It’s always tough to find material at the end of the month when bonus offers expire and sweepstakes end, but at the end of the year, it’s especially challenging. So rather than subjecting you to reruns, “Found on AAdvantage eShopping” posts, or resorting to celebrity news and controversy, I thought I’d take a little a break.

(Actually, that’s not completely true. I did do a guest post over at MileQuest about the last DC-3 in scheduled passenger service in North America.)

I don’t want you think that I’m a slacker though. The break was really so that I could maintain the high standard of content quality on the site. To illustrate my point, I’d like to offer these examples of topics that you didn’t have to read about:

Found in the Forums: No more Glenlivet.  Is American removing the “The single malt that started it all” from their flights?

Katy Perry and Russell Brand breakup?  This. can’t. be happening. TMZ measures the distance between the two in AAdvantage Miles:

“The couple spent XMAS 7,000 AAdvantage miles apart. They tied the knot just over a year ago last October.”

Cheap gimmicks are beneath me.

And so are writing cliches….So here’s a list of the Best and Worst AAdvantage related news for 2011:

Upgrades:

Double Elite Qualifying Miles: At times during the year, American has offered DEQM on a few heavily trafficked routes like DFW/LAX, DFW/SFO, ORD/SFO, ORD/LAX. Unfortunately for many, the offeres were limited to residents of California, Texas, and Illinois. And in the final month of 2011 (and continuing through the first month of 2012) they’re offering DEQM miles to everyone and all of the their routes.

Virgin American launches new service: See above.

AAdvantage turns 30: Our favorite frequent flyer program is still with us and now old enough to run for the U.S. Senate. To celebrate, American and the AAdvantage team put together 30 days of promotions.

Dynamic Air Awards: AAdvantage members with elite status can book any Economy Class seat for travel within the U.S. mainland for fewer miles than an AAnytime award.

Redeem AAdvantage Miles for Hotels and Car Rentals: More ways to use your miles. Actually, this was introduced late 2010. But this was the first full year so I thought I would mention it.

Forum Participation: The AAdvantage joined both the milepoint and FlyerTalk frequent flyer forums; even soliciting ideas as to how they can improved the program. They haven’t been extremely active, but it’s a good start.

Twitter: One more way to communicate directly with AAdvantage customer service at twitter.com/AAdvantage.

oneworld MegaDo: For years, AAdvantage Geeks and oneworld Geeks have had to watch the United and Delta folks have all the fun. Thanks to the work of a dedicated group of people in the milepoint forums and the support of leadership at American and AAdvantage, we get a MegaDo of our very own!

Maya Leibman: Easily the most visible and active AAdvantage President in recent memory. Lots of improvements under her watch. American is a conservative organization (to say the least), so her participation in the MegaDo Kickoff party and her milepoint conversation really stands out as making an effort to connect with customers.

Contest and promos: Lots of sweepstakes this year. Including free miles for following AAdvantage on Facebook and a contest to find a video blogger for the oneworld MegaDo.

Updated Admirals Clubs: The Admirals Club locations in Denver, Philadelphia, Washington (DCA), and San Francisco all got updated, and work has started LaGuardia (which really needed it). I think the new club at SFO is probably my favorite.

Expanded Admirals Club privileges: Members can now access Alaska Airways lounges as well as several partner lounges around the world.

Food: For the people riding in the front of the plane, it’s new chefs and new menus. For the folks in back, it’s more healthful snack choices.

New aircraft: Bye-bye MD-80s:-)

Technology: The AA.com app for iPhone was released last year.  iPad and Android got versions this year.

Big credit card offers: Citibank offered some insanely large signup bonuses this year.

Million Miler program: What had been a well known, but undocumented, program became official this year. But now it’s a recognized benefit, it’s become more difficult to attain.  Before, every mile counted towards Million Miler status, and now only flight miles count. With the proliferation of generous credit card signup bonuses, American needed to do something to preserve the program so that they could continue to offer it to their best customers (and not Citibank’s).

Book Partner awards online: AAdvantage members can now redeem miles online for travel awards on Alaska Airways. It’s a first step and the ability to book more partner awards online is expected in 2012.

American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia Joint Business Agreement: Better alignment of schedules and frequent flyer benefits. And so far, fares haven’t gone up. In many markets, prices have gone down.

Downgrades

Facebook:  AAdvantage created a Facebook presence, and so far it’s been of little value other than the fact that it’s keeps the crazy people away from milepoint and FlyerTalk.  For example, AAdvantage posted some news about a Citi credit card offer along with a link link to an online application.

Some astute Facebooker wrote “I just checked the site, and can’t believe you want my social security number, etc. Everyone knows you never put that kind of info online.”  Want to give up sleep?  Just remember these people get to vote too.

Million Miler program: To quote Cracker, “A million miles, a million miles”.

British Airways:  British Airways devalues their frequent flyer program and continues to charge fees for award travel on BA, which drives award traffic to American.  Now BA’s customers are redeeming miles on a American, and  it leaves fewer seats for the rest of us.  Gee American, with friends like these…..

Samsung instead of iPad:  When American refurbished their 737s and didn’t install personal in-flight entertainment systems on the back of their seats, I thought they were crazy.

I was wrong.  With the rise of iPad, tablets, netbooks, laptops, and video streaming, letting people use their own personal entertainment devices seems like a much better idea.

Video on my iPad looks much better than any video screen on the back of a seat. Unfortunately for those without iPads and riding in the front of the plane, they’ll be stuck having to watch movies on Samsung tablets. (I’m a Mac guy, but I’m completely unbiased;).

DealFinder:  For a long time it was only available for Windows. Version 2.0 was introduced in August and it’s compatible with the Mac.  Now it sucks on both platforms.

Big credit card offers:  So many people with so many more miles. Fewer flights, so fewer seats. I worry about “Miles Inflation”. After watching Delta’s Skymiles become about as useful as a German Mark during the days of the Weimar Republic, I worry the same could happen with AAdvantage.

Standby list:

Then’s there’s the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.  It’s too early to tell if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but it’s possible that despite the number of reasons that it happened, it will end up being the beginning of new and profitable era for American Airlines.

Read this list of challenges:

the airline was in deep trouble. It was one of the highest-cost carriers, with expensive contractual commitments to its unions, the legacy of agreements made in better years….

By year’s end, American’s balance sheet listed these liabilities:

• Fixed high lavor costs that could be reduced only by painful furloughing, which in turn, could affect quality of service.

• An over-age fleet with insufficient capital for modernization and expansion.

• Inflationary pressures that gouged deeply into whatever cost-control measures were taken, like trying to fill a bucket with a hole in the bottom.

• In ability to compete effectively against low-cost carriers due to any or all of the first three factors, and because any major attempt to match their fares could result in losing money even with fully loaded airplanes.

This isn’t the first time the organization or the people have faced a big challenge.  

The list came from the excellent book Eagle: The Story of American Airlines by Robert J. Serling, and the author was describing the situation American faced in 1980, just after legendary CEO Robert Crandall became CEO.  Here’s how he and the organization responded:

Crandall went a different route. He took the airline into a jungle of virgin trails that had to be cleared with machetes of imaginative innovations in marketing, finance, and employee cooperation.

Only four years later, American had more than $1 billion in liquid assets a hub system second to none and expanding, new international routes, a solid diversification program, a largely modernized fleet with more new planes coming, one of the best profit recored in the industry, and a revolutionary agreement with its unions that promised to make it a low-cost airline with a rainbow-hued future.

There’s value in experience.

Hope, hard work, and optimism.

I hope you have have a safe and happy New Year!

If you currently have AAdvantage elite status but have failed to re-qulify for next year, don’t give up hope: you won’t necessarily have to give up the baked on board cookies and first class upgrades. American has just announced their 2012 AAdvantage Elite buy back offer that will extend your status through 2013:

An Exclusive Offer for AAdvantage Elite Status Members

Take action to maintain your AAdvantage Platinum or AAdvantage Gold Status through February, 2013!

Having AAdvantage Platinum or AAdvantage Gold status offers special benefits that can make all the difference to frequent travelers when they fly. To help make sure loyal elite status members don’t miss out on another year of valuable benefits, American Airlines is offering a special opportunity for members who do not prequalify for 2012.

Enjoy another full year of elite status by renewing your AAdvantage Platinum or AAdvantage Gold membership for a one-time charge, extending your status through February 28, 2013.

Two-Tiered Pricing
Members who have made more progress toward elite status requalification during 2011 will benefit from lower prices to extend their status. AAdvantage Platinum members who earn at least 40,000 elite qualifying miles or points (or 48 qualifying segments), and AAdvantage Gold members who earn at least 20,000 elite qualifying miles or points (or 24 qualifying segments) during 2011 qualify for lower prices.

AAdvantage Platinum
40,000 Miles or Points or 48 Segments $619
Less than 40,000 Miles and Points and less than 48 Segments $769

AAdvantage Gold
20,000 Miles or Points or 24 Segments $409
Less than 20,000 Miles and Points and less than 24 Segments $559

To participate in this offer, you must be a current AAdvantage member with Gold or Platinum status and you have to have flown at least two elite qualifying segments during 2011.

It’s still too early to sign up:

How to Accept the Offer
The opportunity to renew AAdvantage Platinum and AAdvantage Gold membership will be available from January 26, 2012, through April 30, 2012 Effective January 26, 2012, eligible AAdvantage members will have access to a dedicated website that will provide detailed instructions on how to renew their AAdvantage elite status.

Something to keep in mind though, American is offering Double Elite Qualifying Miles though the end of January and Triple Elite Miles in some markets (Texas, California, and Illinois residents), so depending upon how many miles you need, a cheap mileage run or two might be a good idea.

For complete details about the 2012 AAdvantage Elite Buy Back program, go here.

December 22 was the anniversary of my very first flight.  After a 38 year delay, I’m finally getting around to writing the trip report.  I would like to have finished it sooner, but I got busy: first grade, addition, subtraction, learning to read, cursive, programing on my Apple IIe, getting a drivers license, college, keg parties, finding a job, apartments, career changes. But the fault wasn’t completely my own, I had to wait around for a few things to happen: the internet, the web, browsers, and blogs.

My family had moved to Denver from Texas during the summer of 1973, and in December of that year we flew from Denver to Dallas to spend the holidays with family in Texas and Oklahoma.

I was six years old and had never been on an airplane.  Despite this being my first time, I wasn’t nervous about the flight.  

Dad traveled pretty frequently, so I had been to the airport a few times to greet him when he returned home from a business trip, and I always enjoyed a trip to the airport and loved to see the planes.  

He had told me what to expect, and had explained to me how something as big and heavy as an airplane was able to fly.  And though I’m not sure that I completely understood the concepts of lift, thrust and gravity, I was still eager for my first trip.

Unfortunately, American Airlines hadn’t invented the frequent flyer program yet, so I didn’t earn any miles.  But award travel wasn’t a big priority for me back then, I was on an expense account of sorts, and didn’t have to pay for airfare anyway.

We were traveling on the Saturday before Christmas and for some reason we took a cab.  As we got closer to Stapelton International Airport I could see the airplanes taking off, and my excitement started to build.  After what seemed like a pretty quick ride, we got to the road leading up to the terminal and crossed under one of the taxiways, as a golden tailed, Continental Airlines 727 passed over us.

Stapleton International Airport

The old air traffic control tower at Stapleton
Photo credit: Bradley Gordon on Flickr

Stapleton was Denver’s main airport until it closed in 1995 when the new Denver International Airport was opened. I don’t think that the true “hub and spoke” system was in place yet (deregulation was still five years away) but the airport was a pretty big base of operations for United, Continental, Frontier, and Western Airlines.

I don’t recall much about the airport, but I do vaguely remember that there were pay toilets, and that you had to drop a coin into a box of some sort on the bathroom stall door in order to use the bathroom.

Braniff International Airways, Boeing 727 (Panagra Green livery)

1:200 Braniff International Boeing 727-100
Photo credit: Raymond D. Woods, Jr. on Flickr

If Steve Jobs had been an airline executive back in the pre-deregulation era, his airline would have probably closely resembled Braniff. Braniff was obsessed with user experience, and no detail was too small.  They brought in artists, fashion designers, and architects to help create a design vocabulary that guided the design of everything from their logo, system timetables, ticket counters, airport gates, uniforms and of course their airplane.  Here’s an excerpt from Wikipedia:

New Mexico architect Alexander Girard, Italian fashion designer Emilio Pucci, and shoe designer Beth Levine were called in, and with this new creative talent, Braniff began the “End of the Plain Plane” campaign.

At Girard’s recommendation, the old livery was dropped in favor of planes painted in a single color, selected from a wide palette of bright hues. Girard wanted the planes painted from tail to nose in colors like “Chocolate Brown” and “Metallic Purple.” He also favored a small “BI” distinctive logo and small titles. Braniff engineering and Braniff’s advertising department modified Girard’s colors, enlarged the “BI” logo, and added white wings and tails.

The new “jelly bean” fleet consisted of such bold colors as beige, ochre, orange, turquoise, baby blue, medium blue, lemon yellow, and lavender (lavender was dropped after one month, as lavender and black were considered bad luck in Mexico). Girard also outfitted the interiors with 57 different variations of Herman Miller fabrics. 15 colors were used by Braniff for plane exteriors during the 1960s (Harper & George modified Girard’s original seven colors in 1968).

Many of the color schemes were applied to aircraft interiors, gate lounges, ticket offices, and even the corporate headquarters. Art to complement the color schemes was flown in from Mexico, Latin America, and South America.

The Denver to Dallas flight is only about 650 miles, but it seemed like a much longer flight at the time.  My little brother and I were seated next to each other in coach. I got the window seat at takeoff, he got it for the landing, and there was not middle seat.

Airline deregulation was still five years away, and Braniff had introduced 2 by 2 seating in coach back in the early 70s.  This is how they described it in an advertisement from a 1973 System Timetable:

“727 Braniff Place”

A new superjet address, and only Braniff has it.

Fly “727 Braniff Place” and coach travel will never seem the same again. You’ll enjoy a first class feeling in our new 2-and-2 seats. No middleman on most flights.

There’s a new high, wide, and handsome superset interior, too. Enclosed storage compartments that fold up into the ceiling so you have honest-to-goodness headroom. New lighting, new window treatments, new fabrics, new colors, too.

Personally, you’ll like flying Braniff Style.

After the aircraft door was closed, we pushed back from the gate and the flight attendants started the safety demonstration.  My brother and I paid close attention and I remember being impressed with the fact that oxygen masks would drop from the ceiling if we had an emergency.

We were sitting on a row just behind the wing.  And maybe it’s because of this first flight experience, but I think that the dramatically, swept back appearance of the wing made the 727 wing the most beautiful design in commercial aviation history. I remember being absolutely fascinated with all the movement as the slats extended from the wing. Here’s how one commercial pilot described it in an Airliners.net forum post:

As one pilot said, “You don’t just lower the flaps on this baby–You take the whole damned wing apart.” The 727 wing completely transforms during landing, generating extraordinarily advanced, high-lift devices. When the flaps are tucked away, the slim wing slices through the air giving the 727 extremely high cruise speed.

And one memory that I doubt I’ll ever forget, was watching the shadow of the wing as it passed over the apron of the runway; watching the lines on of the tarmac pass under it, the detail of the runway becoming a blur.  Watching as the shadow seemed to drop away as the plane lifted from the ground. Steeply angled, we advanced into the sky…and I fell in love with flying.  Even now, it’s really not about the miles, it’s about that moment.

The flight crew was friendly and helpful.  My mother and sister were sitting across the aisle from us.  One of the flight attendants stopped and chatted with my two year old sister who wanted to show off her furry, red cow purse.  The beverage service began and my brother and I both ordered a Coke, which was served in a short, clear plastic glass with a Braniff swizzle stick.   Amazing.

Lunch was served and we were given a choice (I think) of a hot or cold lunch. My brother and I both ordered the hot lunch: Swiss Steak, rice, and a roll served with butter that had the Braniff logo pressed into it.  I had never had Swiss Steak, and was kind of grossed out by it (at six, I liked my food plain and separated with no food item touching another) but I summoned up the courage and tried it, and actually enjoyed the meal (though I haven’t eaten Swiss Steak since).

Soon after we finished eating, it was time to land. My brother and I switched seats, so even though I leaned over him to look out the window, I didn’t get to see much. It wasn’t until the return flight to Denver that I got to sit by the window during landing.

Dallas Love Field

Vintage postcard: Love Field, Dallas, Texas, Braniff
Photo credit: coltera on Flickr

We landed in Dallas at the Love Field airport.  The new DFW airport was still under construction and wouldn’t be open until 1974. I don’t remember much about the airport, except the Jetrail (go here to see a photo). From Digplanet:

Jetrail was a suspended monorail system that operated at Dallas Love Field in Dallas, Texas, from 1969 to 1974.  It was built for and operated by Braniff International Airways to transport passengers and their luggage from remote parking lots to the airport terminal. Jetrail was the world’s first fully automated monorail transit system.

The whole experience was wonderful.  But the best part about the flight, was that it brought me and my family across what seemed a great distance (to a six year old), so that we could be with my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents for the holidays.

I hope it’s much the same for you, and that whether you’re traveling or staying home this holiday, you’re able share it with people you care about and that you’re surrounded by those that care about you.

************************************************

To close out this trip report, I wanted to share two videos with you.

The first video is of my favorite American Airlines commercial: the music makes me want to fasten a seatbelt and it’s perfect for this time of year.

I grew up in Oklahoma, and the B.C. Clark jingle was as much a part of the holiday as Rudolph the Red Nosed Snowman.   Enjoy:-)

Stay safe, have fun, and Merry Christmas!

Top photo: Chicago Airport
Photo credit: cursedthing on Flickr

Sorry about the headline, but I couldn’t resist.  This is way off topic, but it’s a slow AAdvantage news day anyway, so I thought I’d share this video of the new American Airlines 737NGX 3D Model that was developed by McPhat Studios for release with Aerosoft’s new PMDG 737 NGX software add-on package for Microsoft Flight Simulator X. 

It’s shocking how good 3D flight simulation has become on the desktop. For a little perspective on the advancement in technology, here’s a screenshot of Microsoft Flight Simulater 98 (photo credit John Bell on Flickr):

If you’re interested, Aerosoft PMDG 737 NGX was released December 16, 2011 and retails for EUR 59.99. More info here.

I’ve mentioned before that I don’t like to write about mileage earning credit card or financial service offers.  The reasons:

• They change too frequently and it’s a challenge to track them all.
• There are several other bloggers that cover the subject far better than I ever could.
• It’s a boring subject.

Don’t get me wrong, I read some of the same blogs that you probably read, and I sign up for many of the offers too, but writing about them isn’t any fun (for me).

If I had to give any advice, it would be this: get a Citicard, a Chase card, an American Express, and fly a lot. Done.

However, I do cover the subject from time to time if I think it might be useful for others.  And that’s what I’m doing today, but before I get to the topic remember this: I don’t earn money or have any affiliate relationship with any bank or credit card company.   Also, you should carefully evaluate the merit of any bank or credit card offers and decide for yourself whether or not any particular one is right for you.

A couple of months ago I wrote about Citibank discontinuing their Addvantage debit – checking accounts.  I and others were sad to see the card go away.   And while I carry a Citi AAdvantage Mastercard and American Express in my money clip, and use both cards to earn miles, I’ve never liked using them for small purchases.

The reason why (and I suspect I’m a little old school in this regard) is that I prefer to track my spending using my checking account.  I receive electronic payments each month from software royalties and consulting fees, so for me, being able to view incoming and outgoing payments from one single site is far easier than following income and expenses through several different sites.

After Citibank discontinued their AAdvantage debit card, I figured I’d just have to start using my credit card more often, and learn to live with tracking my credit card accounts more closely, but then I remembered an offer I found a few months ago from a bank that was offering AAdvantage miles for debit card purchases.  From DepositAccounts.com:

Bank of Internet has launched UFB Direct with two products: an Airline Rewards Savings Accounts and an Airlines Rewards Checking Account. Both of these allow customers to earn miles/points. The feature that is most noteworthy is the interest rate of the savings account. It’s 1.30% APY for all balances (as of 8/4/2011).

At the time I decided not to write about it for a few reasons:

• As I’ve already explained, I don’t like to cover financial products and services
• I had never heard of UFB Direct bank
• And while I had come across the Bank of Internet name before, other than thinking “Bank of (the) Internet” was a better name, I had no opinion about them.

So I did a little research, and it turns out the UFB Direct has been around for a while.  There’s even a long dead thread over at FlyerTalk discussing them, and it turns out the the original UFB Direct was closed by the Office of Thrift Supervision in March 2010.   The Bank of Internet acquired the UFB Direct name and URL.  From MyBankTracker:

Some consumers may recognize UFB Direct as it was previously owned by Waterfield Bank, which failed in March 2010. Bank of Internet acquired UFB Direct at the end of 2010 in strategic move to pick up domains with market value, according to a Bank of Internet spokesperson.

I remembered Bank of Interent from the Dot Com era but had forgotten about them a long time ago, then I found this investment analysis buried in one of my RSS feeds.  From SeekingAlpha:

Before we get to the numbers, it’s important to explain some of the distinguishing aspects of BOFI’s business model. Bank of Internet is an internet bank, and the only publicly traded internet bank in the United States as far as we know.

At the core, BOFI is a relatively simple story. The bank has historically had commendable loan underwriting, and its current asset portfolio appears conservative and straightforward.

Finally, I decided to call the bank and ask a few questions. The customer service representative was helpful and friendly, and confirmed that they offered AAdvantage Miles (something that isn’t apparent online).  From the UFB Direct website:

Earn rewards for everyday banking:
1 mile/point for every $2.00 Point of Sale (POS) debit transaction posted to your account.

You’ll receive a one-time additional 1,000 Miles/Points after having a direct deposit totaling $1,000 or more in one calendar month.

Earning miles/points is automatic — when opening your account you just select your participating Airline and enter your Mileage Rewards number. Your airline miles accumulate as you use your debit card for Point of Sale (POS) transactions.

So I decided to open an account.

Opening an account online was an easy (though kind of creepy) process.  Easy, because all I had to do was provide contact information and a tax ID number.  Creepy, because as part of the verification process was asked to confirm some information that was presented to me in the form of five multiple choice questions.

For example: “Select the address that belongs to a relative”.  I was offered four addresses, one of which belongs to my sister.  While I know that this information probably comes from a credit report, it’s still a little surprising how much of our personal information is on file somewhere.

After I finished the verification process, I was given an account number, and then I funded the account with an electronic transfer from my Citibank account.

Anyway, I opened the account two weeks ago, and Friday I received my new debit cards (checking and savings). Incidentally, they’re branded “Bank of Internet” rather that “UFB Direct”.  The miles I earn with each transaction are supposed to be earned within 60 days after the end of each statement cycle.

I’m still planning to keep my Citibank account, though I may later decide to close it, and I’ll probably still end up using my Citi AAdvantage cards more often, but for now, my plan is to use my Bank of Internet debit card for all my smaller transactions (Starbucks, restaurants, car wash, dry cleaning, and American Airlines inflight snack purchases).

Remember, this isn’t an endorsement, I’m not advocating or suggesting that anyone open a UFB Direct or Bank of Internet account.   I’ll keep you posted and let you know how it works out.

Photo credits
Santa Air Express – by Doug Waldron on Flickr
Bank of Internet Visa Debit Card – by AAdvantage Geek on Flickr

This will probably be the busiest travel week of the year.  I was at DFW yesterday and it was already pretty busy.  Fortunately, though, I was’t traveling. I was just dropping someone off at the airport.

I have a friend from Sydney that was in town for a week on business. He usually travels to Dallas on Qantas and American Airlines, but he had to make this trip at the last minute and because the fare on Qantas was so expensive, he decided to book a trip on United (in economy).

We had arranged to meet yesterday for lunch and I had offered to give him a ride to the airport to catch his return flight. He was supposed to fly from Dallas to San Francisco and then connect to a United flight to Sydney. When we got to the airport I decided that rather than just dropping him off, I’d park and go in with him just to be certain that his flight hadn’t been cancelled or anything.

So we go over to the UA ticket counter to get him checked in. The agent tells us that his flight from DFW to SFO was delayed and that it looked unlikely that he’d be able to make his SFO connection, but that he thought he might be able to book him through Los Angeles so that he could connect to a United LAX to SYD flight.

My friend said to the agent, “I know you’ll do your best, but if at all possible, would you please try to put me in an aisle seat?”

After a few minutes typing at his keyboard the agent told my fried that he had some good news and some bad news. The good news was that he was able to get my friend on the LAX to SYD flight. And then the agent frowned and said with an apologetic voice, “I’m afraid that I wasn’t able to get you an aisle seat in economy, and that the best I can do is to put you in aisle seat in Business”.

He delivered the news so grimly that it took a second for it to sink in: he had upgraded my friend (who has no elite status on United) to business class.

Nice! A little holiday miracle (courtesy United).

oneword MegaDO News

December 14 was the deadline to enter a video in the American Airlines contest to become the official video blogger of the oneworld MegaDo. And now through December 21, you can go to the AAdvantage Facebook page and vote once per day for your favorite submission.

The winner will receive two passes to attend the MegaDO and the five submissions that receive the most votes will earn their creators 25,000 AAdvantage Miles.

There were lots of good videos but the choice was easy for me: I recognized one the contestants.

His name is Brian.  He’s a fellow AAdvantage Geek, and because he’s been one of my long time readers and has frequently left comments on this blog (as IPBrian), I thought I’d give him a little plug and tell you to be sure to view his video.

Go here to the AAdvantage Facebook page to view all the videos (including Brian’s) and to cast a vote for your favorite (good luck IPBrian!!).

Win a trip to South America on LAN Airlines

From now through December 24, oneworld member and American Airlines parter LAN Airlines is giving away a prize each day plus a grand prize: a five day vacation to Ecuador.  To enter their “12 Days of Christmast Giveaway, just go to the LAN Airlines US Facebook page. Good luck!

Speaking of LAN, they’re offering pretty cheap fares to Easter Island.  Tickets are usually a little pricey, but through the end of the years they’re offering fares for as little as $999.  Before you rush out and purchase a ticket, check out hotel prices. Easter Island is one of the world’s more expensive destinations.  

Premium Economy seats on AA.com

Mike Reed wrote about this a few days ago over on his Getting Status blog, but British Airways premium economy (World Traveler Plus) seating is now being displayed and sold on AA.com:

American Airlines’ customers can purchase Premium Economy seats on their partner airlines – before, customers would have to purchase through British Airways to buy this class of service.

I was looking at flights to Tokyo and noticed that it’s now possible to book JAL premium economy seats on AA.com. Take a look:

Something else you might notice in the screenshot: $84 fares from LAX to Narita. Don’t get too excited. This fare requires a round-trip purchase and the return fare is still more more than $900.

British Airways upgrades premium economy service:

In case you missed it, Jaunted gave  British Airways’ Word Traveller Plus, premium economy product a pretty bad review.  Of the food they wrote:

Ah, British Airways, perpetuating all those outdated stereotypes about crap UK food. We were hoping for something more palatable than “chicken and beef”; we got the same food as economy. A gin and tonic and some snack things, followed by a tasteless roast beef dinner and inedible pasta salad and the ironically-named “cherry creamy delight”, then an equally unpalatable sandwich and muffin before landing.

Now they’re reporting “British Airways’ Premium Economy Food Gets the Upgrade to Business Class“.

Photo credit: Christmas at DCA by Goddess Adrasteia via Flickr

The St. Kitts Tourism Authority has partnered with American Airlines to sponsor a new Twitter photo sweepstakes. The winner will receive a five day Caribbean island vacation and tickets for two on American Airlines:

The St. Kitts “Picture Your Present” Twitter photo sweepstakes winner will receive two round trip coach class tickets to St. Kitts on American Airlines plus a 5-day/4-night stay for two at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort & Royal Beach Casino – the ultimate holiday present for anyone who loves to travel.

There are two ways to enter.

If you’re in New York City:

From now through December 25, 2011, all you have to do to enter is take a photo of one of the many ads currently on display in Manhattan (even better if you’re in it!), post it to Twitter with a tag to @StKittsTourism and state what is special about St. Kitts that makes you want to win. We want you to be creative with your tweets, so feel free to post a variety of reasons why St. Kitts is special. The winner will be selected by random drawing on January 2, 2012 and notified that same day via Twitter.

And if you’re not in New York City:

Can’t get to Manhattan? Instead, just go to http://twitpic.com/photos/StKittsTourism, grab one of one of three photos that we’ve provided of these ads, post it to Twitter with a tag to @StKittsTourism and state what’s special about St. Kitts that makes you want to win.

I’ve never been to St. Kitts and don’t know much about it except that it’s warmer than Dallas is right now. I looked it up online and found this video that the tourism authority put up on YouTube. From the looks of it, people are so relaxed on the island that they walk around in slow motion.

Looks like a good vacation spot to me: slow motion is my favorite vacation activity.

From the terms and conditions:

You can enter the sweepstakes between now and Christmas Day, December 25, 2011. The sweepstakes is open to residents of the 48 Continental US states who are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry.

The approximate retail value of the prize is $4,500.00 and the winner is responsible for taxes.

Go here to enter and good luck!

 AAdvantage President Maya Leibman

UPDATE:  You can combine this promo with existing double elite miles promo for DFW-LAX/SFO & ORD-LAX/SFO routes.   See this milepoint post from American Airlines and read more from Gary at View from the Wing  “American’s Double Elite Qualifying Mile Promotions are STACKABLE” on View from the Wing.

This will make a lot of people happy, just in time for the end of the year rush to earn, maintain, or move up in status, this email arrived in my inbox from outgoing (and maybe the best ever) President of the AAdvantage Program Maya Leibman and from her replacement, Suzanne Rubin:

As my last act as outgoing president of the AAdvantage program, and as a great introduction to the new president – Suzanne Rubin, we decided to give you what you’ve been asking for (yes, I heard you already! Now, drumroll, please…) Double Elite Qualifying Miles for travel worldwide on American Airlines!

Earn Double Elite-Qualifying Miles For Travel
Between December 13, 2011, And January 31, 2012

We hope this will give you the boost you need to re-qualify for AAdvantage Elite status or get 2012 off to a great start! Simply register prior to travel and you’ll be on your way!

From everyone at American, thank you for flying with us.  We look forward to seeing you on board soon.

If you’re going to plan a mileage run, here’s something that you’ll want to know: the original ITA Software Matrix is gone and has been replaced by a new (and less usable) version, and the Farecompare FlyerTalk tool is no longer available.

The ITA Software Matrix has been replaced by a newer version that’s kind of kludgy.   Gary over at View from the Wing pans it in a review and suggest Hipmunk as an alternative.

As for the Farecompare FlyerTalk tool, it’s offline and according the the Farecompare site, it’s being replaced, though there’s no word on when that’s supposed to happen.

So Hipmunk, Kayak, and even AA.com might be your best bet for finding a good fare that yields a decent CPM.

Speaking of AA.com, here’s something new that I noticed: an upgraded flight status tool.  Here’s a look:

The best feature is that it helps you track your incoming flight information. So if you’re flight’s delayed and you want to know where it’s coming from, now you’ll be able to see that information at AA.com:

Back to the Double Elite Qualifying Miles offer:

Double Elite Qualifying Miles. Everywhere We Fly.
Reach AAdvantage Elite Status Faster

Airline: American Airlines
Award: Double Elite-Status Qualifying Miles

Bonus Code: DEQAA
Dates: Travel between December 13, 2011, and January 31, 2012
Offer: Reach AAdvantage elite status faster than ever with this offer!

Travel on American Airlines or American Eagle anywhere we fly from December 13, 2011, through January 31, 2012. You’ll earn double elite-qualifying miles, the miles that bring you closer to AAdvantage elite status membership – at an accelerated rate. It’s our way of saying “thank you” for your loyalty!

According to the terms and conditions, “(t)his offer does not increment the member’s prize eligible mileage balance” for the bonus, so your bonus miles won’t count toward AAdvantage Elite Member Rewards.

But the good news is that but the good new is that “travel booked prior to the start date of this promotion is eligible.”

Go here to register using promo code DEQAA and to read the full details.

So anybody planning a mileage run?

*****************************************

Image credits: AAdvantage Geek on Flickr

Maya Leibman image created using a photo from American Airlines.

I’m hoping that this isn’t a trend, but yesterday afternoon a member of Delta’s social media team posted this in the FlyerTalk forums:

We’re trying to do a better job notifying you in advance when changes are made that could impact your travel. That’s why I’m letting you know that we have an update to the baggage policy which impacts some Silver Medallions.

For Economy Class tickets purchased on or after December 15 for travel that will take place on or after March 1st 2012, Silver Medallions will now be allowed to check one bag (the current policy is two bags) weighing up to 70 lbs at no charge on Delta and Delta connection flights.

This policy change will only impact those Silver Medallions traveling within or between the US, CA, USVI, or Puerto Rico.

You can read the whole statement here.

If you’re not familiar with Delta’s SkyMiles program, Silver Medallion is their entry level elite tier and the “equivalent” of AAdvantage Gold status.

Aside from the fact that 3 days is their example of a “better job notifying you in advance when changes are made”, the announcement wasn’t particularly well received.

Delta claims in their statement that:

(w)hile this change may impact some of you, it is still on par with other airlines in the industry.

This isn’t completely true (yet).

Back in September, United announced some changes to their elite status program that will reduce (from 2 to 1) the number of bags their low level elites (Premier Silver) can check for free. These change take effect January 1, 2012.

Something that really offended many people was this item:

The reason I said that it will affect “some” Silver Medallions is because Silver Medallion members with a Reserve, Platinum or Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express can still check a second bag for free.

I’m not super familiar with Delta’s elite status program, but some Delta branded American Express cards come with the same perks as Silver Medallion status and many of the forum posters were upset that certain Amex cardholders will now have more perks than some of Delta’s most frequent flyers. As one poster put it:

So silver members are now worth less then amex members? wow

While the reduced baggage allowance at United and Delta won’t have any direct impact on me, I’m aware that in the airline business there is a tendency to race to the bottom.

There’s no reason to think that American is considering changes to their AAdvantage elite program, and given the way they handled the Million Miler status change, I would be surprised if they made any changes and didn’t announcement them well in advance.

Back when rumors of changes to the Million Miler program were circulating, recently promoted AAdvantage President Maya Leibman’s addressed them when the subject came up in her chat with milepoint members:

What I can say is that if we decide to make changes to the program, we commit to clearly communicate to our members and provide as much advance notice as possible.

I’m an AAdvantage Gold member and though I don’t often check two bags, I have had to do it on a few occasions (long story).

It’s not just that I’d be unhappy about the baggage allowance, I’d be really disappointed if they made any changes that lessened the value of any of their status tiers.

I’m hopeful that it won’t happen for a couple of reasons:

• Unlike United and Delta who have four elite tiers, American has three. So, presumably, there’s less need for differentiation across their elite levels.

• Delta (and United to some degree) offer lower level elite status to some credit card customers, essentially selling status for a price.

• They’re undergoing their Chapter 11 reorganization, so now is probably not the time to alienate any of their most loyal customers.

Again, I haven’t come across anything to indicate that American is considering a change, but it’s always good to know what’s happening at the other airlines…

For a good look at how the airlines compare across their entry level elite tiers, check out this article by The Points Guy.

A couple of weeks ago, I was thinking about a mileage run just to try to get back into the ranks of AAdvantage Platinum (mostly because upgrade percentages for Gold are pretty low out of DFW).

I was considering a one day run to San Francisco on December 4th so that I could take advantage of the double elite qualifying miles promotion that American is offering on that route.  But I decided against it when I found out that my nephew was having his fifth birthday that weekend.

I put reservations on hold all the time when I’m planning travel, so while I as kicking around the idea of a mileage run, I priced out a ticket and put a reservation on hold.  After I changed my mind, I just let it expire.

But this time something different happened and the day after the reservation was cancelled I received this email:

American Airlines email

It looks like they’re testing some trigger marketing technologies, which I think is kind of exciting.   Trigger marketing tools allow a person to define an action or set of actions that are executed when a specific event occurs.

Why I was excited by the email is that some of the trigger marketing systems that would allow them to send a follow up email to an expired reservation could also be used to provide users with other kinds of notifications.

I know that I can already go to AA.com and sign up for fare alerts, but other than creating a notification profile for a city pair (like maybe DFW to LGA), I can’t do much else.

For a long time I’ve wished that American offered a fare tracking tool similar to Kayak’s.

It would be great if it was possible to create a fare alert on a particular route by specific dates and prices (an example would be creating an alert so that I’d receive an email if the Dallas to Montreal fare drops below $500 during August).

I also think it would be cool if you could receive a daily email of prices on a defined date and route (like a daily report of fares from DFW to YUL in August)

Something else I’d like to see: an alert so that a user is notified anytime the fare for a flight on a specific route drops below a defined price (such as letting me know anytime the fare from DFW to Hong Kong drops below $999).

No reason to think any of these things will come to pass, but the email got me thinking about the topic, so I’m probably just daydreAAming…

Have you received a similar email after a reservation expired?   Do you think that a more sophisticated fare alert system would be useful?  Add your comments.