Dec 18, 2019, 12:31 pm
Last edit by: wyogold
Related discussions in other Flyertalk forums:
AA potentially closing accounts due to credit card churning/churn
How to know if you're locked: (as of 12/22/2019)
- Call in to aadvantage reservations (800-882-8880) If you locked, you'll be forwarded to customer service instead of getting to the automated reservations system
- If you want to stay on the line, ask CSR if your account is locked (you tried to make a reservation but it wouldn't let you). CSR will inform you there's a note on your account and that corporate security will contact you
- Try to make a reservation for a super cheap hotel through useaamiles.com. There are 1000 miles / night hotels in New Delhi, so at worst you'll risk 1K miles. If you're locked, you'll see "Unable to process points. Please call our customer service for assistance."
So far, nobody seems to have gotten unlocked and gotten access to their miles back. Accounts with upcoming travel seem to be the ones that are getting terminated at the highest rate.
AA potentially closing accounts due to credit card churning/churn
How to know if you're locked: (as of 12/22/2019)
- Call in to aadvantage reservations (800-882-8880) If you locked, you'll be forwarded to customer service instead of getting to the automated reservations system
- If you want to stay on the line, ask CSR if your account is locked (you tried to make a reservation but it wouldn't let you). CSR will inform you there's a note on your account and that corporate security will contact you
- Try to make a reservation for a super cheap hotel through useaamiles.com. There are 1000 miles / night hotels in New Delhi, so at worst you'll risk 1K miles. If you're locked, you'll see "Unable to process points. Please call our customer service for assistance."
So far, nobody seems to have gotten unlocked and gotten access to their miles back. Accounts with upcoming travel seem to be the ones that are getting terminated at the highest rate.
AA accounts restricted (Nov/Dec 2019)
Jan 18, 2020, 9:40 am
#1681
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 2,055
They are mine. I am currently locked, still earning miles, still have access to my account, and I had 4 reward reservations worth over 400,000 miles cancelled without any notification from AA. But don't worry AA apologists [not directed at you 84fiero], your accounts are safe. Hahahaha.
Jan 18, 2020, 10:07 am
#1682
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,954
This assumes the estimate is correct, but I have no understanding of how it was calculated. The number of affected posters here seems to be a low three digit number. There are fewer than 300 posters in the Citi and AA forum threads, and not everyone who has posted is affected. No doubt not everyone who is affected has posted, and not everyone affected is even aware, but it's a big leap from a few hundred to tens of thousands.
Jan 18, 2020, 10:19 am
#1683
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 746
No longer relevant.
Last edited by OssianBlue; Jul 6, 2020 at 7:27 pm Reason: Point out Reddit
Jan 18, 2020, 10:49 am
#1684
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 274
I agree it's above 10k. Think about how many people are on that sub reddit and that's probably 10% of the population or less. They just kicked out 200 people who signed up just for that sub reddit alone in a couple of days.
Jan 18, 2020, 11:02 am
#1685
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
It's not the number of complaints, it is the simple question as to whether the conduct, if true, violates the Title 49 provision (which is far from unique to DOT, but is as to the commercial carriers enforced only by DOT).
Jan 18, 2020, 11:42 am
#1687
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 6,604
They are mine. I am currently locked, still earning miles, still have access to my account, and I had 4 reward reservations worth over 400,000 miles cancelled without any notification from AA. But don't worry AA apologists [not directed at you 84fiero], your accounts are safe. Hahahaha.
How did you find out your flights were cancelled ? Are they still showing up when you log in ?
I have flights in March and May and if they are going to cancel them I would rather they do it now and I'll go on my backup vacation to Vegas.
Jan 18, 2020, 11:45 am
#1688
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Global
Posts: 5,998
They are mine. I am currently locked, still earning miles, still have access to my account, and I had 4 reward reservations worth over 400,000 miles cancelled without any notification from AA. But don't worry AA apologists [not directed at you 84fiero], your accounts are safe. Hahahaha.
Not doubting you, but never had my account locked, so I am trying to understand. I thought locked meant you were locked out of your account.
Jan 18, 2020, 12:17 pm
#1689
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 779
When your account is "locked", you cannot redeem your miles. You can do all/most other activities.
Jan 18, 2020, 12:18 pm
#1690
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 6,604
Locked accounts can earn miles, access pre booked award tickets, change seats.............shutdown means you are done, can't log in, etc
Jan 18, 2020, 12:41 pm
#1691
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
This assumes the estimate is correct, but I have no understanding of how it was calculated. The number of affected posters here seems to be a low three digit number. There are fewer than 300 posters in the Citi and AA forum threads, and not everyone who has posted is affected. No doubt not everyone who is affected has posted, and not everyone affected is even aware, but it's a big leap from a few hundred to tens of thousands.
This is not to say that I have been presented with any reason to conclude how many accounts have been smacked by AA in and since the last quarter of 2019.
I have to also assume that there are people with locked/shutdown AA accounts who don’t even know that they can no longer redeem previously acquired AA miles that were credited to AA accounts in their name..
Jan 18, 2020, 2:34 pm
#1692
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Global
Posts: 5,998
Jan 18, 2020, 3:07 pm
#1693
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,755
There are SO MANY POSTS reported the scenario that readers would not have a chance to miss such -
The first stage is being "locked", meaning you cannot use the miles in your account but pretty much anything else you are able to do, just like a never-affected account.
The second stage is, an AA termination email lands in either your inbox or your spam folder telling you your account is erased. Then you find out you can no longer log in your account, everything associated with that, incl the already booked award flights, are also canceled. Though the cancellation can certainly happen during the "locked" stage.
Between the "locked" stage and the "terminated" stage, there is NO communication from AA whatsoever, UNTIL the Termination email arrives - and that is by far the source of Most Complaints - a total lack of communication / channel for people to learn about AA's intention / talk to AA especially in the cases of the innocent bystanders being caught up in the debacle.
It is pretty unfathomable and rather entertaining, for someone who constantly posts in related threads, who claims to have access to Reddit and many other sites both with Public or Private Only access, who gave out a laundry list on "floor values", who insists bystander victims are total outliers, would not have an idea / understanding on how the process has been... regardless one's account is affected or not.
Across multiple threads, multiple websites, some public, some not, those getting suspended and/or terminated have shared a common theme.
The vast vast vast majority of those that have been suspended/terminated have several of the following in common...
desi's post certainly appears to be an outlier, but they have not posted additional information/clarifications.
To say there is some group of accounts out there that have been shut down for normal activity - such as desi's post at face value - is simply unfounded and by all reasonable accounts, untrue.
(Some outliers? Sure, possible. But not relevant for this discussion.)
.
The vast vast vast majority of those that have been suspended/terminated have several of the following in common...
- Multiple SUBs in a year (floor seems to be typically 3+)
- Multiple mailers signups in a year (typically 3+)
- Using mailers intended for others (floor seems to be typically 1+)
- Multiple identical credit cards. (floor seems to be typically 2+)
- Very little actual paid flying credited to AA in a year
- Closed CC accounts shortly after getting the bonus
- Others in the HH engaging in churning
- At least some questionable activity
desi's post certainly appears to be an outlier, but they have not posted additional information/clarifications.
To say there is some group of accounts out there that have been shut down for normal activity - such as desi's post at face value - is simply unfounded and by all reasonable accounts, untrue.
(Some outliers? Sure, possible. But not relevant for this discussion.)
.
Last edited by Happy; Jan 19, 2020 at 1:30 pm
Jan 18, 2020, 3:39 pm
#1694
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 321
The first stage is being "locked", meaning you cannot use the miles in your account but pretty much anything else you are able to do, just like an affected account.
The second stage is, an AA termination email lands in either your inbox or your spam folder telling you your account is erased. Then you find out you can no longer log in your account, everything associated with that, incl the already booked award flights, are also canceled.
The second stage is, an AA termination email lands in either your inbox or your spam folder telling you your account is erased. Then you find out you can no longer log in your account, everything associated with that, incl the already booked award flights, are also canceled.
Jan 18, 2020, 4:10 pm
#1695
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Global
Posts: 5,998
)For the accounts caught up in this, it appears - based on reports here and elsewhere - the vast majority of accounts are still locked, not terminated. And those that are terminated fit the criteria above or more.
Believe what you want.
Have you sent your letter to DOT yet? That is the best way to help your case.For everyone else, It makes sense why AA would not reach out to the terminated account holders in this case. AA believes it is a violation. Is there anything to talk about?
Try to take a step back and think about how that conversation would go...
- Terminated Account Holder: Hey I did X, Y, Z. I don't think that is against the rules.
- AA Representative: Yes we know. We believe it is a violation of the program rules.
- Terminated Account Holder: No it is not.
- AA Representative: Our program, our rules, our decision. We believe it is a violation of the program rules.
- Terminated Account Holder: I don't think that is against the rules.
- GO TO STEP 4
It is not about supporting or not supporting AA in this... AA believes it is a violation. Talking to AA will not change their minds. Enough DOT complaints/fines, might. A legal case might.