Life has been rough at the “New” American Airlines. Those who have been loyal to the airline for years have been thanked for their continued business with major changes to the AAdvantage loyalty plan. These unpopular changes include moving to a spending-based loyalty program, changing from three loyalty categories to four and changing reward charts on passengers.
Now, even more changes are coming to the legacy carrier. This includes a plan to add more economy seats to aircraft by removing even more seat space. With economy becoming closer to the “Cattle Class” adage many use to describe economy, does loyalty no longer make sense for American flyers? Does it make sense to keep loyalty to the airline?
Before giving up entirely on American, there are positives that still come with one of the oldest carriers in the country. Here are the pros and cons of still keeping loyalty to American AAdvantage miles.
AAdvantages: Easy to earn miles, easy to earn status
One of the easiest advantages of flying with American is the ability to earn miles relatively easy, without even flying aboard aircraft. From earning miles through the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite MasterCard, to earning points through American’s shopping portal, AAdvantage eShopping, travelers can earn miles with relative ease.
Earning miles off the ground is only half of the challenge. If travelers plan on keeping loyalty to American, there has to be a reward for flying aboard their aircraft. Those who plan on making American their primary airline can apply for a status challenge, which grants elite status after meeting an accelerated timeline to fly a certain amount of miles in a short amount of time. Status program FoundersCard also provided a challenge with American, but that program has since ended.
Dis-AAdvantages: Shrinking economy, shrinking rewards
While there are options to earn miles and status with relative ease, there are still a number of shortfalls that come with the AAdvantage program. Perhaps the biggest disadvantage comes from the devalued American Airlines award chart.
As many travelers have noticed before, the award chart is not necessarily generous to those who do not book early, or book through American’s hubs and focus cities. Furthermore, international travel has become difficult as well through points, as many destinations now cost an increased amount of AAdvantage miles.
This is followed by the case of the shrinking legroom in economy class. According to a report by CNN, three rows of economy will be reduced to 28 inches of legroom, while all other aircraft will ultimately be reduced to 30 inches. While this may not sound like a lot of room to lose, consider sitting with just over two feet of legroom for three hours at a time.
Is it time to give up on AAdvantage?
While the changes to American create new challenges, travelers can still get value from AAdvantage over time. Those who can use the large amount of points earning opportunities to fly for a low overall price can take advantage of AAdvantage, especially if they can coordinate their travel through American’s focus cities. For those who plan on flying economy often (like myself), or live in underserved airports, AAdvantage may not provide long-term value. As with any program, your value may vary.
Does AAdvantage provide value to you at the end of the day? Let us know how you gain value at the end of the day!
Written by Frugal Travel Guy @ http://www.frugaltravelguy.com
Written by Frugal Travel Guy @ http://www.frugaltravelguy.com