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Cannot use AAdvantage Platinum card benefits on AA if ticket purchased with TYP?

Cannot use AAdvantage Platinum card benefits on AA if ticket purchased with TYP?

Old Feb 18, 2016, 10:44 am
  #1  
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Cannot use AAdvantage Platinum card benefits on AA if ticket purchased with TYP?

I have a Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select card. Some of the benefits are: free bags for me and my travel party and group one boarding when flying AA.

I bought tickets on AA using Thank You Points, and both AA and Citi are telling me I do not get those benefits on my upcoming flight as I did not use the Citi AAdvantage credit card to pay for my flight.

Anyone had this issue before?
AndieNarwhal is offline  
Old Feb 18, 2016, 1:05 pm
  #2  
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How long have you had the card?

When you log in to aa.com, it should show you somewhere as a cardholder. That's what entitles you to the benefits, not whether you used the card to buy the tickets.

But that takes a while to register after you get the card (maybe after your first use? I'm not sure). So if you got the card very recently, that may be the problem.

Also, do you have your AAdvantage number on the flight reservation? If not, that's the problem; the Citi card benefits are tied to your AAdvantage number, so if your AAdvantage number isn't on the flight reservation (you'd have to be able to add it somehow later if you booked it with ThankYou points, I presume), there's no way to get those benefits because it can't connect to your card.
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Old Feb 18, 2016, 2:26 pm
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Originally Posted by sdsearch

When you log in to aa.com, it should show you somewhere as a cardholder. That's what entitles you to the benefits, not whether you used the card to buy the tickets.
That's great news! It does show I'm a cardholder and my AAdvantage number is linked to my reservation. I wonder why the AA rep told me otherwise (perhaps it was because I called when I had just received my card). Anyway, glad to hear I should still get the benefits when I check in for my flight.
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Old Feb 19, 2016, 1:11 am
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Originally Posted by churwitz
That's great news! It does show I'm a cardholder and my AAdvantage number is linked to my reservation. I wonder why the AA rep told me otherwise (perhaps it was because I called when I had just received my card). Anyway, glad to hear I should still get the benefits when I check in for my flight.
FYI, T&C do say your card needs to be open for 7 days before air travel. Unsure if that's truly enforced or not.
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Old Feb 19, 2016, 7:44 am
  #5  
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Originally Posted by nall
FYI, T&C do say your card needs to be open for 7 days before air travel. Unsure if that's truly enforced or not.
I doubt it's a matter of "enforcement". I suspect that's just allowing the time for Citi to communicate to AA that you got the card. And given how bad Citi is about timing, I'm not sure if that's even always enough!
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Old Feb 21, 2016, 7:20 pm
  #6  
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Originally Posted by churwitz
I have a Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select card. Some of the benefits are: free bags for me and my travel party and group one boarding when flying AA.

I bought tickets on AA using Thank You Points, and both AA and Citi are telling me I do not get those benefits on my upcoming flight as I did not use the Citi AAdvantage credit card to pay for my flight.

Anyone had this issue before?
Your Citi AA card is linked to your AA account and that is all that matter despite what the T&Cs. In practice neither AA nor Citi ever has enforced the condition that the ticket must be paid with Citi AA card in order to enjoy the benefit, probably because they dont have a way to enforce that!


Originally Posted by churwitz
That's great news! It does show I'm a cardholder and my AAdvantage number is linked to my reservation. I wonder why the AA rep told me otherwise (perhaps it was because I called when I had just received my card). Anyway, glad to hear I should still get the benefits when I check in for my flight.
This is what matters. As long as the TYP bought ticket has your AA number linked to it, you should get all the benefits from the Citi AA card which needs to be acquired 7 days prior to your travel date.
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Old Feb 22, 2016, 2:34 pm
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Yup, unlike United American gives you the benefits for having the card regardless of method of payment. You can quickly see if your card benefits are active when you sign in to AA.com it should show "AAdvantage(R) Cardmember" right under your name or status on the homepage.
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