Which, itself, is a sad observation.

-FlyerBeek

I�m actually pretty shocked they would tinker with elite status qualification right now- after all, the assumption out there is all the airlines are missing internal targets for how many people are qualifying this year.

(I�m also shocked because AA almost always just copies DL, but in this case they are following UA.)

So, if AA follows UA, will MQM’s be eliminated as it appears that UA doesn’t have such - if I’m looking at this correctly. After a quick look at UA’s mileage program Elite status, it doesn’t appear that credit card spend counts towards Elite status.

The move to revenue-based elite earning is way overdue, though I know that is an unpopular opinion here.

Hopefully that is all it is, and there is not a big devaluation. Though I would support a "simpler" redemption structure (e.g. flat 1.5 cents per point on any flight) even if if means less opportunities for hard-to-find spectacular redemption opportunities.

Bye ,bye 57.5K J redemptions to Europe and maybe 60K J to Japan??????

The problem with airlines and revenue based programs is that they cannot help themselves and cap the earnings per flight. So you get screwed when you buy really expensive tickets. IMHO Either make it pure revenue or not, which is good for UA big spenders.

AA already is saddled with debt, I doubt a lender would back them for an acquisition of this size.

I find the whole tracking miles and segments and dollars all a big headache, especially when it comes to the various ways in which you can get EQM -or- EQD bonuses (but not both). For the last several years, my metrics all co-tracked, so I don't participate in tracking EQM bonuses on my citicard, for example, but it is completely meaningless without also finding the EQDs to go with it.

So, I really wouldn't mind simplification to just EQD just from the logistics standpoint of tracking targets.

Nor, would I mind mileage redemptions to be simpler. I don't have time to spend hours sorting through all of the mileage choices to see if there is any values that aren't a complete torture trip by adding a 9 hour overnight layover, and an extra stop 800 miles in the wrong direction. Of course, they could make them simpler in a way that ruins any chance of finding a good redemption, so I might just shut up now...

One last thing -- I wish Aadvantage would have -some- consideration for infrequent flyers. Have some sort of cumulative tracking towards something of value -- a couple free baggage vouchers, a few 500-mile upgrade stickers (which can actually be used even if you don't have status), MCE upgrades etc.

The vast flying public isn't flying every week for work, but they can still build loyalty and value in the long term if they were treated with something other than complete disdain. People will build loyalty to Carnival, for example, and take 10 cruises over 30 years on just those ships.

AA follows anyone who thinks cost savings is the only way to �make� money. Surprised they aren�t following frontier and making people pay to sign up for AAvantage haha.

Going revenue based is good and gives me an incentive to have more AA flights in the future.

The future is this but not in a good way. Mileage redemptions are just going to be whatever they tell you it is without any standard to compare against so lax-nyc could be 80,000 miles, 150,000 miles or 1,200,000 miles on any given day and that�s just what it is. Come back hours or days later and it will change again. That�s pure dynamic pricing. Sure you might save a few thousand miles on a short haul but they aren�t doing it for your benefit. It�s designed to extract maximum miles for minimum value given.

As a former UA 1K, the issue wasn't that they went revenue based for elite status, I could have done that just fine... it's that they biased it toward US based people. The requirement for non-US road warriors was outrageous compared to people flying a buttload of domestic segments. As someone who has been overseas for most of my adult life, I get status from long international flights and have about 6 USA domestic segments per year, made it impossible on UA under the new system. If AA goes the same way I'll just go for BA or JL Emerald status, the AA upgrades wouldn't be worth it anymore and I'd get most of the other AA benefits with either JL or BA status. Emerald is my #1 motivation now but don't fly (US) domestic enough to get it on AS.

This is the current. Last time I bought award tickets, the range was between 12,000 miles roundtrip and 50,000 miles roundtrip, with everything in between as options. And the cash price of these options only ranged from like $300-400. Frustrating that the value of AA miles is tied to how much time I have to sift through routings....(and/or accept torture)

Right, which is exactly the way airlines have been pricing cash tickets for years. Why should award tix be any different? In fact, this is basically what they are doing now - most redemptions have little correlation to a static award chart.

Who caps earnings? Other earning-based programs that I am very familiar with (Southwest, Amtrak) do not cap. I didn't think UA did either, but I am not certain of that.

In theory, they shouldn't need a cap - they are just allocating x% of their revenue back to the awards program.