A few days ago, I shared my awful experience flying American, where the carrier’s handling of a delay was oh-so-bad, yet oh-so-typical for the airline. Some people (fairly) asked me why I still frequently fly with the airline, and am loyal to American. Let me explain, as the answer is a bit nuanced.
The short answer is that I’d no longer consider myself to be loyal to American. However, that’s not to say that I don’t fly the airline sometimes, and it’s also not to say that I don’t participate in AAdvantage, and even pursue elite status. Let me explain.
In this post:
Living in Miami, American is often the best choice
Let me start by saying that I’d no longer consider myself to be loyal to American. Airlines have eroded the value of elite status to the point that it doesn’t do much to impact my choice of which airline I fly. I fly the airline that offers me the best combination of price and schedule, whether paying cash or redeeming points.
Truth be told, I don’t do much domestic travel, as a vast majority of my flying is international. That means the domestic flying that I do is often simply positioning to major gateways, and then most of my international travel is on foreign airlines.
Living in Miami, American is often the best option in terms of schedule. American flies the most places nonstop, so I’m just going to fly on American over connecting on another airline, since there’s huge convenience to flying nonstop.
Like, I’m not going to fly to the Caribbean by connecting in Atlanta with a 40-minute connection. For that matter, my most frequent domestic route is from Miami to Tampa, where competition is limited, and American has by far the best schedule.
But honestly, I’m not loyal to American, as it has probably been six months since I’ve flown through Charlotte, Dallas, or Phoenix. That should tell you everything you need to know. 😉
Next, American is often simply the best option in terms of overall value. Unlike Delta and United, American frequently opens up very reasonably priced first class awards at the last minute, and I have a sizable balance of miles.
Furthermore, much of my travel on American is using Alaska Mileage Plan miles, where I can redeem 9,000 miles for a one-way first class flight of up 700 miles, and 15,000 miles for a one-way first class flight of up 1,400 miles.
In the case of my recent severely delayed flight from New York to Miami, I booked a few weeks out, and for a convenient schedule, my options were to pay 15,000 Alaska miles for American first class, or pay $600 for a Delta first class ticket. I’ll let you guess which I chose.
So yeah, I book American when it’s the best option in terms of fare and schedule. I don’t go out of my way to fly the airline, and in all honestly, all else being equal, I’ll typically fly another airline. American is my airline of choice when it’s cheapest and/or has the best schedule, and that’s it. In other words, I’m a rational consumer. 😉
I do still pursue some status with AAdvantage
I had AAdvantage Executive Platinum status for 14 years, but I’ve finally dropped down to AAdvantage Gold as of this year. However, I’m going for status again. Not because I value it for flying American, but instead, because I really value oneworld Emerald status for all my travel on oneworld partner airlines.
I love the amazing lounges it gets me access to, plus the priority treatment. The reality is that American provides the easiest pathway to earning this status. My desire to earn that status has little to do with American, and a lot more to do with AAdvantage:
- I’m only planning on going for Platinum Pro rather than Executive Platinum, which is the lowest status that earns you oneworld Emerald
- American makes it easiest to earn elite status through credit card spending, and on top of that, I have an amazing “double dip” opportunity right now
- I still see huge value in the AAdvantage program, in terms of the value of miles for last minute domestic first class tickets, as well as for international premium cabin tickets; so AAdvantage continues to deliver in that sense, if you ask me
In the past, AAdvantage was the driving force that made me choose to fly with American. Nowadays, AAdvantage is the driving force that makes me put some spending on a co-branded card, so that I can get perks on other airlines, entirely separate from whether or not I choose to fly with American.
It’s generally not worth avoiding American
When American can just operate reliably, I don’t mind flying the airline one bit:
- American’s wide body fleet is solid, as American is the only US carrier to have direct aisle access in business class from all wide body planes
- I don’t mind American’s domestic interiors without TVs; as long as I have a stable Wi-Fi connection, I’m fine, and I kind of appreciate knowing exactly what to expect (unlike with Delta and United)
- American actually has a lot of lovely staff who remind me of better days at the carrier, but then you deal with so many people who just don’t care
Nowadays I think United is my preferred domestic carrier in first class, mainly because I appreciate the cold brew. Meanwhile I think Delta’s domestic experience is sort of overrated, especially given the huge variance in terms of the quality of the fleet. I’m not saying it’s bad, I just don’t think it’s worth going out of my way to fly it over another carrier.
What frustrates me so much about American is the extent to which the airline completely falls apart when there are irregular operations, especially when it comes to customer service. I’ve actually had a pretty good operational reliability streak with American, until recently. Go figure with my last experience, when it rains, it pours.
I think what frustrates me so much about American is that I actually like the airline, or at least am rooting for the airline and want it to succeed and be a real competitor. I’ve been flying with the airline for so long. What I find sad is that I think a little bit of effort in the right areas would go a long way to making flying with the airline more pleasant.
It seems like American management is now trying to make the airline a little more customer friendly, and I hope that trend continues. But unfortunately the past times we’ve seen that, it didn’t last long.
Bottom line
No, I’m no longer loyal to American. I fly the airline specifically when it offers the best value, in terms of price and schedule. Living in Miami, that often means that American is better than competitors. I also see value in AAdvantage specifically for the ability to redeem miles, plus the oneworld status perks. So I’m using the easiest pathway to earning oneworld Emerald status.
But that’s the extent of my “loyalty” to American. When I fly American, it’s more often than not because it’s way cheaper or more convenient, and not because of any blind loyalty I have toward the airline.
Is my approach with American unreasonable?
I would challenge the assumption that buying an American direct flight will get you to your destination faster and with less stress than a connecting flight on Delta or United.
I live in an AA hub and fly 90% of my flights on Delta with a connection. Not only is Delta a better experience in terms of lounges, in-flight TVs, and customer service, but it is more reliable than flying American direct.
I spent years...
I would challenge the assumption that buying an American direct flight will get you to your destination faster and with less stress than a connecting flight on Delta or United.
I live in an AA hub and fly 90% of my flights on Delta with a connection. Not only is Delta a better experience in terms of lounges, in-flight TVs, and customer service, but it is more reliable than flying American direct.
I spent years experiencing frequent IRROPS and rude customer service on AA and it is not worth it. Take a connection longer than 45 mins and enjoy better food, drinks, and service at the SkyClub in between.
"American’s wide body fleet is solid, as American is the only US carrier to have direct aisle access in business class from all wide body planes"
Your statement is wrong. United's wide body fleet is solid, with a more consisten product vs. AA and it provides direct aisle access in business class (Polaris) from all wide body planes. If you are thinking about the domestic 777 fleet United runs to Hawaii, hub to hub and...
"American’s wide body fleet is solid, as American is the only US carrier to have direct aisle access in business class from all wide body planes"
Your statement is wrong. United's wide body fleet is solid, with a more consisten product vs. AA and it provides direct aisle access in business class (Polaris) from all wide body planes. If you are thinking about the domestic 777 fleet United runs to Hawaii, hub to hub and some leisure domestic markets, there is no Business Class (Polaris) on those planes. It is all Domestic First Class.
I am in total agreement with you and i am basically following the same strategy and this is not good for AA in the long term because we are not the only 2 fliers taking this approack
After 10MM miles and in the program since Day 1 -i usually fly Domestically out of LGA and will no longer "chase" AA like i used to - if they offer what I need i fly them -...
I am in total agreement with you and i am basically following the same strategy and this is not good for AA in the long term because we are not the only 2 fliers taking this approack
After 10MM miles and in the program since Day 1 -i usually fly Domestically out of LGA and will no longer "chase" AA like i used to - if they offer what I need i fly them - if not, it's Delta
Internationally, i try to take AF if going to Europe and Emirates if Middle East or Asia
My recent family/Business travel spend has historically been between $100-125K with as much as 80% of it being on AA or One World. Now if i spend 5-7% flying on actual AA iron, it's a lot
i don't have to chase status since i have a high Citicard Spend and i will fly other One World airlines...
I made this decision after watching AA fall from a great carrier to a "not so great one". i know that they are trying to come back but for me, it's too little too late
AA prices its products properly relative to the market. Their primary east coast competitor is Delta and it is no surprise that Delta can price higher than American for cash and awards. No airline can exist solely on hub captive revenues. AA has to be able to compete with anyone across their network to survive and thrive and they aren’t doing that
“AA prices its products properly relative to the market.” So you are saying that other airlines competing in the same markets are deliberately and improperly pricing their products? Please elaborate.
In the case of New York to Miami, Delta prices higher than American because of its higher level of service
You mean least bad service Tim.
I would never fly with them again so rude customer service.our flight was cancelled at DFW and we asked lady if she could help us get a room and where was the nearest hotel she said you can use your phone .we have no idea about Dallas anything then she tells us that we might have to stay a extra day cause the flight we were booked on was full but she could get us tickets for the day after .Never again
The idea of being "loyal" to an airline of all things is so odd to me. It's a business offering a service. Barring any intolerable behavior on their part, the only things that matter are value and service offered (value including frequent customer programs, and service including availability, reliability etc.). What even is "loyalty" in this situation? Is it anything more than just taking a calculated risk that spending your money on one airline will...
The idea of being "loyal" to an airline of all things is so odd to me. It's a business offering a service. Barring any intolerable behavior on their part, the only things that matter are value and service offered (value including frequent customer programs, and service including availability, reliability etc.). What even is "loyalty" in this situation? Is it anything more than just taking a calculated risk that spending your money on one airline will net you more value than spending it on other airlines?
@Jon,
Exactly. I don't get it either.
I critiqued Ben's "loyalty" to AA previously because that's all we seem to hear about and it's REALLY tiresome. But with this article, I realize I'm in the same boat. I'm not "loyal" to DL, but...
- I live in a city that's not a hub for any airline though all US3 plus the LLCs fly here
- Our airport has a Sky Club - the only airline lounge at the airport - and...
I critiqued Ben's "loyalty" to AA previously because that's all we seem to hear about and it's REALLY tiresome. But with this article, I realize I'm in the same boat. I'm not "loyal" to DL, but...
- I live in a city that's not a hub for any airline though all US3 plus the LLCs fly here
- Our airport has a Sky Club - the only airline lounge at the airport - and I'm often on calls up to the point that I board so having a lounge is handy, and all the other airports we frequent regularly to visit friends/family/work sites also have SkyClubs, sometimes also the only airline lounge
- It's my company's "Most Preferred" airline on Concur, so I'm already "required" to earn miles with DL anyway
- My husband and I own a home in Europe and fly there at least once a month so we're going to be connecting at least once anyway, on any airline
- We spend enough to be DMs (which has marginal value, I know) but it's still better than what we'd get with UA or AA
- We can credit our miles to AF/KL if we want, which still has some decent reward redemptions to be found
If UA/AA have a better fair for TATL J, we absolutely do that - especially if we fly a partner airline. Though my other half hates AA for myriad reasons, but a good J fare soothes the butthurt he has. But for the vast majority of our flying, DL has the best fares and times and experience for us. Not loyal, but superficially, it seems so.
No airline is worthy of your loyalty. Be loyal to yourself and your family. What about CO2 emissions? Take a boat , train , or EV instead.
If you say so padre.
The people who spend the most time justifying why they fly American Airlines are the same people who spend the most time complaining about flying American Airlines. At some point, it just seems silly to keep making posts about how an AA employee was rude to you but then another post about how you will continue to give them money. It’s like some weird toxic co-dependency.
When people in the comments justify flying American because they are ‘hub hostages’ it just adds to the feeling that some of y’all are suffering from Stockholm Syndrome.
One has to wonder if “The people who spend the most time justifying why they” …. read a subject article, criticise the author and others who post a response, are really American Airline apologists? On the other hand, perhaps American Airlines employees, media types or the likes?
None of the above. Just someone who isn’t a hostage.
If you stopped patronizing every business where one employee treated you poorly one time (instead of considering your overall historical experience with the business), you'd probably wind up having to do every last thing yourself.
For those of us wiping up the rear, AAdvantage travel is pretty hard to beat for points value. I have a bunch of transcontinental US flights booked for my family for 6000 miles per seat, and a trip from the Western US to Europe for 38000 plus $50 in co-payments round trip per person, including baggage service and an ostensible meal. Delta charges 2 or 3 times the miles for the same route. I have...
For those of us wiping up the rear, AAdvantage travel is pretty hard to beat for points value. I have a bunch of transcontinental US flights booked for my family for 6000 miles per seat, and a trip from the Western US to Europe for 38000 plus $50 in co-payments round trip per person, including baggage service and an ostensible meal. Delta charges 2 or 3 times the miles for the same route. I have some mid level status and
a platinum card on Delta but I'm not getting upgraded anyway.
Sure, flying coach on AA is a lousy experience, but it isn't really that different, and in any case, I don't fly for the experience. I fly so I can get somewhere and enjoy it with my family and friends. As I have said before, if I needed to lie flat next to a bunch of drunks, I could stay in hostels.
As a CLT hub hostage, AA’s extreme stranglehold of over 90% of all flights operated is one of the worst aspects of living in the Charlotte area. I often fly them simply for the convenience of a nonstop where there’s no alternative carrier, even from RDU. While I occasionally encounter friendly crew members, I equally often encounter downright awful FAs. On one recent flight I said a cheerful “hello, how are you?” to a FA...
As a CLT hub hostage, AA’s extreme stranglehold of over 90% of all flights operated is one of the worst aspects of living in the Charlotte area. I often fly them simply for the convenience of a nonstop where there’s no alternative carrier, even from RDU. While I occasionally encounter friendly crew members, I equally often encounter downright awful FAs. On one recent flight I said a cheerful “hello, how are you?” to a FA during boarding and just got a death stare in return. Not even a grunt. If you’re lucky you get a few indifferent FAs.
I used to live close to DEN and before that IAD. I would take UA on their worst day over AA on their best day. I never thought I would miss the mediocre “friendly skies” so much.
CLT has a lot of ex -USAir grumps still hanging on. Completely demoralized group.
Don't confuse low prices with value.
Paying 10% less miles (or whatever) and having to endure the type of horrendous delay handling you had to, even if it happens only once every 20 or 50 flights, is no value for someone who makes the amount of money you do. Otherwise you'd be flying Spirit and Frontier and Icelandair.
I am also a confused Alaska loyalist who has come to enjoy United first (and also firmly agree that it is superior to Delta's). Unfortunately (for loyalty, not for the weather) LAX is my airport and United has simply abdicated many routes leaving me with with AA or Delta as my only options, and I'm not paying a premium for Delta when I can at least make MVP progress flying AA.
“Confused Alaska Loyalist” I am not loyal to AS living half in LAX and half MCI, but as a loyal AS flyer for many years I hear this loud and clear.
*Now living in LAX/MCI
Ben, it matters not whether we, your readers, think your approach to flying AA is reasonable or not. You are the one who is flying. You are the one who chooses the carrier on which you will fly. Period. Furthermore, I don't know how many of your regular readers frequently fly in F (domestically or internationally) as you do, versus flying "in the back of the bus," as most people do, and how that affects...
Ben, it matters not whether we, your readers, think your approach to flying AA is reasonable or not. You are the one who is flying. You are the one who chooses the carrier on which you will fly. Period. Furthermore, I don't know how many of your regular readers frequently fly in F (domestically or internationally) as you do, versus flying "in the back of the bus," as most people do, and how that affects one's opinions as well as one's actions. That said, let me share with you why I have a certain loyalty to American.
Alaska.
I've said here before that SFO is my home airport. I joined Virgin America's Elevate program on 11 August 2007, three days after VX began flight ops, and I was top-tier (Gold) elite with them every year but one, when I dropped to Silver, until the takeover by Alaska. At that time, I had a substantial amount of points with VX, which grew even more as they were converted to AS miles. I thought the transition went rather smoothly, and I regularly recognized (and was recognized by) "ex-Virgin" FAs and gate agents. Additionally, I have maintained MVP Gold status every year since the acquisition, and regularly earned 100% bonus miles on every flight until this year, when AS cut the bonus miles to 50% for MVP Gold members.
Alaska has always had an attractive stable of partner airlines, something VX never had (not that I'm complaining; I flew VS many times across the Atlantic). Joining oneworld added many more, and lost a few. It also opened up codesharing with AA, so for some domestic destinations, I found myself on American.
The last time I paid cash to fly across an ocean was in 2017, when I flew Emirates JFK-MXP r/t. Every other trip, whether trans-Atlantic or trans-Pacific has been in Business courtesy of AS Mileage Plan -- whether it's AA, BA, IB, JAL, CX, EVA.
One final thing: it's less expensive to access Alaska lounges domestically with a Citi AAdvantage Exec card than it is to pay for an AS lounge membership.
Oh, I don't think you're being totally transparent. You also took advantage of a loophole in Simply Miles to get millions of Advantage miles for pennies on the dollar. So if you're gonna be honest, be transparent as well.
Aha!!
These flights are practically free to him.
Puzzle solved.
It is well documented that I strongly dislike AA and have the luxury of not having to fly with them. I also (flying from TPA) do the ..Do I fly Nonstop on Alaska or connect via ATL on DL to get to family in SAN. Toss up. BUT..that family member fly Dublin to Charlotte in paid cash J today. She stated that no crew member would help her stow a bag, that the crew was...
It is well documented that I strongly dislike AA and have the luxury of not having to fly with them. I also (flying from TPA) do the ..Do I fly Nonstop on Alaska or connect via ATL on DL to get to family in SAN. Toss up. BUT..that family member fly Dublin to Charlotte in paid cash J today. She stated that no crew member would help her stow a bag, that the crew was beyond indifferent. My 83 year old cousin had more comments about this. Long and short...AA Sucks.
I am glad that Ben and others experience good crews on AA. But as Gordon Bethune of Continental said " You can make a pizza so cheap that no one wants to buy it.
AA is that cheap pizza
AA is by far the worst of the big 4. Always issues and zero customer support. I avoid them at all costs, and I fly several times a week.
I fly AA out of JFK and find them pretty good. Never had a problem getting a CSR on the phone with call back.
No domestic airline is worth taking a connecting flight when another one provides me the option to fly direct (which at ORD is basically always).
Ben, I am well aware that you are probably sick of me telling you that I consider everyday to be a school day, however, the fact remains that from every single article which you post I learn something. I started reading your flight reviews to learn about different airlines, their routes and seats, etc.
Progressing onto your other topics I have gained much insight into the U.S. domestic scene too. The mindset of the...
Ben, I am well aware that you are probably sick of me telling you that I consider everyday to be a school day, however, the fact remains that from every single article which you post I learn something. I started reading your flight reviews to learn about different airlines, their routes and seats, etc.
Progressing onto your other topics I have gained much insight into the U.S. domestic scene too. The mindset of the passengers both international and local has been revealing too. I could not for the life of me understand why anyone in their right mind would fly American. Finally your explanation and that of the others who have posted in response, has changed my view point onto the subject.
Thank you Ben and thank you to the others who have helped me to appreciate your points of view.
Time to get a divorce. You'll be much happier. Speaking from experience.
Never a truer word spoken in jest, thank you Kathy for making me smile this morning.
Hire a dominatrix if you like being punished.
+1 on all this for me. I’d love to have a different primary airline, but I live in PHX (and hate Southwest more). It’s absolutely not worth connecting through another airline hub when I could just fly direct almost anywhere domestic on American. Just holding out hope that they won’t let Delta or United get too far in front of them, someday.
Thank you for commenting on Delta’s consistent level of grime! Realize planes are’t generally clean spaces, but it’s clear Delta has been deferring deep cleaning for many years. They are better about surface wiping post-Covid, but the layers of crud and grime in the cracks of seats seems to remain.
By and large, Delta’s lavs seem to be in equally poor shape. The lav caulk work around so many of Delta’s toilets and smoke detectors...
Thank you for commenting on Delta’s consistent level of grime! Realize planes are’t generally clean spaces, but it’s clear Delta has been deferring deep cleaning for many years. They are better about surface wiping post-Covid, but the layers of crud and grime in the cracks of seats seems to remain.
By and large, Delta’s lavs seem to be in equally poor shape. The lav caulk work around so many of Delta’s toilets and smoke detectors looks like it was done by a drunk toddler!
If you're a cool kid, you blog and bag on good ol AA. Seems like it anyway.
I've not experienced the issues on AA that everyone else goes on about, in fact I've been surprised and delighted that the service has seen a marked increase in quality.
Ben, Have you used up all the miles you bought during that SimplyMiles deal a few years back?
@ Ag -- Still burning!
If you live in Miami (like I do) unless you want to deal with constant connect stress/drama 7-8 months out of the year it's AA. Or you have no issue getting bounced out of your first class seat on a misconnect. Between thunderstorms in ATL and MIA (UA isn't much of a option with closest hub in IAD) the marginal difference between AA and DL just isn't worth it. Plus if you're CK like me giving up the FL at MIA is hard albeit the SC is much nicer than the ACs.
I wish I knew what half of those acronyms meant. I have just one wish in this weary world and that is for online commenters to define lesser known acronyms when initially introduced into a thread discussion.
The Europeans and Canadians hate us, so I would avoid EU carriers.
Hank, as an Englishman, I can assure you that “Europeans” do not hate Americans per se. Of the three types of Americans who venture into Europe, the Ladies and the Gentlemen are most welcome. However, it is the third type, the rude, crude and revolting obnoxious Americans who we prefer not to associate with.
One hopes that this is helpful for you to realign your misconception.
I do the exact same thing as you.
Went from being a loyal UA 1K to free agent for the best schedule. Honestly so refreshing.
When AA is on time, they are decent for nonstop travel.
"You may have wished she were clocked out cold, but you'd never say that out loud."
You bring up hitting (or "clocking out cold") this woman again and again. Not sure if it's that you are into hitting women, or just hitting anyone who displeases you. This is clearly behavior that Skadden appreciates in a 27-year-old "equity partner" earning $30MM/yr.
Yea, it's definitely not to get upgrades. Just got offered to bump to first class from MIA to DFW for $121. No way elites are getting upgraded with prices like that.
I was one of the "why do you continue to fly with AA" commenters...and I feel this was an honest and fair explanation. I do miss the OneWorld Emerald status, that much is true. Delta's alliances are lacking to non-existent at best. But since most of my flying is domestic, matching status at DL was eye-opening, and I really feel appreciated at DL. FA 's come up front from the back just to give me...
I was one of the "why do you continue to fly with AA" commenters...and I feel this was an honest and fair explanation. I do miss the OneWorld Emerald status, that much is true. Delta's alliances are lacking to non-existent at best. But since most of my flying is domestic, matching status at DL was eye-opening, and I really feel appreciated at DL. FA 's come up front from the back just to give me a "thanks for flying DL, Mr. G."; where on AA I felt I was an inconvenience to the FC FA and never even saw the FAs working the back. Ever.
@ Dempseyzdad -- For sure, the level of appreciation of customers on Delta is much, much higher. The culture is different, you're right.
I, too, was one of the ones wondering why you continue to be loyal to AA. This is a fair and honest explanation. However, I continue to see comments about "captive hubs". I live in Dallas (and fly a lot) and I can't think of a more "captive hub" than Dallas - much more so than Miami. I'm able to find other alternatives. I just feel that too much emphasis is placed on this. However,...
I, too, was one of the ones wondering why you continue to be loyal to AA. This is a fair and honest explanation. However, I continue to see comments about "captive hubs". I live in Dallas (and fly a lot) and I can't think of a more "captive hub" than Dallas - much more so than Miami. I'm able to find other alternatives. I just feel that too much emphasis is placed on this. However, I do understand that every market is different and in some cases, AA may be the cheaper and more efficient option. It is sometimes that way out of DFW as well. It used to be that Southwest (flies out of DAL) was always cheaper. However, that it almost never the case now.
@Ben - Once the brightline is expanded to Tampa, do you expect to take that instead of flying on AA?
@ JB -- 100%. Though I'd put that in the if/when category.
Brightline from Miami to Tampa would take way longer than driving. The train will go all the way to Orlando, and then to Tampa. Heck, it’s already barely faster to take Brightline to Orlando than driving
It rarely makes sense for me to fly AA so I can’t comment there, but I would very much argue the first class experience on delta is significantly more consistent than United. Yeah delta has a few terrible planes, but I never know what I’m getting on UA whereas DL is 98% of the time the same.
I flew last weekend in Delta F on a plane that had a bunch of water dripping from the ceiling near the boarding door. (Yes it was raining in ATL but that can't be an excuse.)
My seat also had several droplets of some liquid that didn't evaporate for a long time.
Delta flight attendants, while much better than AA, stubbornly refuse to serve water as a predeparture beverage on the basis that there is...
I flew last weekend in Delta F on a plane that had a bunch of water dripping from the ceiling near the boarding door. (Yes it was raining in ATL but that can't be an excuse.)
My seat also had several droplets of some liquid that didn't evaporate for a long time.
Delta flight attendants, while much better than AA, stubbornly refuse to serve water as a predeparture beverage on the basis that there is a bottle of water at your seat. I always have to explain I'd like to save that for later.
You, a Skadden partner, didn't fly private?
Why do you need additional pre departure water when you’ve been given a water?
If it's Emerald you want, curious why you didn't switch this year to earning it through Alaska MileagePlan. Wouldn't you make it most of the way to 75k on the EQMs received from booking partner awards with AS miles?
There are technical hiccups in crediting AA/AS flights between the programs. Much less troublesome to credit a flight to the program of the airline you actually flew.
@ LarryInNYC -- It's a great question, and it's something that I had considered. I think what it comes down to is that I wouldn't quite get to the level of earning meaningful status based on my award flights booked specifically with Mileage Plan. If I were going for oneworld Sapphire, maybe that would be the best strategy. But it's just so much easier to earn status with American credit card spending than with Alaska credit card spending.
Crediting to AA vs AS: one of the key issues for me is that oneworld award availability through AS is a fraction of what I see through AA. Not to mention phantom availability issues.
Kudos, I think this is spot on.
The substantive thing I would add is that AA is a pretty decent family airline. AA Platinum status is not *that* hard to earn comparatively to UA/DL and it gets you Main Cabin Extra at the time of booking - adds up for a family of four. And I never feel out of place at an Admirals Club with the family.
The anecdote I would add is on...
Kudos, I think this is spot on.
The substantive thing I would add is that AA is a pretty decent family airline. AA Platinum status is not *that* hard to earn comparatively to UA/DL and it gets you Main Cabin Extra at the time of booking - adds up for a family of four. And I never feel out of place at an Admirals Club with the family.
The anecdote I would add is on value - have a 1.5hr regional jet flight next month, outbound on Delta inbound on AA (both award tickets). Delta wants $246/pp to upgrade to first class, AA $73. Simply no way Delta is delivering $175/pp of additional value.
What Delta does deliver on is better operations, as you just experienced. In an era where most folks are free agents, something to keep an eye on as far as AA is concerned.
Yikes - kids look to adults as role models of how to act. I wouldn't want my kids observing the behavior of a below-average AA staff member and thinking that's anything close to satisfactory.
I don't have kids at present, but when I do they'll be staying at the Savoy in London after having flown there by either BA, VS, or in Delta One - airlines where I can be assured of the professionalism of...
Yikes - kids look to adults as role models of how to act. I wouldn't want my kids observing the behavior of a below-average AA staff member and thinking that's anything close to satisfactory.
I don't have kids at present, but when I do they'll be staying at the Savoy in London after having flown there by either BA, VS, or in Delta One - airlines where I can be assured of the professionalism of the staff. And the Savoy? It's not to be pampered - it's for my kids to learn what grace and hospitality ought to look like.
Cool! You'll want to avoid BA then given that they share lounges with AA at JFK T8. Which is a shame because BA club suites are a great way to get the family across the pond. Enjoy the new D1 lounge in T4!
As someone that does appreciate a good value to product ratio, I prefer to rent townhomes when in London with the family (best cost to space ratio - nice for everyone to have their own bedroom) but to each their own. Savoy is lovely.
@Arps - do us all a favor and please DON'T REPRODUCE!!!
I agree on the family element of AA, and take it a step further. I have the Executive credit card and then got additional cards for my wife and two adult kids. That gets everyone lounge access (with guests) whether we're flying together or solo. I'm Executive Platinum and my wife is Platinum Pro. I earned enough Loyalty Points to gift our kids Gold status. That gets them upgrades to MCE seats at check in,...
I agree on the family element of AA, and take it a step further. I have the Executive credit card and then got additional cards for my wife and two adult kids. That gets everyone lounge access (with guests) whether we're flying together or solo. I'm Executive Platinum and my wife is Platinum Pro. I earned enough Loyalty Points to gift our kids Gold status. That gets them upgrades to MCE seats at check in, and they've always been able to get aisle or window MCE seats when they check in. In sum, my AA Loyalty Points earnings and credit card allow our entire family to avoid economy seats and have lounge access wherever we go. That's a good deal.
“American frequently opens up very reasonably priced first class awards at the last minute”
That’s the #1 thing that keeps me “loyal” to AA. Once that inevitably goes away, so will I
+1 to this. AA lie flat seats between JFK and SFO/LAX are often ~30k.
UA charges at least 80k. I have seen up to 300k.
Delta 150k++ and I have seen close to a million. A million points for one domestic flight.