In this weekend’s Frequent Miler Week in Review Around the Web, we have tips about domestic destinations that are worth a trip and some nice tips on creatively piecing together more trip for the same net cost. Also read about the Middle Age Miles AA shutdown – it really seems that AA has resolved to throw out the baby with the bathwater. All that and more below.
Avoiding International Travel? I’ve Got US Recommendations For You
How I Visited Two Extra Countries at No Extra Cost
While the headline here is a bit misleading, the spirit of this post from Caroline Lupini at 10x Travel is good information for anyone who has time flexibility and is infected with wanderlust. I’ve often planned trips like this — by looking at cash (and sometimes mileage) prices to bridge gaps for less than the cost of an award between my intended point A and point B. I’m particularly interested to check out Clever Layover to see how it helps me plan future trips.
Terminated by AA – Initial Thoughts on Next Steps
I have to admit, I was kind of surprised that AA terminated Middle Age Miles. Given the tens of thousands of dollars he has spent on AA and how relatively few miles he earned from credit cards compared to the number of miles earned from being a valuable customer, I just didn’t think American would throw the baby out with the bathwater. In hindsight, I shouldn’t be surprised: judging by everything he’s written, it sounds like AA isn’t going to lose much revenue from him since he’ll still be flying AA and simply crediting elsewhere. I guess AA is banking on many other customers taking a similar approach. I have to admit, I’d be more bitter in his shoes given a look at his overall activity and Citi / AAdvantage’s complicity in awarding the relatively few miles they feel he shouldn’t have gotten.
We’ve Raised More than 1M Miles for Wish Kids! But We Still Need Miles
Thrifty Traveler is doing a drive this week to raise 2 million miles for Make a Wish Foundation. They put their miles where their mouth is, with the Thrifty Traveler Team pledging a quarter of a million miles themselves. It’s a cool initiative that’s worth a look if you have miles to spare.
Plaza Premium relaunches its Smart Traveller loyalty scheme – and Priority Pass visits count
If you travel a lot internationally, it’s worth signing up for this. I visited several Plaza Premium lounges last year (a few each way on the 40K to Far Away trip). While I probably wouldn’t have earned enough points on that trip alone to redeem for anything, I’d rather earn something towards something free than not earn. At the time, I hadn’t known about their loyalty program, and then it went away for a bit. It’s good to see it back.
That’s it for this week around the web. Check back soon for this week’s last chance deals.
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“AA isn’t going to lose much revenue from him since he’ll still be flying AA and simply crediting elsewhere. I guess AA is banking on many other customers taking a similar approach.”
AA is not making any such calculation. If they were making strategic decisions about risk/reward of nuking customers with high lifetime value, then we would have at least some reports about high value customers being unlocked. There are none. This is because it is not sales or marketing…or even legal… that are making the decisions, it’s the myopic mall cops at corpsec. They had a simple filter and they are nuking everybody by enforcing terms retroactively that didn’t exist on the mailers, simple as that.
Also, unlike MAM, the vast majority of nuked customers will not continue to fly AA just because they have to. Most people, like me, have choices. I’ll never fly them again if I can help it.
I always get a chuckle from the British using the word “scheme” where we use “program” or something similar. It makes things sound so shady.