I have never thrown away any so I still have my first AA statement as well as those of other programs that I joined later.

My first AA statement, from April 1987, shows a 3000 mile enrollment bonus, and mileage posting from KLM LAX/AMS/LAX (5579 miles plus 1395 C class bonus each way) for a total of 16948 miles. Now no enrollment bonus, and no miles from KLM for AA.

Also, in Sep. 1987, I received a PSA enrollment bonus of 3000 miles. Can't remember now what happened to PSA miles.

Many FT'ers must have even older statements. What's do you see thats changed?

A few things, though you note the most drastic change and that is the lack of an "enrollment bonus" from programs. I think the number one thing that has changed in looking over the original statements is the partner list. My how that has changed.

I don't have the statement, but I distinctly remember taking a flight on American in 1992, and an older, wiser friend ensured that I enrolled in AAdvantage. My initial reaction was something like "Why? It's not like I'll ever fly twenty-five thousand miles. That's, like, around the world or something."

Of course, I enrolled and the collection of miles quickly displaced drinking beer, playing craps, and smoking cigars as my strongest addiction.

Pass the Kellogg's breakfast bars, please.

i've still got my very first one...i was all of 14 and it's a bonus-filled EWR-PDX trip on Continental.

Back when you had to change planes in Houston, and during the seminal days of Continental's greatness...1994.

then again, the funniest thing about all this is the 5000 mile "special" enrollment bonus. i enrolled in AAdvantage last year and got a 0 mile enrollment bonus. so randy's right about the bonus thing...funny how things have changed, even since 1994!

Does anyone else remember the triple-miles mania during the early days of frequent flyer programs?

*laugh*

i hate to live vicariously, but i was helping my mother with something and i found an old FFB statement for her (i'm getting all misty about TWA...) with something like 20000 TripleCombo Bonus Miles.

Needless to say, i had mileage bonus envy. i've gotten triple miles maybe once.

So this was commonplace? Learn something new every day!

I thought the same thing and let 6,000 UA miles slip by. I'm not one of the billion milers like some on this board, but now I get meaningful credit on any airline (enough to almost reach or go over 20,000 mi.) and 6 figures on a few airlines. I earn miles the hard way, by flights.

Yep, it was 1986 or 1987 as I recall. (If it's important, I could dig out my old statements and check.) Most of the programs offered triple miles that year.

This brings memories of the Eastern Airlines Weekender Club. For $100/year, they sent you deals on 3-4 destinations each week for your home airport.

I used to fly PBI(or FLL) to CHS for $59 and receive triple miles with 1,000 miles minimum per segment. Ahhh, sweet memories!

This was when a FC award ticket to Australia on CO was 70K miles.

[This message has been edited by BillMorrow (edited 05-19-2001).]

Silicon Engineer: Your PSA miles were absorbed by USAir when the latter ate up our favorite airline, took all the planes back east, and practically abandoned the west. This process took about 3 years.

Almost instantly, the great 15,000 mi trips to Cabo disappeared as an award; the write-your-own-ticket ticket stock was invalidated, making us return once again to the travel agent, rather than tear off a ticket and fly (receiving a bill later), and the innovative frequent flyer program which allowed you to have your favorite seats in the profile, and really worked to sit you there, disappeared.

I was at BUR airport twice in the week USAir took over. Changed signage, but long LONG lines, late flights, and nobody really knew what the new procedures were. A few months later, we were all flying on triple miles bonuses, racking up huge amounts----- but then the disengagement from California began. No more service to Concord, Long Beach, or PSP. Then no more SJC. Then, the west coast north-south routes started to disappear; finally, in came Southwest, and you were left (here in SFO) with BWI, CLT, PHL and PIT. And the PA routes were scheduled either bone-chillingly early or late.

Finally, by about 1995, it seemed USAir had managed to take the best and largest airline in the nation's most populous state, and reduced it to a 8-flights-a-day, 2 gate carrier at LAX and SFO. Hope they got taken care of back East, cause we shed a few tears out here, which we've never quite gotten over.......... WN and UA Sh!ttle just can never replicate those days....

Love this commercial aviation nostalgia! (From an old hand who remembers the Pacific Northern Airlines Connies and the Braniff Electras!)

Does anyone have any of those little cards you had to fill out for UA Mileage Plus - the ones with your FF acct # printed on them and then you filled in city pairs and flight #'s? As I recall you turned them in a check-in. That's really dating me - I can't remember when the cards were eliminated.

Wow does this bring back memories. JerryFF, yes I do remember those UA MP cards, but had forgotten them until you brought this up.

I'm a pack rat by nature and recently had a fit of cleaning frenzy and threw out all my old statements. Alas, nostalgia gave way to neatness.

SST,
Thanks for that info. I was wondering recently how I got those USAir miles as I was thinking of combining them with AA for an award.

Just goes to show that never hurts to join a FF program even though back then I flew maybe just once or twice a year.

Yes, and remember the "partner" stickers you'd add to the UA flight cards to get a 10% (or was it 20%?) bonus?