holtju2

After Randy/business partners started OMNI post padding and other games to meet the traffic goals?

sbm12

That lawsuit settled amicably.

Jaimito Cartero

I don't think I've heard that one before. We should probably take this to another thread before it gets any more out of hand.

nsx

Back on topic, what do people here think the chances are that AA will provide reasonable notice for their next non-trivial devaluation? I'd guess 75%.

Maybe in Gary's dictionary my 75% would mean that I "trust" AA, but that's not how I feel about it. If I really trust a company, that percentage is 98% or higher.

84fiero

Chances that AA will give reasonable notice next time? I'd say no more than 10%. I don't see any AA suffering any repercussions for its recent actions, aside from the complaints of a very, very small portion of its FFP membership. It appears that AAdvantage management has shown us their customer relations style, if you will.

As to what that means in terms of trust in AA, to me? Not much, if any. I wouldn't proclaim trust in AA unless their future behavior dramatically improves. Until then I have to wait and see.

aktchi

Well, let's tweet them something and see what we get in response.

kokonutz

True, but the legal filings are public record.

The Randy v. IB lawsuit, counterclaims, report and order are available here.

If Parker thinks it benefits AA to give notice, AA will give notice. If Parker thinks it benefits AA to not give any notice, AA will give no notice.

Nothing any of us do will change that equation.

I 100% trust AA....to do whatever is best for AA. @:-)

GUWonder

I don't trust AA to do whatever is best for AA. I trust AA management to do whatever is best for AA management over the relatively short-term -- even if it is not best for AA long-term. Customers are just going to be collateral damage when it suits AA management's financial interests .... even if it's not good for AA. Of course in this environment, they can more easily get away with that.

Airline management teams that fleece customers routinely also fleece their own company. And since a huge proportion of company shares are not held by shareholders for more than a handful of years, and since even longer term shareholders tend to care a lot about relatively short-term stock performance, the notion that they are collectively watching out for the long term interests of the company (regardless of what it means for them personally) and doing what is best for the company would be .... rather surprising.

AA management will do what is good for AA management personnel -- that I trust far more.

kokonutz

I concede the point. Parker will do what's best for Parker. And use the excuse of doing what is best for AA to get it done.

Mountain Trader

I would have preferred that Gary Leff viewed the AA changes in the more negative light that I and many of his readers do. Saying that few people used stopovers ond Explorer awards may be true, but one could also say most awards redeemed are domestic so eliminating international awards isn't a big deal.

I find Leff honest and professional. The major problem in relying on him, and/or other similar sources for advice, is that their financial interest is in keeping this game going. Credit card links, blog clicks, award search services, all of those and other revenue sources depend on participants' believing that actively pursuing frequent flier miles and benefits is worth the time and hassle. And as the programs devalue one-by-one and the value of their miles/points gets lower and lower, careful customers will start putting more and more of their business with cash back cards and pursuits. They may seek advice on when that crossover occurs, but no one will need advice on how to get and use cash.

One blog without this conflict is Travel Blogger Buzz, an outlier blog that reviews and critiques other blogs. It has no credit card links, and prides itself on calling a spade a shovel. It openly mocks the blogs that shill card links in a greedy manner.

nsx

IMHO Gary would consider it both dishonorable and short-sighted to allow financial self-interest to influence his advice to readers. In blogging, credibility is everything. Gary has that.

Bloggers write about miles because they are hooked on the game. They will naturally play it to the very end, long after most normal people (sorry, Gary!) give up and go home. FT'ers make irrationally large investments of time and energy pursuing miles, so bloggers match our preferences well. The game is already getting marginally beneficial, but I still enjoy it a lot. So sue me.

sbm12

I question credibility when bloggers provide links to CCs which will get them affiliate payment but refuse to provide direct links to CCs which will not. I understand that this may be a condition of running the affiliate links but, to me, that's placing personal financial interest over providing the best advice to readers.

And there have been several examples of such behavior recently amongst those who still have links.

Mountain Trader

You can't ignore or separate the fact that the major blogs make a lot of money from the impact that income has on their writing and actions. Such influence is not only intentional but unintentional, like how a conversation changes when a tape recorder is on.

A harsh lead sentence to describe the AA changes last week might have been "American Airlines guts most valuable awards, and program director sends email blowing smoke at members". Probably not an untrue statement but none of the bloggers with relations with the airlines and the banks are going to swing that hard. To do so would be like a Wall Street investment banking firm putting out research on a client saying management is weak. Rule One: Do not aim gun at feet.

The key for readers is to understand where the advice gets soft and the cheerleading slides in.

nsx

In this particular case (see the link in the OP) I believe that Gary intended to play good cop to AA. Encouraging them to mend their ways may appear similar to cheerleading, but its motivation is very different. Many readers did not see the importance of that difference. For all we know AA didn't understand it properly either.

GUWonder

Well said. Fortunately, most of us here are quite capable of figuring out that advice may get soft and cheerleading may slide in -- however that (ie advice getting sort and cheerleading sliding in) in and of itself is not something by which I measure a person's character. We all have our soft spots and cheerleading favorites and it doesn't necessarily make us any worse a person -- rather it just shows we have a heart that beats.

Keep in mind that Gary Leff tolerates and accepts criticism of his positions quite well even on his own blog and I don't know him to disappear such critical comments. I consider that tolerance a sign of great character and of his own intelligent awareness of the risks and rewards of playing the blog and FF game as he does ... for himself but also for others.

His personal AA+US mileage balance is so large that he has way more to lose than even most of the most critical FTers critical of the AA/US changes from the AA/US devaluation. Also, his blog's and other ventures' success over the long-term is undermined if the airline/hotel loyalty programs' mass appeal declines precipitously.

We all also have our moments with wishful thinking -- something humanizing too as it helps people to better cope with situations of material adversity that have already hit. I hope Gary Leff's wishes on this AA matter come true -- I expected (and expect more) disappointment from AA, which is why I try to front-run FFP devaluations.