Does anyone have an updated Milestracker spreadsheet for 2012 to track this? Searched this thread for spreadsheet- but no hits.

New MM program = BS
 

I am sure this has been discussed a lot on this thread but I cannot understand the benefit to AA by making the lifetime Gold and Platinum harder to achieve? It is not like gold’s and plat’s hog all the upgrades. They don't make boarding any slower, they don't slow down the check lines. Other than sending out new luggage tags where is the cost?

Me thinks this is a way to NOT give out as many VIP upgrades as they do, again the benifit would be??? When I travel overseas I will pay a little more to fly AA so I can use my VIP. Without that VIP I will be on the cheapest flight I can find. I don't care about million miler status, I want the VIP's! So at some point this will cost them a little bit of my travel but....when you live in DFW you need AA much more than they need you.

Go Stars!

I agree. After 2 million miles the VIPs were the real reasons to try to go for the next million. Unlike the united you can strive for anything above midtier status and the stickers or bonus miles aren't worth that much.

Maybe one day they will offer a path toward EXP. one day.

This is a step toward getting down swelling elite numbers. Good first step. Of course I don't mind being at 2MM already BUT as a DL PM you get high tiers for showing up there are so many promo's. Again my question is will the million miler numbers now start to shrink as less qualify with the new policy. Maybe the answer is obvious but again things are changing for sure at ALL the legacies. Good reason to follow FT closely!

Just made Million Miler when my CITI CC spend posted today! Woohoo!! Merry Christmas!
Program to Date Miles 2,001,934
I am officially PTD Million Miler!!
And what do I get? Nothing!
Still have ~30K BIS to go to become a real MM!

Allow me to be the first to quote the great comedian Arthur Lange when I say: "Waaaaaaaah!"

Sorry. Just teasing. Anyway, congrats on your 2MM PTD achievement. :)

P.S. As an EXP, I'm sure you'll make it in no time at all.

I would be a lot more pleased getting those vips expiring in 2/14 than receiving some today that expire 2/13. Than again that is me and might not be the expectation for ORD-TGU

Ditto. And this may be the first year I get that chance. :D

I can understand doing away with the cc churn approaches to getting there (possibly because it had never been part of my strategy, which I'm now regretting), but I can NOT understand the removal of bonus miles related to BIS activity - 10 yrs as EXP getting to 2 MM is reasonable and a factor of motivation for loyalty. However, 20 yrs as EXP or 40 yrs as Platinum to reach the goal is just ridiculous to consider a promotion. It becomes more of a novelty than a reason to choose one airline over another.

The suggestion that we can expect the occasional MM bonus miles promotion gets under my skin ... just nagging opportunities to remind us of a goal that used to make a current difference in motivations.

If AA's intention is to use this "promotion" to drive more discretionary travel their way, IMO this is not going to do it. Choosing AA is going to become strictly an annual decision - whether maintaining benefits of EXP is high on the priorities (will know more after 2012), or reduce the cost per trip and travel substantially more through competing airlines.

For me, business travel pretty much is what it is; if expenses are covered and employer/client doesn't scrutinize, how can I maintain the best benefit from OPM. For discretionary travel, have to consider how much I'd now dread losing the EXP from one year to the next in order take advantage of better deals on other airlines and travel with the family even more. Whether I'll lose accumulation toward a future goal will no long play any part in the decision.

Please define PTD. Thanks!

PTD = Program to Date

Why not? This is mostly on par with what the competitors do. Granted, on UA, 1 million starts off at the equivalent of AA PLT (and you get to give it to your spouse), but existing AAdvantage members had the head start of all miles counting for all of these years.

As this was an undocumented benefit for so many years I think it's fair to assume that the vast majority of AA FFs had no idea the MM program existed....so most PAX weren't churning cards, buying coins or doing any of the other stuff FTers were doing. As such I doubt that their MM balances were seriously affected by non flying activity.

Now that AA have decided to publicize the program it's going to come under scrutiny and, with the new rules, some PAX starting at zero may find 20 years of EXP or 40 years of PLT a bit of a reach just to get LT PLT status (if it even exists in 40 years time). If you're a "domestic only" traveler the fact that AA offers MM miles on partner flights is neither here nor there making UAs offering a lot more tempting and possibly making AAs program look uncompetitive.

It's a YMMV situation...I'm ~500k from LTP and can see myself making it in the next 5-7 years - I had a great head start thanks to FT and I travel internationally so I'm not enormously disadvantaged by the changes....this won't be the case for some others and, for this group, the grass may indeed be greener elsewhere.

I agree with the above post. I have more than 1,7M AA PTD (program to date....thanks for explaining that) with a big influx of non-status miles coming to me in January. I'm figuring 3 years to get to LT Plat from where I am now.

How hard am I going to try to put all my BIS on AA? Well, likely not as hard as in the past. My credit cards are going from the AA ones to ones that give cash back.

MAGIC111...you are a genius!!!!
It is strategic, back when they announced the change, i decided not to spend extra $ and reach MM. I decided to wait and earn MM through BIS and achieve it in 2012 so I can get EVIPS expire 2/14!

I am EXP till 2/13 and then with soft landing PLAT 2/14. If I dont fly 30K BIS in ~ 2 years, I dont need to be elite.