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)
Feb 5, 2020, 6:12 pm
#2236
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 315
quick question, can we assume "locked" account = "closed" account at this moment? I think no one got unlocked so far.
Feb 5, 2020, 6:13 pm
#2237
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 1,111
AA sure is taking its sweet time. My and my wife's account have been locked since mid December like everyone else. I have flown on award tickets back in January and have a new set coming up in March. I did book backup flights for most future tickets. If AA does not get to me before my flights, I will cancel my back up flights and take the small risk that it happens while mid trip.
What are others doing?
What are others doing?
Feb 5, 2020, 6:14 pm
#2238
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 746
Finally, as someone who was a commercial litigation associate at a v10 firm for years, the general idea in this thread (and reflected in the quoted language) that AA considered every possible legal challenge and therefore implemented a bulletproof strategy before acting is laughable. Mega-corporations expose themselves to massive potential exposure through incomprehensibly dumb decisions practically every day.
Feb 5, 2020, 6:36 pm
#2239
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
Got a new physical mailer today. No not AA but Delta 70k with no lifetime language. DOC https://www.doctorofcredit.com/ymmv-...time-language/ has discussed this ad nauseum. I've had 2 personal and 2 business Delta SUBs in the past 3 years. If I don't get a pop-up from Amex I may go for another. Many, many people taking advantage of this and it is Delta sending out the mailers. Yet not a hint of Delta shutting down the accounts. Just a warning not to close the accounts in less than a year or spend and return items.
The great thing about churning AA miles on Citi CCs that they are the most incompetent lender in the country partnering with the most incompetent airline in the country. Getting shut down costs some miles, but absolutely nothing else. I'm all for burning bridges, but doing so selectively.
Feb 5, 2020, 7:38 pm
#2240
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 4,477
That's harsh. They must be competent where it count, i.e. golden parachutes being in good working order.
Feb 6, 2020, 6:28 am
#2241
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 790
Too funny. My AA Gold status was renewed another year (without the necessary flying/spending to even renew) and then the following day, just now, I received my account termination email.
Thank you for finally doing the deed and not dragging this out any ridiculously longer, AA. Obviously let's see how this shakes out, but at a minimum thank you AA/CIti for the damn good run while it lasted.
You run a joke of an operation, but I am glad I was able to get in on this while I could.
Thank you for finally doing the deed and not dragging this out any ridiculously longer, AA. Obviously let's see how this shakes out, but at a minimum thank you AA/CIti for the damn good run while it lasted.
You run a joke of an operation, but I am glad I was able to get in on this while I could.
Feb 6, 2020, 6:33 am
#2242
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 790
AA sure is taking its sweet time. My and my wife's account have been locked since mid December like everyone else. I have flown on award tickets back in January and have a new set coming up in March. I did book backup flights for most future tickets. If AA does not get to me before my flights, I will cancel my back up flights and take the small risk that it happens while mid trip.
What are others doing?
What are others doing?
Last edited by jiaogulan; Feb 6, 2020 at 10:00 pm Reason: Changed slugging to slogging. I meant to convey the pace of a slug, but I think it conveys to many the opposite w/ baseball.
Feb 6, 2020, 8:55 am
#2243
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 615
I agree. I don't anticipate them unlocking anyone - just leaving everyone in perpetual lock mode until they shut people down. For those that are left in limbo, I can foresee this being a pita to get unlocked.
Feb 6, 2020, 10:46 am
#2244
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Orange County, CA, USA
Programs: AA (Life Plat), Marriott (Life Titanium) and every other US program
Posts: 6,411
Disagree. I suspect that they are working account by account. For each one they either: a) terminate (which seems to be 100% from reports to date); or, b) send a request for certain clarifying data (none so far); or, c) unlock with note saying account access has been restored after investigation (none so far). I do NOT anticipate that any accounts will "remain" locked but not otherwise dealt with.
Feb 6, 2020, 11:14 am
#2245
Join Date: Nov 2010
Programs: AA PLT 3MM
Posts: 1,135
Disagree. I suspect that they are working account by account. For each one they either: a) terminate (which seems to be 100% from reports to date); or, b) send a request for certain clarifying data (none so far); or, c) unlock with note saying account access has been restored after investigation (none so far). I do NOT anticipate that any accounts will "remain" locked but not otherwise dealt with.
Remember that the people aware of the locking, through this or other forums, are much more likely to be "guilty", and therefore ultimately be terminated, than the average. Therefore, it's not surprising that there are no reports of being being locked and later unlocked here.
Feb 6, 2020, 11:41 am
#2246
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: BDL, JFK
Posts: 658
I wouldn't be surprised if there are actually a large number of accounts that have been locked, analyzed and subsequently unlocked without the account holder ever knowing. My pure guess is that when they realized there was a problem they needed to address they created an automated task to quickly lock all accounts with an activity pattern that met some criteria that typifies the abuse and are now going through each one actually looking at them manually and unlocking or terminating as needed.
Remember that the people aware of the locking, through this or other forums, are much more likely to be "guilty", and therefore ultimately be terminated, than the average. Therefore, it's not surprising that there are no reports of being being locked and later unlocked here.
Remember that the people aware of the locking, through this or other forums, are much more likely to be "guilty", and therefore ultimately be terminated, than the average. Therefore, it's not surprising that there are no reports of being being locked and later unlocked here.
Feb 6, 2020, 12:43 pm
#2247
Join Date: May 2014
Location: SoCal
Posts: 2,164
large number of accounts and not one data point. We/you should be surprised if that happened, because it didn't.
Feb 6, 2020, 1:10 pm
#2248
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,435
Finding some humor in all of this can't hurt. Within minutes after my termination, I received AA offers for bonus Hertz points and then 1-800 Flowers. Nice to know that AA Marketing is sync with AA Security.
Feb 6, 2020, 1:25 pm
#2249
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Global
Posts: 5,998
'...net income for the third quarter 2019 of $4.9 billion, or $2.07 per diluted share, on revenues of $18.6 billion..."
NET INCOME OF ~26%
I bet most companies wish they were that incompetent.
(FWIW Amex ~16%)
Feb 6, 2020, 1:35 pm
#2250
Join Date: Mar 2018
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP. Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,134
In this economy only the worst of companies and those taking some serious missteps are not making money. Something about a blind squirrel finding a nut while riding the freight train barreling down the tracks would be appropriate here. As soon as there is mouse fart of a hint of an actual recession you'll see those numbers decreased.