MiamiBill

I have never used the book AA hotels option. How did you do it and was it competitively priced?

greekfreak

Yup, you do pay a slight premium though, and I mean very slight premium. I did a search the other day for a hotel in San Antonio that was $310 if I booked directly with IHG and $330 from AA hotels. It gave out 3000 miles for only $20 more, totally worth it. Do note, you don't get any hotel loyalty points with it (sometimes the miles post to your account before the reservation and you can just "add" your hotel account # when you check-in and you can essentially double dip)

VegasGambler

If you notice certain hotels / chains where the double dip works, please post them. At Hyatt I would expect them to call it an ineligible rate, regardless of whether your number was added. Some hotels might give you some of your status perks as a courtesy, but I would be shocked to see you earn points or qualifying nights. I'm less familiar with other programs so I can't comment on those.

Hoi polloi

I don't think I've ever seen them post before a trip... I'll have to keep an eye out for that.

greekfreak

Correct, it is usually an ineligible rate. I've seen it work on IHG and Marriott properties but it's usually a crap shoot. Sometimes I get nothing, sometimes just the night credits (which is all I care about), and very rarely I would get night credits and points.

I usually book my trips a day or two ahead but when I have ones that are 2 weeks+ out, they usually post beforehand.

jediwho

Very much so....I recently booked a Courtyard for on bookAA that was $15 less than booking directly through Marriott. This is rare but overall, I have seen that prices are right on top of each other.

Eyenigma

I still don't understand this Loyalty Point thing. If everyone is a VIP - then nobody is.
So if someone just spends $200K on a credit card, which is pretty easy to do — they'll be EXP? Won't just about every business owner in a small to mid size business easily make that? Do butts in seats mean nothing now? If that's the case why be loyal to one airline. You might as well just buy first class tickets on your own dime and be a free agent.

jediwho

You would still need to fly 30 segments to get the choice benefits (System Wide Upgrades), etc. My sense is that there is no one way to play the game. Delta is very much focused on selling their first class seats. Maybe American wants to have more business owners and spenders and get higher average price for the coach seats than Delta and throw in upgrades as a perk. I don't know and am merely guessing here and the best thing to do is see how this plays out. It's way too early, but someone I know who has been a Platinum on AA (also a million miler) for 15+ years tole me that he got upgraded on a Sunday's LAX-HNL flight on AA.....that almost never happens. Still, I overall agree that you have a risk a gazillion Ex Platinums.

VegasGambler

For most people it is not easy to spend $200k on a CC.

For the few people who can do this, if they are willing to put all that spend on the AA CC, and create all that extra revenue for AA (selling the miles to the lender) they are happy to reward them with status.

If you really think that "everyone" is going to do this then you have a very warped view of the general population.

MiamiBill

I sorta agree, but hitting $200k on one credit card is no easy task for most people. You are correct, AA is valuing credit card use as much as flying and butt in seat miles means nothing now, it is all about the cost of a ticket.

As much as I prefer AA, I always check other options and if there is a huge price difference, then I switch to another carrier.

I have been buying FC, rather than taking chances on upgrades for 95% of my flights, and book coach on small regional jets or if the price for fc is outrageously high.

Just an observation, the prices of FC has been relatively low since covid hit, but I am noticing the prices are very high now....not sure if this is the new normal or not. I find myself using more SWU or miles + cash or booking via miles if the cost for fc is high.

jason99

It'll be interesting to see how this calculus works out. Some people who don't have high spend on cards but fly a lot may leave to other airlines (if their airport isn't an AA hub). I guess AA is figuring that the customers they gain who spend a lot on credit cards and are drawn to this change will pay more tickets anyway.

jason99

yep, or get a job with a company who will do this!

jerseytom

On any given random flight, how many people are small-to-mid-size business owners, or people casually putting $200k a year on a credit card? My guess would be exceedingly few.

jtav559

With average American household spending at ~ $70k.... overwhelming majority of the flying public would be no where near $200K spending, let alone on AA branded cards to earn LP.
This new concern of EXP ranks swelling in logarithmic scale is very unfounded. I actually think it will be a wash with folks who hit EXP EQM with ease but were just squeaking by to EXP with EQD (which is essentially what LP are now?)... they may fall to PPro.

Another point, if you spending $200K on a single AA card in a year, you aren't playing the game right considering the intricacies of their current CC portfolio offerings:
$50K spend on Aviator Silver = 65K LP + Companion Cert
$40K spend on AA Exec = 50K LP
$20K spend on AA Plat = 20K LP + $125 flight coupon
Put the rest on whichever card floats your boat.
Better yet, set a limit of LP by CC spend in the year and then put the rest on cards that earn MR/Chase/CapOne Miles - gives you a lot more flexibility in the long run.

Pretty much my game plan. Buy FC when fares a good, plan on using miles+copay when advantageous.
Hate to sound snooty, but with the devolving of economy service and its ever-shrinking legroom (*cough* thanks Parker *cough*) - I just don't find flying back there an enjoyable experience. Especially since I am not a small guy - can be downright painful at times.

I usually burn my RDM on tickets for family when we are traveling together, since they are not in the "qualifying" game per say.
I will say that on some routes, the domestic F awards have been pretty competitively priced - so I feel like I am getting decent or better redemption value out of the AA miles.

jediwho

I don't have small business but even if I did, there is an opportunity cost to spending $150K on a AA CC -- $150K because I am assuming people who are Exp would want to get choice benefits and hence fly 30 segments. The opportunity cost because AA cards really don't earn much redemable miles. I am very consistently able to get 2.5x MR by optimizing my spending on Amex cards. Also, I almost always transfer points at 20% or 30% bonus. So essentially, for me, trying to get Exp spending through AA CC is an opportunity cost of an additional 300K of an Amex transfer partner (usually BA, VA, Hawaiian, Qantas, or Singapore). Not worth it for me frankly.