Why I will no longer actively accumulate American AAdvantage miles

Last week I spent a lot of time researching and eventually booking flights for this year’s trip to Europe. This will be our first visit outside the peak summer travel season I expected to have my pick of plentiful award flight and hotel options. I was partially right: there were far more choices than I typically find during the summer. I was miserably wrong, however, when I searched American Airlines in hopes of using my stash of American AAdvantage miles. But I found no saver-level business class space for the days we are traveling. For me, this was the last straw.

Points and Miles, Loyalty ProgramsDerek CookJanuary 24, 2019American Airlines AAdvantage eShopping, AAdvantage miles, American Airlines, points and miles

Barclaycard AAdvantage Aviator: Round purchases to buy AAdvantage miles

Yesterday I received an email from Barclaycard introducing a very interesting program for its AAdvantage Aviator card. According to the email, I was invited to participate in a pilot for Flight Cents which allows you "to [round] up your purchases to the nearest dollar, and [turn] that rounded up amount into American Airlines AAdvantage® miles."

Credit Cards, Loyalty Programs, Points and MilesDerek CookSeptember 6, 2017Barclaycard, AAdvantage Aviator Red MasterCard, American Airlines, AAdvantage miles, Amex EveryDay Preferred Card

Back-to-school bonus miles

With back-to-school upon us, the shopping portals for both American AAdvantage eShopping and Delta SkyMiles shopping are offering bonus miles for achieving certain spend thresholds during the back-to-school shopping season.

Points and Miles, Shopping PromotionsDerek CookAugust 3, 2017shopping portal, American Airlines, AAdvantage miles, Delta Air Lines, Delta SkyMiles, American Airlines AAdvantage eShopping, Delta SkyMiles Shopping, promotions

Deciding on my next points and miles credit card

Recently, I signed up for the American Express Starwood Business Card and am close to earning the full signup bonus. So I am in search of my next points and miles card. At the moment, there are some attractive offers from American Express and Citibank.

Credit Cards, Points and MilesDerek CookJune 16, 2017American Express Membership Rewards, American Express Company, credit cards, credit card rewards, Delta SkyMiles, Citibank, Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases, American Airlines

American Airlines introduces basic economy fares

Following the lead of Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, American Airlines yesterday announced a new Basic Economy fare on select flights starting no earlier than February 2017. The new fare class will be the lowest available on the American flights where it is available. However, it will also be the most restrictive.

Commercial AviationDerek CookJanuary 20, 2017American Airlines, basic economy, airfare, pricing, price sensitivity, customer segmentation, commercial aviation

European Gridiron Adventure: Getting there and back (Pt. 1)

For a recent trip to Europe, I took advantage of award tickets using American Airlines AAdvantage miles. Before I could actually identify and book flights, I had to do some research and preparation.

European Gridiron Adv.Derek CookOctober 12, 2016oneworld, Gateway airports, American Airlines, AAdvantage miles, Finnair, airberlin, Iberia, travel planning

News Bits: AA integrates pilot scheduling, Gogo upgrading network, Delta adds seasonal Europe flights

News tidbits from last week included American Airlines integrating US Airways pilots and planes into its scheduling system, Gogo upgrading its network for inflight WiFi, and Delta Air Lines adding seasonal service from Boston and New York to Europe.

Commercial AviationDerek CookOctober 6, 2016American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Gogo, WiFi, Boston, Dublin, Ireland, Lisbon, Portugal, Berlin, Germany, Tegel Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, US Airways

American Airlines to partner with Uber

American Airlines will partner with Uber to improve transportation to and from the airport. The partnership will include enhanced American Airlines app functionality, targeted discounts and bonus AAdvantage miles.

Commercial AviationDerek CookFebruary 11, 2016American Airlines, Uber, promotions, AAdvantage Aviator Red MasterCard, Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select MasterCard

American Airlines partnering with Cole Haan on upgraded amenity kits

American Airlines is partnering with Cole Haan to upgrade amenity kits in international first and business classes as well as domestic transcontinental first class.

Commercial AviationDerek CookJanuary 28, 2016American Airlines, amenity kits, Cole Haan, first class, business class, competition

Andie MacDowell gets bumped from first class, Twitter outraged that she expects what she paid for

Last week, actress Andie MacDowell questioned the customer service of American Airlines after being bumped from first class. Predictably, some corners of the Twitterverse took exception to a celebrity expecting to receive what she paid for.

Commercial AviationDerek CookJanuary 25, 2016American Airlines, Twitter, Andie MacDowell, customer service