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)
Dec 5, 2019, 3:47 pm
#62
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 68
One can only hope that's the differentiating factor between accounts getting shut down and those that aren't.
Dec 6, 2019, 6:45 am
#63
Join Date: May 2009
Location: South Park, CO
Programs: Tegridy Elite
Posts: 5,678
From yesterday's discussion thread on Reddit, one more data point:
https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/co..._2019/f9rqasf/
Some various thoughts/theories in the comments under that post, worth perusing as food for thought, e.g.:
High points balance may simply be a side effect of multiple bonuses and not a discriminator in and of itself. #3 above seems like it's a commonality from the very limited DPs so far. Which kind of makes sense if AA is looking at it from a presumption of such activity being a buying and selling of offer codes. Still, hard to say with much confidence without more data points.
https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/co..._2019/f9rqasf/
Some various thoughts/theories in the comments under that post, worth perusing as food for thought, e.g.:
A few things things we can start to deduce:
Things we can rule out:
Things we can rule out:
- "dot-trick"-only theory is dead. This crackdown goes beyond that trick since this DP didn't use the dot-trick.
- Last name mattering. It doesn't appear to matter, since today's DP used same last name, yesterday's presumably had others using it (due to sales).
Absence of revenue flights in the recent past- High points balance
- Accounts being opened from different physical addresses than the one which the owner of the AA e-mailer would have had.
Dec 6, 2019, 6:49 am
#64
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: BA
Posts: 954
But if they had the same last name they wouldn’t be bought or sold. My concern is use of the emailers since they were sent by AA not Citi and specifically said non transferrable.
Dec 6, 2019, 7:08 am
#65
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 775
From yesterday's discussion thread on Reddit, one more data point:
https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/co..._2019/f9rqasf/
Some various thoughts/theories in the comments under that post, worth perusing as food for thought, e.g.:
High points balance may simply be a side effect of multiple bonuses and not a discriminator in and of itself. #3 above seems like it's a commonality from the very limited DPs so far. Which kind of makes sense if AA is looking at it from a presumption of such activity being a buying and selling of offer codes. Still, hard to say with much confidence without more data points.
https://www.reddit.com/r/churning/co..._2019/f9rqasf/
Some various thoughts/theories in the comments under that post, worth perusing as food for thought, e.g.:
High points balance may simply be a side effect of multiple bonuses and not a discriminator in and of itself. #3 above seems like it's a commonality from the very limited DPs so far. Which kind of makes sense if AA is looking at it from a presumption of such activity being a buying and selling of offer codes. Still, hard to say with much confidence without more data points.
After reading so many posts the last few days on this thread and the shut down thread
Account audit / blocked / fraud: award / miles / SWU / sale, barter, etc.
my question is?
HOW MANY SHUTDOWNS HAVE BEEN REPORTED? I ONLY SAW ONE and he ran away when questioned
WHAT AM I MISSING?
Dec 6, 2019, 7:54 am
#66
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 805
Has anyone who's been shut down only used physical mailers?
Everyone I've seen so far used emailed links which contained very specific terms about who could use the link. There doesn't look to be anything wrong with using the physical mailers other than potentially how you acquired them.
Everyone I've seen so far used emailed links which contained very specific terms about who could use the link. There doesn't look to be anything wrong with using the physical mailers other than potentially how you acquired them.
Dec 6, 2019, 8:05 am
#67
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 268
I do not follow reddit
After reading so many posts the last few days on this thread and the shut down thread
Account audit / blocked / fraud: award / miles / SWU / sale, barter, etc.
my question is?
HOW MANY SHUTDOWNS HAVE BEEN REPORTED? I ONLY SAW ONE and he ran away when questioned
WHAT AM I MISSING?
After reading so many posts the last few days on this thread and the shut down thread
Account audit / blocked / fraud: award / miles / SWU / sale, barter, etc.
my question is?
HOW MANY SHUTDOWNS HAVE BEEN REPORTED? I ONLY SAW ONE and he ran away when questioned
WHAT AM I MISSING?
1) There was one DP posted in FT and the OP seemed to have some contradictory posts and then ran away.
2) There's one DP on reddit (so far). *edit* There's now a "megathread" with additional postings. Although you may not have access to it, as it's in the churningmarketplace with the AA Megathread.
3) JonNYC says he's gotten about a dozen PMs (?) so far, but I've not seen any of the actual info. Although I've not checked his Twitter page today.
I don't doubt JonNYC, and I can certainly understand him not wanting to share the PM's (or the persons sending him info requested that he not share).
But with there only being two "public" DP so far (that I'm aware of) with any sort of details, it's all speculation at this point as to what the underlying criteria are (and even if we had all the public DP, it's still probably speculation, albeit possibly more educated----LOL).
Last edited by luv2vacay; Dec 6, 2019 at 10:32 am
Dec 6, 2019, 9:28 am
#68
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: BDL, JFK
Posts: 658
I haven't been shut down and I haven't paid for a seat in 10 years. Wife continues to get 75k physical business mailers (with 48 month language) although she's retired and has no other business cards. Not sure about Citi's marketing but they seem to still have a place for physical mailers.
Dec 6, 2019, 9:35 am
#69
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 889
Now also on doc: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/ameri...rewards-abuse/
This shutdown wave is a tsunami, I'm telling ya! Great demonstration of how sketchy rumors can get amplified ...
This shutdown wave is a tsunami, I'm telling ya! Great demonstration of how sketchy rumors can get amplified ...
Dec 6, 2019, 9:46 am
#70
Join Date: May 2009
Location: South Park, CO
Programs: Tegridy Elite
Posts: 5,678
I do not follow reddit
After reading so many posts the last few days on this thread and the shut down thread
Account audit / blocked / fraud: award / miles / SWU / sale, barter, etc.
my question is?
HOW MANY SHUTDOWNS HAVE BEEN REPORTED? I ONLY SAW ONE and he ran away when questioned
WHAT AM I MISSING?
After reading so many posts the last few days on this thread and the shut down thread
Account audit / blocked / fraud: award / miles / SWU / sale, barter, etc.
my question is?
HOW MANY SHUTDOWNS HAVE BEEN REPORTED? I ONLY SAW ONE and he ran away when questioned
WHAT AM I MISSING?
I believe you're correct in that:
1) There was one DP posted in FT and the OP seemed to have some contradictory posts and then ran away.
2) There's one DP on reddit (so far).
3) JonNYC says he's gotten about a dozen PMs (?) so far, but I've not seen any of the actual info. Although I've not checked his Twitter page today.
I don't doubt JonNYC, and I can certainly understand him not wanting to share the PM's (or the persons sending him info requested that he not share).
But with there only being two "public" DP so far (that I'm aware of) with any sort of details, it's all speculation at this point as to what the underlying criteria are (and even if we had all the public DP, it's still probably speculation, albeit possibly more educated----LOL).
1) There was one DP posted in FT and the OP seemed to have some contradictory posts and then ran away.
2) There's one DP on reddit (so far).
3) JonNYC says he's gotten about a dozen PMs (?) so far, but I've not seen any of the actual info. Although I've not checked his Twitter page today.
I don't doubt JonNYC, and I can certainly understand him not wanting to share the PM's (or the persons sending him info requested that he not share).
But with there only being two "public" DP so far (that I'm aware of) with any sort of details, it's all speculation at this point as to what the underlying criteria are (and even if we had all the public DP, it's still probably speculation, albeit possibly more educated----LOL).
Last edited by 84fiero; Dec 6, 2019 at 11:19 am
Dec 6, 2019, 9:47 am
#71
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 615
There was a comment from one of the shutdown users on reddit that talked about doing the hold trick, repeatedly. I'm sure that drew eyes on his account as that has always been a big no-no. Once eyes were on that account, they'll see accounts were created with physical addresses in different states and there you go. The fact that he used the dot.com trick on gmail (I think) has almost nothing to do with it.
Dec 6, 2019, 9:59 am
#72
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 433
There was a comment from one of the shutdown users on reddit that talked about doing the hold trick, repeatedly. I'm sure that drew eyes on his account as that has always been a big no-no. Once eyes were on that account, they'll see accounts were created with physical addresses in different states and there you go. The fact that he used the dot.com trick on gmail (I think) has almost nothing to do with it.
Dec 6, 2019, 10:08 am
#73
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 615
From what I understand, placing a ticket at a later date on hold and then changing the reservation to avoid close in fee. That's one way to abuse it.
According to a churning mod, there have been over 20 reported shut downs on reddit in a span of a few days. Considering it's AA, I'd say that's pretty significant and I'm surprised we're not seeing more of it in FT.
According to a churning mod, there have been over 20 reported shut downs on reddit in a span of a few days. Considering it's AA, I'd say that's pretty significant and I'm surprised we're not seeing more of it in FT.
Dec 6, 2019, 10:22 am
#74
Join Date: May 2014
Location: SoCal
Posts: 2,164
Can we talk about anything else, this speculation business is very depressing.
Dec 6, 2019, 11:14 am
#75
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 1,269
It seems there are some people with agendas and axes to grind on both "sides" of the issue...more so on the side of folks up in arms at what "scammers" have done to AA. So it's going to be hard to parse any real DPs from others...maybe impossible, unless a rather large number of reliable folks come forward with their own direct info.