dogcanyon

The fares to Hawaii this year have been extremely low. DFW to major airports in HI available this spring on multiple dates for as low as $198 round trip on AA and others. Even less from the west coast. A friend of mine flew LAX-OGG round trip on AA for $158. Even now, with fares on AA as low as the mid 400s from DFW it seems dirt cheap for 7,40O miles of flying.

thatmikereed

It is. That's why the new program focuses on revenue vs. miles.

lsquare

So is AA losing money on those flights, or their operating expenses have never been lower?

thatmikereed

Their profit margin on selling credit card companies miles is higher than flying people around. For many airports, if they don't fly, they lose their slots, too.

jamflyer

I never had any issues using these and I am LT Gold as well.

ckx2

Yes. I could not care less about domestic travel. Which is why I do value lifetim platinum.

Pier/Bridge access at HKG - I take that.
Al Mourjan access at DOH - I take that.
CX Lounge access at LHR - I take that.
Free bags? Thank you.

For me personally - that's value when not travelling in J/F.

thatmikereed

Most of AA�s fliers and flights are domestic-only. Especially now, you�re not their target market.

ckx2

For not being their target market, they sure do hand me CK frequently.

thatmikereed

That pretty much confirms it. You�re not the target market for their Loyalty Program because they have a different program for you.

This is targeted at the folks below CK, all the way down to members who can hit/get Gold.

NYC Flyer

I have benefitted from LT gold in the sense it releases one from the requirement to hold an AA credit card for bags, boarding, provides Priority Access (less value now with TSA pre-check and Clear), and generally makes a MCE seat available at check-in if one is diligent about timing.

I have also been decently lucky on upgrades as Gold, especially LAX-LAS-LAX (no cost) and even LAX-JFK on occasion.

However, to the OP's point, I also expect the relatively easy opportunity to earn Gold (or higher) through credit card spend will make the scarcer benefits of LT Gold even more elusive, so the value of LT status certainly appears to be diminishing.

carlosdca

I don't understand this. First, there is absolutely no difference (as far as benefits) between GLD and LT GLD.
If it is easier to get GLD than before, how does that affect LT Golds?
The benefits are the same.
Perhaps the upgrade chances will be even lower, but I don't think anybody here appreciates LT Gold because of the upgrade success rate.
I really don't understand how LT Gold value is being diluted if the benefits have not changed at all.

thunderdeacon

I was upgraded as a gold quite often during covid. The upgrade success was most prominent if I avoided DFW, flew on Eagle flights, and flew on tuesday, wednesday, and saturday. Those upgrade benefits seem fewer now, and I've made it to PPro, but I am still occasionally on flights that have empty first class seats or first class seats that go to non-revs. The free checked bag benefit is awesome. It can save a lot of money for those that travel with bags. There seems to always be good main cabin extra seats available, even at check-in. That's a really cool benefit too. So no, gold is not worthless. If one is expecting to be upgraded a lot, then it might not seem that special. Honestly, regular economy seats are so terrible now that the main cabin extra benefit is pretty good. A main cabin extra seat is so much more bearable, especially in the exit row.

NYC Flyer

I expect more people competing for the scarce benefits (MCE at checkin, upgrades)....the value of LT gold is diluted to me if the frequency of these working out declines.

thunderdeacon

I cannot remember a flight where there was not a decent MCE seat available at T-24.

carlosdca

You are assuming that the pool of GLDs will be larger enough to make a significant impact.
There is absolutely no certainty that that will happen. So as it is, you are making conclusions based on a highly speculative premise.

It is not that ominous. Let's touch base in a year and see if those MCE seats become elusive (the only benefit that I see impacted by a larger GLD pool). The rest remains the same, no dilution so far.