nk15

Have to call several times, never posts automatically...its a struggle.

Shadowfactor

Never had an issue with getting the Aspire credit. I've had the card going on 2 years now and used the credit at 3 different hotels. Always posted 2-4 days after charge posts.

rog92

My experience has been very different. Resort credits post very quickly (I think you need to use the right rate as indicated by the wiki) both years, and I don't have problem with gift card yet because I use DL. Sad to see AA go though.

Also, just want to point out that Amex's terms explicitly exclude airline GCs, so you can't really claim "scammed" when they actually enforce their terms. The credit was never intended for GCs, but rather airline incidentals. It was a calculated gamble when you signed up.

Red259

I looked at the wiki but just to be clear when it comes to resort credit and you talking about the right rate all you mean is booking directly with hotel and avoiding advance rates at us domestic properties correct? Want to make sure I didn't mess up my recent booking.

christianj

For the RESORT credit.....that's my understanding too. I think he is confusing the $100 credit for which you have to book a certain rate code with the resort credit of $250.

Now back to the regularly scheduled broadcasting...discussion of credits on AA.

GTITAN

Just pulled trigger on buying AA gift card without looking over last two weeks of posts.... Ughhh. Luckily only spent $100 and would spend $100 on AA anyway this year (and a lot more) so no great loss if not reimbursed. As others noted was nice perk (albeit not an intended perk) so cannot be upset.

Safe Travels

James Fleming

Success - the 2 x $100 egift cards I purchased on January 31st finally credited. The original purchase coded as misc taxes/fees.

Traveler Dave

pinniped

To be fair, the issue that Diamond is meaningless long predates the Aspire card. I've been Gold/Diamond with HH since 2000 and the elite benefits at both levels really deteriorated about 5-6 years ago. It now seems humorous that I even bother referring to Gold, given that it is truly meaningless at hotels, but those of us who remember HH of the early 2000's remember that Gold actually meant something - including some substantial upgrades - and Diamond was downright fantastic and led to many exceptional suite upgrades.

Of course, issuing the credit card that comes with close-to-free Diamond only exacerbates the problem.

I'm still keeping my Aspire card for the basic tangibles of Diamond - breakfasts, extra points on paid stays, etc. I hate Amex's definition of airline fees (it's much tighter than Citi's, for example), especially given that frequent travelers don't really pay these fees. Maybe I'll just go ahead and buy a good MCE seat on a route where my odds of getting it as an AA Gold would be low...

mia

This is largely accurate on your primary airline, but less true when we fly on other carriers. Give some thought to choosing a secondary airline for this benefit.

rog92

No I didn't confuse the resort credit with the $100 credit. By "right rate" I simply meant avoid AP rate for US properties.

rog92

Yup that's exactly what I meant!

dcmidnight

Decided to look into the Admirals Club renewal option.

Well the Admirals Club renewal price for a household - so just a spouse/spouse membership - has gone from $875 to $1,200. WOOF!

Red259

It is too bad that you can't buy AA daily lounge passes for every airport with AA lounges. I don't want to spend the money on a year long membership which I will not use frequently, but I may be willing to buy some day passes for my occasional AA flights which would help with the airline credit issue.

dcmidnight

I agree. We also tend to fly international and use the Priority Pass lounges on the other end.

Completely agree with this as well. Just the FHR benefits alone can help us save multiple times the annual fee. And thats not even including all the other benefits.