch to? I'm Hyatt Diamond, use SPG and HH as my second choices (although not status level on either), and hate Mariott. I'm silver on DL, but hate AMEX, and won't fly UA or US. Does this profile suggest an obvious credit card I would find more valuable than just earn regular non-MM miles on AA where I'm EXP and with which I could never have enough award travel earned? Thx! |
More likely that Citi would use it in its promos.
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BIS miles for Million mile milestones/status is just what UA has.
What is next? International upgrades restricted to expensive fare classes? Miles+copay or SWUs that do not clear? No milesaver awards? At that point I really would not see any difference between AA and UA. I have paid a small premium lately, $100 - $200 to fly on AA/OW. UA/ Star Alliance seems to have more competitive pricing lately. ...we'll see what AA does with other features of its program...I'm ready to jump to any other side if there are more changes to the AA program... :( :td: |
Originally Posted by virmaior
(Post 17017103)
I think we need to remember brp's thesis that we are a non-standard set of AA users. So < 10,000 people who game the system quit pursuing AA?
Win to AA.
Originally Posted by AZbba
(Post 17017277)
except that our "gaming the system" doesn't have an actual cost to AA in dollars. Remember, award seats are mostly seats that would go empty/to nonrevs/ for upgrades anyway.
I would wager that our non-standard set of AA users probably generates CONSIDERABLY more revenue (be it from transfering miles / eshopping / dining / actual tix) for AA than a similar sized random set of AA customers. FF's for carriers such as AC and QF are profitable however.
Originally Posted by MauiTigerShark
(Post 17017334)
While I'm sure there are some who have good reason to migrate there seem to be quite a few more who are suffering from "the grass is greener" syndrome or engaging in a knee jerk reaction of "I must do something, this is something...therefore this is what I must do" and may well end up doing themselves more of a disservice than this change in the MM program will do to them.
Simply browsing through the UA/CO boards or listening to the talk of Sky Pesos will quickly show that options are few and far between and that, for the moment, the benefits of the AAdvantage program still appear better than those of the competitors. All IMHO obviously....
Originally Posted by uxb
(Post 17017713)
I agree. Except, I will end my relationship with programmes that are ending their relation with AAdvantage. One such instance is the Citibank AAdvantage debit card. I am ending my relationship w/ Citigold in favour of Charles Schwab because Citibank's customer service is criminally inept. Without the ability to earn airline miles on debit purchases, there is no longer a reason to stay.
Originally Posted by Jacobin777
(Post 16982549)
I asked a Citibank branch manager by my house if this was true. Indeed it is. :(:td:
Basically she told me customers who get charged the yearly fee will be charged but then will be refunded the difference back at the end of the year (i.e. prorated). For example, if one gets charged $65 Sept 1, then at the end of the year when the AAdvantage Debit program ends, they will be refunded 75% of it back ($48.75) since they are only using 3 months of the service. Their debit card will be changed then to their rewards card (forgot the name) and will not be charged a yearly fee. |
Originally Posted by Happy
(Post 17019153)
This is getting quite ironic now - agents are pushing dining program / hotel booking / car rental reservation at the end of each call to tout the miles earning opportunities... On each and every such push I told them I would seriously re-consider to give AA all the auxiliary revenues with the program changes - I would still use such opportunities ONLY WHEN THEY HAVE AN EDGE ABOVE OTHER PROGRAMS PROMOTIONS. Gone are the days when even AA's offers are somewhat inferior but I would still justify it due to the Million Miler program. Now the incentive or the "perceived" incentive is gone so everything would be compared with a more realistic perspective. Not a bad thing in some ways. For example, right now I have the targeted offer from UA's Months of Miles to earn 1000 miles for every 2 partner transactions - so all the partner activities would go to UA now instead of piling on AA blindly.
--wes |
Will Citi MC, Visa and AMEX still count for award tix?
I am Lifetime Gold approaching 1.6 million miles - was looking forward to Platinum in a few years..oh well! Have every Citi Card imaginable, except the new one, which I will probably get and charge the hell out of it for business (and if I can get a personal one, will do the same).
My question is if I still use my other Citi Cards, will I still receive mileage that can be used for award tickets? This has been very beneficial to us as we have not had to pay for a flight to the Caribbean in the last 10 years, and I achieved lifetime gold status anyway. If we can still receive miles toward flights, I think its worth it unless there are better cards out there. Thanks! |
Originally Posted by AmericanAirlines
(Post 16986175)
As promised, today I’m sharing with you the details of the new AAdvantage® Million MilerSM program.
Here’s how it’s going to work: Starting December 1, 2011, AAdvantage base miles earned by flying on American Airlines, American Eagle® or the AmericanConnection® carrier or any AAdvantage program participating airline will count towards Million Miler status. Before you get nervous about just BIS miles counting, for those of you who have the new Citi Executive(SM) / AAdvantage® World Elite(TM) MasterCard® credit card, as a limited time offer, one AAdvantage mile for every dollar spent on eligible purchases using this card will count toward Million Miler status. Bonus miles and additional miles earned through special offers will not count. The Citi Executive(SM) / AAdvantage® World Elite(TM) MasterCard® credit card account must be open and in good standing by December 1, 2011, and miles must post to billing statements through December 2012. Realize that this makes American Airlines the only major US airline to provide a significant non-flight way to achieve Million Miler status. And one of the few to allow Million Miler miles accrual on participating airlines. Here are the benefits at each Million Miler threshold:
You might be wondering about the AAdvantage miles you’ve earned so far. The good news is that when the Million Miler program launches on December 1, your starting Million Miler balance will include every AAdvantage mile you’ve ever earned since joining the program. And any Million Miler status or benefits you’ve earned so far remain as well. When you log into your AAdvantage account on AA.com on and after December 1, you’ll see your Million Miler balance separate from your award miles, so you can easily track your progress toward these mileage milestones. For more information you can visit http://bit.ly/aadvmillion or ask any questions you may have right here. Thank you for your continued loyalty, and we look forward to seeing you on board soon. Maya Leibman President – AAdvantage Loyalty Program -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODERATOR'S NOTE For the previous, now closed thread on this topic, please see: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...r-program.html dstan AA Forum Co-Moderator |
Originally Posted by canyonleo
(Post 17024647)
I see a lot of people who previously were strong users of the Citi AAdvantage card posting they will no longer use it (that some hotel card they might have is a better "mile/point earning value").
I have the Citi card, and mostly because I earn miles I can use to get easier (than other airlines) award travel... not because I'm trying to hit a MM plateau (I'm already LTP). What card would you Citi experts advise I might switch to? I'm Hyatt Diamond, use SPG and HH as my second choices (although not status level on either), and hate Mariott. I'm silver on DL, but hate AMEX, and won't fly UA or US. Does this profile suggest an obvious credit card I would find more valuable than just earn regular non-MM miles on AA where I'm EXP and with which I could never have enough award travel earned? Thx! |
Originally Posted by broadwayblue
(Post 17025413)
why would you use the citi card ahead of SPG? SPG effectively earns 1.25 AA miles per dollar and has the flexibility of using points for many airlines and hotels too. Citi should only be used when a vendor doesn't take amex.
Why use Citi ahead of SPG (which I know nothing about)? Maybe cost / annual fee? Customer service? Hatred towards AMEX?... You're replying that the SPG would be the better card for me? (I certainly need more SPG points if I'm ever going to earn a third night at Maldives where it's like 90k points/night). |
Originally Posted by canyonleo
(Post 17025506)
I don't know, I've been using the Citi AAdvantage for like 30 years (got to nearly 500k AA miles before ever taking a second flight)... thus my question.
Why use Citi ahead of SPG (which I know nothing about)? Maybe cost / annual fee? Customer service? Hatred towards AMEX?... You're replying that the SPG would be the better card for me? (I certainly need more SPG points if I'm ever going to earn a third night at Maldives where it's like 90k points/night). SPG card is issued by AMEX which has infinitely better services than Citi in many ways. Just the AMEX premium program (at additional cost only when you enroll, and only at each rental) would worth it over the Citi AA card or any Citi card for that matter. With that program, your CDW is primary and AMEX generally handles the claim matter a lot smoother than the MC Rental that Citi uses. (that is secondary inside US.) SPG pts are versatile - if you want AA miles, it is transferred to AA miles at 1 to 1:25 at 20K a block - so your $20K spent on SPG card earns you 25K AA miles versus only 20K miles on Citi AA card. In other words, your 500K earned on Citi AA cards could have been 625K AA miles if those were put on SPG card. It can also transferred to many other airlines programs. More importantly it can be used to book Starwood hotel award nights - Surprise! The Cash+Point option if available, can often yield a return rate of 3c per $ spent. I dont know about you, but many people would think an additional 25% earning rate is no doubt superior than without the additional 25% ... |
Yes, I should learn about SPG card, if that's your advice (as I see now it is), so thank you for that suggestion... exactly what I was looking for (as noted I value SPG points, as much as I hate AMEX).
There are other comparison elements (annual fee difference, etc.), but I won't try to hijack the thread, and I was only looking for a suggestions from the Citi AA experts here so I could focus my research in the more appropriate threads. Thx |
I thinking of calling Citi and switching to a different card. I've been with citibank for around 20 years, and I get treated pretty well. Since AA is the only airline Citi-affiliate, I've started looking for other rewards cards offered by Citi (I didn't consider a non-miles card before because I was going to 2MM). Citi has a pretty good selection of other cards, this one looks good -- any thoughts? http://dealnews.com/Citi-Thank-You-S...s-/495559.html
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Originally Posted by garycal
(Post 17026094)
I thinking of calling Citi and switching to a different card. I've been with citibank for around 20 years, and I get treated pretty well. Since AA is the only airline Citi-affiliate, I've started looking for other rewards cards offered by Citi (I didn't consider a non-miles card before because I was going to 2MM). Citi has a pretty good selection of other cards, this one looks good -- any thoughts? http://dealnews.com/Citi-Thank-You-S...s-/495559.html
Think I'd prefer AMEX PR Gold. Typically able to find 50K or more sign-up bonus with 1st year fee waived ($175/yr after that, I believe). MR points never expire, you can get 2x and 3x for selected spending, and they can be transferred to a variety of airlines/hotels. Also, AMEX seems to frequently offer a 30-50% bonus for transfers to BA which can then be used for domestic travel on AA (no YQ fees) and other 1W partners. By the way, I am under the impression that Citi sends out 1099's for TYPs (at a value of 1cent/point). Anyone know for sure? |
I'm simplifying this but the LT value comparison doesn't seem to be that complicated:
UA 1P @ 1 mil > AA GLD @ 1 mil upgrades, bonus miles, etc etc For the vast majority, partner airlines included in the AA calc is not going to double your mileage (i.e. get you to 2 mil in the same amt of time), meaning flying UA is still likely the better choice for most under 1 mil AA miles. Argument can be made that if you're close, AA GLD is better than UA nothing but if you're in it for the long haul, I'd go for the UA 1P. If you want to pay $450/year on a card to increase your AA mileage accural then you should be spending at least 50k/year to get that free roundtrip ticket and offset that fee. This looks to be the way to make AA PLT obtainable and realistically worthwhile compared to UA. AA is betting that people will care about RDMs since thats what gets you the free flights, so most peoples behaviors will not change. It's still the easiest airline to get RDMs after all. I think they're right, most won't switch when AA makes sense. What AA will lose though is the 'extracurricular' business. I'll definitely not go out of my way to fly AA anymore unless I know I'm on track to hit EXP. I'll definitely close the Citi AA card and get a card that gives 2% back instead. Probably still worthwhile to keep BankDirect unless you can get better interest elsewhere. I'll probably go a little out of my way to fly UA, but not that much. I imagine AA will probably lose 6 flights from me a year tops. |
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