This is an offer that makes me very happy…
In this post:
American has eliminated 500-mile upgrades
Back in March, American Airlines made some major changes to how upgrades work, coinciding with the introduction of the new Loyalty Points program:
- Previously Executive Platinum and Platinum Pro members received unlimited complimentary upgrades within North America; as of March 2022, this was expanded to Platinum and Gold members
- Members currently only need to use 500-mile upgrade stickers to upgrade travel companions; however, as of later this year, complimentary upgrades will be extended to one companion traveling on the same flight for all elite members
- At that time (later in 2022), all existing 500-mile upgrade stickers will be converted into 250 Loyalty Points each toward 2022 status qualification
Many (including me) felt that the offer of 250 Loyalty Points per 500-mile upgrade sticker wasn’t particularly fair:
- Many of us spent money buying 500-mile upgrade stickers, at the cost of $40 each
- Loyalty Points have no tangible value, and for that matter getting only 250 Loyalty Points per 500-mile upgrade isn’t exactly a generous conversion rate; there should be some alternative, at a minimum
American converting 500-mile upgrade stickers into miles or vouchers
I currently have 33 500-mile upgrade stickers that I purchased. I had read that American is at least offering Executive Platinum members some conversion options for 500-mile upgrade stickers that they purchased (this doesn’t apply to those that were earned with status).
A few weeks ago I phoned up AAdvantage customer service, and asked if there were any alternatives to getting the Loyalty Points, since that didn’t seem like a reasonable conversion rate. The agent informed me that there was a process for this. She spent a couple of minutes filling out a form, and then said I’d receive an email with the options.
While I was told that I’d hear from someone at American within two days, in reality it took over two weeks to receive an email. But sure enough, yesterday I received an email with an extremely generous offer:
Based on our internal records, your 33 unused 500-mile upgrades were purchased. While your complimentary upgrades will be automatically converted to 250 Loyalty Points each later this year, we can offer you the following refund options for the 33 purchased and unused 500-mile upgrades:
A. 8,250 Loyalty Points (250 Loyalty Points x 33 purchased 500-mile upgrades)
B. 165,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles (5,000 bonus miles x 33 purchased 500-mile upgrades)
C. Travel Voucher of $1,320 (the paid amount associated with your 33 purchased 500-mile upgrades)
D. Refund of $1,320 to the original form of payment or check depending on when your upgrades were purchasedOnce you have decided on a preferred option, please respond to this e-mail directly and I will ensure the exchange is promptly executed. I look forward to hearing from you and helping to bring closure to this issue.
Let me once again emphasize that this seems to be the standard offer, though only for purchased 500-mile upgrades, and I believe only for Executive Platinum members (though if those with other status have had luck with this, please report back).
This is a generous offer!
American is offering a refund or travel credit worth however much one spent on 500-mile upgrade, and that seems fair. After all, many people parted with cash in exchange for something that had no expiration date but is now being eliminated.
The most exciting offer here is the ability to get 5,000 AAdvantage miles per 500-mile upgrade sticker. Given that these upgrades cost $40 each to buy, that’s like racking up AAdvantage miles at 0.8 cents each, which is quite a good deal. I value AAdvantage miles at 1.5 cents each.
Obviously I took the AAdvantage miles, as I value 165,000 AAdvantage miles at way, way, way more than 8,250 Loyalty Points. And given that I purchased all of those upgrades with a certain credit card travel credit benefit, the value is even better there.
Bottom line
With American Airlines rolling out complimentary upgrades for all elite members, many of us are left with unused 500-mile upgrades. American offered to convert each upgrade into 250 Loyalty Points, which isn’t exactly generous.
However, Executive Platinum members (and possibly others) with unused 500-mile upgrades that were purchased are being offered alternatives to the Loyalty Points conversion. This includes the potential for a refund, a travel credit, or even AAdvantage miles. I’d say the AAdvantage miles option is the most generous.
So if you have any unused 500-mile upgrades that you purchased, it could be worth phoning up AAdvantage and requesting some alternatives.
Has anyone else had luck with getting their 500-mile upgrades converted to something else?
This is a ripoff. I'm unsure how they think they can decide to cancel these. If anyone takes this far enough to pursue a lawsuit, please let me know.
Thanks
I WAS platinum for years...I also had 33 upgrades (same as this article), but American Airlines has thus far refused to give me anything for those upgrades except the absolutely USELESS and NO VALUE loyalty points toward status. The reason they gave me is that CURRENTLY I am not Platinum with AA. In more recent years I had to halt my travels to take care of family....who have now passed on.....I want to get back...
I WAS platinum for years...I also had 33 upgrades (same as this article), but American Airlines has thus far refused to give me anything for those upgrades except the absolutely USELESS and NO VALUE loyalty points toward status. The reason they gave me is that CURRENTLY I am not Platinum with AA. In more recent years I had to halt my travels to take care of family....who have now passed on.....I want to get back to traveling again.....but apparently AA only values its Platinum members who are / were Platinum at the time they discontinued the vouchers (which I paid cash for MOST of them). SO if you WERE a very good customer and might be again, they don't care....ONLY those who are Platinum at the moment this occurs seems to matter to AA. Very short-term view of their business and how to treat their customers. So my plan is to discuss with someone higher up at AA and if that fails I will file suit in my state and also look into how a potential class action suit can be filed. I will gladly take the 165,000 air miles for my 33 upgrades as I at least feel I'll eventually get something of value back....but loyalty points toward status I will not achieve this year (and with only a partial year to even do so) because I am not back to traveling (which should begin next year)....this has NO VALUE WHATSOEVER to me! They took my money, I expect compensation!
FYI, my 8 500-mile upgrade certificates were converted to 2,000 loyalty points just a few weeks ago. I think it's a better deal since I was rarely able to use those certificates.
How long did it take from the time you replied to the emails with the four options for the bonus miles to appear in your account? It’s been a week and a half and I’m getting a bit uneasy.
I hate to say this, but AA has a history of trying to cloak its actions as "customer-centric." AA does what it needs to do to boost the stock price and hence the senior-level paychecks. Parker left the company 36B in debt, and that drives everything right now. I am an EP and am not thrilled with the new LP program for many reasons - starting with how the entire thing was rolled out, which...
I hate to say this, but AA has a history of trying to cloak its actions as "customer-centric." AA does what it needs to do to boost the stock price and hence the senior-level paychecks. Parker left the company 36B in debt, and that drives everything right now. I am an EP and am not thrilled with the new LP program for many reasons - starting with how the entire thing was rolled out, which was an insult to anyone who can think. I find the senior execs to be condescending.
Sorry to be so cynical. I ( like so many ) have 35+ years of watching this airline do what it does to benefit them.
Bad deal for me. I am a million miler so lifetime gold. Don't travel much for work anymore so stuck at gold level. I have 168 500 mile upgrades that I use most times I fly and can usually snag an upgrade. Now I lose those, get 42000 converted to loyalty points and will still be bottom on the upgrade list. No more loyalty to AA now that lifetime gold status is pretty much worthless.
I feel for you. I have 80 certificates and I'm mad as hell at AA for this. I agree with you regarding no loyalty to AA now since they have no loyalty to us. I have about 350K AAmiles to burn in retirement and was counting on being able to use the 500 mile upgrades but, I was not sure if they could have been used to upgrade award travel.
But, after they pull...
I feel for you. I have 80 certificates and I'm mad as hell at AA for this. I agree with you regarding no loyalty to AA now since they have no loyalty to us. I have about 350K AAmiles to burn in retirement and was counting on being able to use the 500 mile upgrades but, I was not sure if they could have been used to upgrade award travel.
But, after they pull this stunt I suspect they might raise the miles required for award travel since they are now giving actual miles for awards. I'm waiting for this next shoe to fall. Or maybe see if I can sell my AA miles since I don't think I can trust their next move.
American Airlines will not return my requests for a refund or to convert the upgrades to mileage. This is tantamount to robbery since I bought these upgrades with cash and loyalty points mean nothing to me. I've spent hours on hold with them and been told they will contact me many times, with no response. I am livid and will do my best to avoid this airline like the plague that it is.
I am on the phone with American right now after 2 transfers. I am a lifetime Platinum with 97 500Mile vouchers. The "loyalty point" are of absolutely no value to me. They are stealing over 3k of vouchers and give me nothing of valuer for it.
Yep, I fell the same way. Being stole from by American. I'm not even gold now due to not traveling a while before the pandamic and then I retired March 2021. I just learned of this "steal" today. I agree the loyalty points (20000 for 80 500 mile upgrades) is worthless to me or others because Gold and even when I was Platinum or Ruby status I never got upgrades. I could probably get gold...
Yep, I fell the same way. Being stole from by American. I'm not even gold now due to not traveling a while before the pandamic and then I retired March 2021. I just learned of this "steal" today. I agree the loyalty points (20000 for 80 500 mile upgrades) is worthless to me or others because Gold and even when I was Platinum or Ruby status I never got upgrades. I could probably get gold status by just taking out a AA credit card. Worthless conversion of 80 500 mile upgrades to gold status that expires in 1 year. The refund only of purchased points shows they only offer preferred treatment for executive platinum members. I'd certainly take 5000 points per each 500 mile certificate earned but, that isn't on the table for me.
I already sent an email to a lawyer asking if they will take the case or know somebody who will. I might not get anything but, maybe I can cause American some pain for doing this to those of us who earned upgrades and get nothing for them. They never let me use my upgrade certificates even on the domestic portions of the many international trips to Taiwan, Korea, China, and Japan. I might have gotten close to 1 million miles on AA but a few years ago AA made their China flights a lot more expensive so, I had to start flying United.
I do not have any status anymore at the moment I do have 24 500-miles, when I called they said:
8 were purchased
8 were mileage converted
8 were earned
They refunded the 8 that were purchased and converted the 8 back to miles and said it would take approximately 5 business days.
I am Lifetime Platinum and using upgrades has practically nonexistent on flights when I have requested. Now with all elites being automatic I think it will even be harder to get upgraded! I have been up to number 20 on the upgrade list on some flights!
The email address to write to is: [email protected]
AA first told me the address to email was [email protected]
But I called back and I was told it was [email protected]
The reply came from the second address. But their reply was basically, we never want to make you mad but........... this is what we are doing. So we don't care what customers think, we are doing it whether you like it or not.
Lifetime Gold (but otherwise would currently have no status), and I got the same offer. Only 4 purchased upgrades, but happy to get 20k miles. No deal on the earned upgrades though. Just probably useless status points.
The bottom line is people are getting something for nothing. $40 for an upgrade first class the value of which is thousands. I really have no sympathy for people that are getting something for nothing pays for first class like everybody else. Premium class used to be a perk for employees laboring long hours under all kinds of conditions look up branches in London and people that were willing to pay for it. Rich people and devoted employees and retirees.
AA has always been the most generous of all US carriers. The crew and management go above and beyond to make sure we are well taken care off. Full Disclosure: I am a CK and my wife is also a CK.
I understand AAwill buy back purchased certificates or give 5000 points for each purchased 500 mile certificate. But only for executive platinum folks? How does that make sense. It seems anybody who purchased a certificate should be refunded or able to trade them for points. Also, if the $40 purchased certificates are worth 5000 miles then shouldn't the same EARNED certificates be worth something similar? Wouldn't that be more "fair" than what they are doing?...
I understand AAwill buy back purchased certificates or give 5000 points for each purchased 500 mile certificate. But only for executive platinum folks? How does that make sense. It seems anybody who purchased a certificate should be refunded or able to trade them for points. Also, if the $40 purchased certificates are worth 5000 miles then shouldn't the same EARNED certificates be worth something similar? Wouldn't that be more "fair" than what they are doing? Wouldn't that be better than just pissing off many customers that have earned a lot of certificates and are now being told they can get "loyalty points" that are totally useless?
"Generous" is not what AA is being to non Executive level people or to people with earned 500 mile upgrade certificates. If AA is going to be take something back that customers earned there should be a much better alternative than what they are offering. If not they should spend time in court to justify their "steal". I used to fly AA to Asia every chance I could especially when United entertainment almost never worked on 14 hr flights. But,later AA became too expensive and I had to fly United.
This is a good offer, but I don't exactly regard it as "generous". They sold the upgrade certs and then essentially voided them all after the fact. Offering anything less than a full refund would be completely unacceptable. Yes, there was fine print in the agreement allowing them to do this. But it would not be an acceptable business practice.
I have like 25 of these earned through flying from years ago. Can I just use them to upgrade my AA domestic and international flights in the upcoming months?
If you have Advantage status, like Gold, Platinum or Exec Platinum. You will have your upgrades complementary. This 500 miles upgrades are just useful when you want an upgrade for any companion in your same reservation traveling with you, not for yourself
That is total BS and you know it. Anybody who has been gold or platinum in the past knows they are so low on the list they never will get a free upgrade. The 500 mile certificates was intended to help those guys to be able to buy the upgrade with the certificate instead of competing with the higher level folks for upgrades because the higher level people always get preferential treatment for free upgrades....
That is total BS and you know it. Anybody who has been gold or platinum in the past knows they are so low on the list they never will get a free upgrade. The 500 mile certificates was intended to help those guys to be able to buy the upgrade with the certificate instead of competing with the higher level folks for upgrades because the higher level people always get preferential treatment for free upgrades. Without any 500 mile certificates a Gold or platinum AA member doesn't stand a snowballs chance in hell of getting upgraded. Don't try to tell me that any flight will have so few higher level folks on board that a single gold level AA member will get a free upgraded. Never happens in my world or the worlds of many others commenting here. I'm calling total BS on what you are saying. And now I think AA is saying the premium folks not only get to upgrade themselves, they also get a free companion upgrade. So, that makes it even harder for the lower level gold or platinum folks to ever get any upgrade. Thanks American for nothing. If I recall correctly, for someone flying economy, they need to make at least 4 trips from the East coast to China in the same year to get platinum level and a lot more trips to make it high enough to actually get any free upgrades from coach to business if a seat is available. Back around 2012 the company I worked for cut Asia travel from Business to Economy for anybody below Executive Director level. And 3 or 4 trips in 12 months were the norm. But, depending on how those 4 trips fell I often missed out on even getting to platinum level or the trips would be on different carriers.
Albert, I'm Not sure you can still use them. I think they might have become uselsss on 7/14 but you can check with AA. AA said by the end ofJuly they will all be converted to worthless Loyalty points. So you might have a small window to use them. Check with AA. So much for your loyalty to AA. This is how they reward you and me. I have 80 of them.
I would like to take the 30,000 advantage bonus miles towards my Million Mile marker. Is this correct
Who do we contact via email to redeem the lost upgrade stickers.
I don't know. I have no status and no upgrades so I didn't ask
I’m an AA Gold and received the following offer:
I am reaching out to you to follow-up on your request for more options
to exchange your purchased 500-mile upgrades. I appreciate the
opportunity to assist an AAdvantage Gold® member.
Based on our internal records, 6 of your unused 500-mile upgrades were
purchased. We can offer you one of the following refund options for the
6 purchased and unused 500-mile...
I’m an AA Gold and received the following offer:
I am reaching out to you to follow-up on your request for more options
to exchange your purchased 500-mile upgrades. I appreciate the
opportunity to assist an AAdvantage Gold® member.
Based on our internal records, 6 of your unused 500-mile upgrades were
purchased. We can offer you one of the following refund options for the
6 purchased and unused 500-mile upgrades:
A. 1,520 Loyalty Points (250 Loyalty Points x 6 purchased 500-mile
upgrades)
B. 30,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles (5,000 bonus miles x 6 purchased
500-mile upgrades)
C. Travel Voucher of $240 (the paid amount associated with your 6
purchased 500-mile upgrades)
D. Refund of $240 to the original form of payment or check depending on
when your upgrades were purchased
Once you have decided on a preferred option, please respond to this
e-mail directly and I will ensure the exchange is promptly executed. I
look forward to hearing from you and helping to bring closure to this
issue.
Howdy Lucky!
So I have a question: How much would it have cost (on average) to have earned 10,000 Elite Qualifying Miles over the past few years? I think we (those than earned them rather than bought them) spent much more than $40 each on them by flying loyally in domestic FC throughout the pandemic and before it.
I'm a Platinum Pro with 25 of them and would at least like options. Just seems like another way that AA makes us feel unappreciated and not valued.
Plat pro here—I reached out via email and about three weeks later got the same offer. Very generous of Aa, I also took the miles.
What email address did you use?
In the Aadvantage terms I believe they have in there the 5,000 miles conversion is only offered for 500 mile certificates purchased before I believe May 1, 2022 or April 1, 2022.
Mine were complementary. Would have liked miles in exchange, but here's the response....
Your balance of 20 500-mile upgrades can only be converted to 250
Loyalty Points each. We apologize they are not eligible for mileage
exchange because they were complimentary and not purchased.
I don't have any status so I get a bunch of loyalty points.
The loyalty points only for earned (not purchased) 500 mile upgrade certificates apply to all status levels is my understanding. I have not heard of anybody at any level getting more than the practically worthless Loyalty points for earned (complimentary) certificates. Just a very poor customer service decision by AA IMO.
I think with United you can probably take out a Credit card free for 1st year and probably get Gold status.
I'm not...
The loyalty points only for earned (not purchased) 500 mile upgrade certificates apply to all status levels is my understanding. I have not heard of anybody at any level getting more than the practically worthless Loyalty points for earned (complimentary) certificates. Just a very poor customer service decision by AA IMO.
I think with United you can probably take out a Credit card free for 1st year and probably get Gold status.
I'm not positive but I suspect it is the same with the AA visa card.
Not that that will really get you anything since Gold status isn't that great. You'll probably never get any upgrade and with the new rules of the high level folks getting a free companion upgrade the gold and platinum level folks are double screwed out of a chance of getting any upgrade. But the chance has always been so low it doesn't really matter that now the chance is is cut in half again. You were never going to get any upgrade anyway at gold or platinum level so Nothing is still nothing. Just twice as much chance of being nothing with the new rules.
Lucky,
Not just for EP. I am a long time EP but now retired (w 3 million AA miles) so fall back to lifetime Platinum. I originally called and explained since I was lifetime Platinum, likely not to move up in status since now retired so loyalty points have little value and I paid for the upgrades. Initial feedback was crediting back the $360 (think that was right) paid for the 9 upgrades I had....
Lucky,
Not just for EP. I am a long time EP but now retired (w 3 million AA miles) so fall back to lifetime Platinum. I originally called and explained since I was lifetime Platinum, likely not to move up in status since now retired so loyalty points have little value and I paid for the upgrades. Initial feedback was crediting back the $360 (think that was right) paid for the 9 upgrades I had. Better than nothing so I said fine.
Well a few weeks later I got a similar email and immediately selected the offer of 5000 miles per upgrade (or 45,000 miles). These were posted within 3 days to my account.
Don’t know if this works for regular Platinum members but definitely does for those of us w lifetime status. Like you I feel this is a very fair offer
I purchased a few when they stopped giving them us EPs so that my husband could upgrade with me.. have also been offered and accepted 5,0000 miles per purchased "sticker" as some of us still call them...
FYI ... EP since they started that level, over 20 years ago.. and unlikely to make it this year as I always qualified with a few long haul Bus class to Maldives and/or Asia to dive.....and much as...
I purchased a few when they stopped giving them us EPs so that my husband could upgrade with me.. have also been offered and accepted 5,0000 miles per purchased "sticker" as some of us still call them...
FYI ... EP since they started that level, over 20 years ago.. and unlikely to make it this year as I always qualified with a few long haul Bus class to Maldives and/or Asia to dive.....and much as my travel plans will not change that won't get me that status anymore!!!
Would love to know what others were told about 500 mile upgrades that were earned Thru flying. I have 70 of them and not elite at the moment due to lack of travel during Covid. TIA
Similar situation as you but with 80 now worthless certificates.
My undertanding is all levels Non-gold, gold, platinum, EP all can only get 250 Loyalty points for each earned 500 mile certificate. Not heard of anybody getting anything more for earned certificates. IMO it is not fair and a long ways from "Generous" but,.......... If AA want to screw their customers out of something we earned, what are we going to do. I'm checking...
Similar situation as you but with 80 now worthless certificates.
My undertanding is all levels Non-gold, gold, platinum, EP all can only get 250 Loyalty points for each earned 500 mile certificate. Not heard of anybody getting anything more for earned certificates. IMO it is not fair and a long ways from "Generous" but,.......... If AA want to screw their customers out of something we earned, what are we going to do. I'm checking if will a lawyer will take it for a share of the settlement but not sure they will.
Risk is probably too high that AA is actually free to screw their customers out of something they "earned" as much as they care to do by giving us whatever worthless points they want to give us instead of allowing us to use the 500 mile upgrade certificates. I wonder if perhaps the upgrade certificates might have been taking priority over the EPs in getting all the upgrades for free so AA changed the plans to eliminate the certificates which will now leave more upgrades for the EPs plus their "companions" to get the free upgrades.
I received the same offer as a Lifetime Gold.
Gave AAdvantage a call today to shoot my shot on this. I only have 5 stickers on my account (all paid, earlier this year), but I'd take 25k miles in a heartbeat. I was transferred to 4 different CSRs, the last one of which didn't seem to understand my request re: refund/miles, and kept giving me the line that LoyaltyPoint conversion will happen some time later this year.
Feels like a hang-up-call-again situation.
What about us with a few 500 mile upgrades sitting dormant in our account that we can't use since no longer elite with AA? I paid for mine!
It doesn't seem right that non-elite shouldn't get the same deal as elite. What is elite?
Is gold Elite?
If it is gold you might be able to get complimentary gold by taking out an AA Credit card.
Not sure if you have time. you need to check and execute. Ithink they will start converting now to end ofJuly. Not sure if they are still offering the 5000 miles per upgrade certificate...
It doesn't seem right that non-elite shouldn't get the same deal as elite. What is elite?
Is gold Elite?
If it is gold you might be able to get complimentary gold by taking out an AA Credit card.
Not sure if you have time. you need to check and execute. Ithink they will start converting now to end ofJuly. Not sure if they are still offering the 5000 miles per upgrade certificate or what level you need to be to get that. If they can find a reason to screw you out of the 5000 points for each certificate they probably will.
Can anyone tell me how to tell if the 500-mile upgrades I have were purchased vs earned?
AA should be able to look them up and tell you.
Same offer as a lowly AA Platinum:
am reaching out to you to follow-up on your request for more options
to exchange your purchased 500-mile upgrades. I appreciate the
opportunity to assist an AAdvantage Platinum® member.
Based on our internal records, your 24 unused 500-mile upgrades were
purchased. We can offer you the following refund options for the 24
purchased and unused 500-mile upgrades:
A. 6,000 Loyalty Points (250 Loyalty...
Same offer as a lowly AA Platinum:
am reaching out to you to follow-up on your request for more options
to exchange your purchased 500-mile upgrades. I appreciate the
opportunity to assist an AAdvantage Platinum® member.
Based on our internal records, your 24 unused 500-mile upgrades were
purchased. We can offer you the following refund options for the 24
purchased and unused 500-mile upgrades:
A. 6,000 Loyalty Points (250 Loyalty Points x 24 purchased 500-mile
upgrades)
B. 120,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles(5,000 bonus miles x 24 purchased
500-mile upgrades)
C. Travel Voucher of $960 (the paid amount associated with your 24
purchased 500-mile upgrades)
D. Refund of $960 to the original form of payment or check depending on
when your upgrades were purchased
What non sense that someone’s companion with no status would get upgraded ahead of me. He or she needs to get to the back of the line. This constitutes discrimination towards solo travelers .
Bad luck buddy, workout to be a Exec Plat or even better a Concierge Key (which is a Complementary status after EP)
yep, AA's new moto should be: We treat the EPs and higher plus their companions like kings and Queens.......... while we keep all the lower level travelers from ever having any chance of getting an upgrade ............we screw them royally and give them something worthless for any upgrades they have.
I hope all the platinum and below travelers move to United and AA has planes almost empty so all their EPs and concierge levels ......and...
yep, AA's new moto should be: We treat the EPs and higher plus their companions like kings and Queens.......... while we keep all the lower level travelers from ever having any chance of getting an upgrade ............we screw them royally and give them something worthless for any upgrades they have.
I hope all the platinum and below travelers move to United and AA has planes almost empty so all their EPs and concierge levels ......and their travel companions can get free upgrades. Then AA profit will fall like a rock because all the less frequent travelers fly a different carrier if there is one that givea crap about them since AA certainly doesn't.
I have 83 in my account but most were NOT purchased. (Some were however) I gave up on AA after a few service fiascos so no status currently but OW Sapphire via BA. I have no use for priority points.
I called and asked for a refund for the PURCHASED upgrades, they told me to pound sand but I could email customer service. Customer Service (?) told me to pound sand (twice) If they refund some people and tell others to buzz off, that's fraud.
Not fraud - depends on status and you have nine w them. Sorry but status does matter
Apparently only CURRENT status matters. Say someone was Platinum every year for a decade, then a few years ago life took them in a different direction and they could not travel as much....they get nothing for their unused purchased upgrades? What about when they return to traveling? Then passenger #2, their life just got them traveling the past year, they achieve Platinum status of some degree....they get 5,000 miles per unused upgrade because of their...
Apparently only CURRENT status matters. Say someone was Platinum every year for a decade, then a few years ago life took them in a different direction and they could not travel as much....they get nothing for their unused purchased upgrades? What about when they return to traveling? Then passenger #2, their life just got them traveling the past year, they achieve Platinum status of some degree....they get 5,000 miles per unused upgrade because of their CURRENT status? Who is actually the better customer? The person loyal to AA for a decade gets treated poorly just because they weren't flying a lot at the moment these changes occurred? More than CURRENT status SHOULD matter!
So wait...PlatPro here, I have 36 unused 500m upgrades (earned by flying and paying full fare, not purchased) and you are telling me that after all the money I have paid to AA, I would only be eligible for 8,000 loyalty points because I EARNED them????
Unless you paid for them, not as a byproduct of flying, you don’t get the enhanced offer. You got them free (paying for a ticket doesn’t count)
Agreed Dempseyzdad! I'm in a similar boat! Platinum Pro the last 4 years (earned it by flying, even during the pandemic) Platinum for a few years before that. I earned all of mine by paying for expensive flights. I think that's worth more than $40 bucks a piece, as how much did it cost on average to EARN 10k Elite Qualifying Miles???
I agree it isn't fair but essentially AA is saying to EVERBODY no matter what level that you can only get crappy loyalty points for all the earned unused 500 mile upgrade certificates you have. IMO not fair but, whoever said the airlines have to be fair? They can charge 2x the price for your seat vs the one beside you. They can decide to double the miles required to buy an award travel certificate....
I agree it isn't fair but essentially AA is saying to EVERBODY no matter what level that you can only get crappy loyalty points for all the earned unused 500 mile upgrade certificates you have. IMO not fair but, whoever said the airlines have to be fair? They can charge 2x the price for your seat vs the one beside you. They can decide to double the miles required to buy an award travel certificate. They can screw you anytime they want to and this is one of those times they are choosing to screw anybody with "Earned" 500mile certificates by trading them for worthless loyalty points. Doesn't mean it is right or fair but somebody there decided it was worth the price in customer satisfaction or should I say customer dissatisfaction.
Good to know. I never bought any since I fly exclusively with AS, despite my AA status.
(Side note: SFO-LAX schedule and economy pricing is terrible, and that's before we talk about the situation that is the eagle's nest terminal.)
Hello,
Just to report in I’m a Platinum however I just missed Platinum Pro last year and I’m on track to easily make it this year, I don’t know that any of that is relevant or matters. This is the message I received I am reaching out to you to follow-up on your request to refund your
500-mile upgrades purchased with award miles. I appreciate the
opportunity to assist an AAdvantage Platinum®...
Hello,
Just to report in I’m a Platinum however I just missed Platinum Pro last year and I’m on track to easily make it this year, I don’t know that any of that is relevant or matters. This is the message I received I am reaching out to you to follow-up on your request to refund your
500-mile upgrades purchased with award miles. I appreciate the
opportunity to assist an AAdvantage Platinum® member.
Based on our internal records, 6 of your 10 unused 500-mile upgrades
were purchased with award miles. We can offer you the following refund
options for these upgrades:
A. 1,500 Loyalty Points (250 Loyalty Points x 6 purchased 500-mile
upgrades)
B. 30,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles (5,000 bonus miles x 6 purchased
500-mile upgrades)
Once you have decided on a preferred option, please respond to this
e-mail directly and I will ensure the exchange is promptly executed. I
look forward to hearing from you and helping to bring closure to this
issue.
Best regards,
Nikki Azcona
Executive Liaison
AAdvantage® Loyalty Program
American Airlines®
I called. At first, she said I can only receive loyalty points. I told her AA is offering award miles as an option now. She put me on hold and came back and said I was correct. She submitted everything for me and said within a week I would get an email confirmation of the point being deposited. Thanks, Ben!
I tried the chat line and was told 250 loyalty points was all I was going to get. Tried the phone which was answered immediately for maybe the first time in like 20 years and he said there was a lot of misinformation floating around and that as far as he knew, only refunds were given to most people. He said I would get a form with offers withing two weeks. Only a plat now,...
I tried the chat line and was told 250 loyalty points was all I was going to get. Tried the phone which was answered immediately for maybe the first time in like 20 years and he said there was a lot of misinformation floating around and that as far as he knew, only refunds were given to most people. He said I would get a form with offers withing two weeks. Only a plat now, but I bought these maybe 10 years ago when I was an EXP every year. I'm happy, a refund is better than "loyatly points" in my case.
Ben: They are still selling the 500 upgrade... Can I buy now and then replace them to 5000 miles?
This is a solid question. I most likely won't be able to make much use of my Amex credits, so exchanging for miles at that rate wouldn't be the worst deal.
And speaking of the Amex credits, I've had mixed experiences with the paid upgrades offered in the app. Most of the time they don't trigger, but sometimes they do. Phone agents say they don't qualify. Anyone else have experience?
Unfortunately not - they changed their terms and conditions to clarify that only 500-mile stickers purchased before April 19 are eligible:
https://www.aa.com/i18n/aadvantage-program/aadvantage-terms-and-conditions.jsp#terms500mile
Lowly Gold here. Was told via chat that I could only have loyalty points or a refund. Asked about miles and rep said no.
@ Vanessa -- Out of curiosity, did you buy those 500-mile upgrade stickers with cash, or did you earn them (at the rate of four for every 10K EQMs earned back in the day)?
I think about 90 percent of them were bought using the Amex platinum. Maybe about 4 were earned.
NO status here and via chat, after I was asked for my AAdvantage number, I was told the following:
1. Only paid certs would be converted to miles and she knew how many I paid for and when. Second, only those with status can take advantage. So since I have no status no dice for me.
2. She reaffirmed that they would convert to Loyalty Points within a few months.
That’s rough Brodie
I'm a Plat - got the same offer
I'm a Plat too.. did you call the AAdvantage Plat customer service line? Or DM on twitter, etc? Also, what did you say? I would like to exchange my stickers for miles as well :)
I got an identical offer as a platinum pro.
When will they not be needed to upgrade non status companions?
@ Jeff -- An exact date hasn't yet been given, it'll be as of some point later this year.
@Ben
I’m an AA Gold and was offered the following:
Dear Mr Crawford,
I am reaching out to you to follow-up on your request for more options
to exchange your purchased 500-mile upgrades. I appreciate the
opportunity to assist an AAdvantage Gold® member.
Based on our internal records, 6 of your unused 500-mile upgrades were
purchased. We can offer you one of the following refund options for the
...
@Ben
I’m an AA Gold and was offered the following:
Dear Mr Crawford,
I am reaching out to you to follow-up on your request for more options
to exchange your purchased 500-mile upgrades. I appreciate the
opportunity to assist an AAdvantage Gold® member.
Based on our internal records, 6 of your unused 500-mile upgrades were
purchased. We can offer you one of the following refund options for the
6 purchased and unused 500-mile upgrades:
A. 1,520 Loyalty Points (250 Loyalty Points x 6 purchased 500-mile
upgrades)
B. 30,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles (5,000 bonus miles x 6 purchased
500-mile upgrades)
C. Travel Voucher of $240 (the paid amount associated with your 6
purchased 500-mile upgrades)
D. Refund of $240 to the original form of payment or check depending on
when your upgrades were purchased
Once you have decided on a preferred option, please respond to this e-mail directly and I will ensure the exchange is promptly executed. I look forward to hearing from you and helping to bring closure to this
issue.
@jeff
Why in the world would your non status companion get upgraded ahead of me ? I am platinum pro also. Then I need to be non companion compensated every time I fly. In form of 2X miles or something. Completely unlawful for American Airlines to give random people complementary upgrades.
I think I may know why you're single...
@Cassie
Class action lawsuit coming. By American Airlines implementing such a policy there is not much that wouldn't expose them to legal liability.
BS dude - you are crazy. Other airlines have had companion upgrade rules for years w no problem. Grow up - not all about you
Jesus dude quit complaining! Companion upgrades are processed after members at the same level. You lose nothing. On the other hand find a friend and travel with them
I don't make the rules