A year and a half ago American AAdvantage introduced the ability to redeem miles to gift status for a day. The status you’ve earned unlocks the ability to do this. However in my view it was too expensive to be useful. American heard that feedback and has adjusted down mileage costs significantly.
An American spokesperson offers,
Beginning today, Oct. 2., AAdvantage status members will notice a better deal on mileage redemptions to give the Gift of status for a day.
American introduced the Gift of status for a day in 2023 to continue to give members more ways to use their miles and give their friends or loved ones a chance to experience the benefits of status.
Now a year in, American is adjusting the mileage redemption amount to provide even more members with an opportunity to gift this experience.
To redeem miles to gift status for a day, members should log in to their AAdvantage profile. They’ll find the option to redeem miles for the gift under Enhance with Miles in the Rewards Hub along with relevant details including how many times the redemption is available, total mileage cost and expiration date.
Here’s the difference between old pricing and new pricing:
Was
Is
% Change
Gold
15,000
5,000
-67%
Platinum
20,000
8,000
-60%
Platinum Pro
30,000
12,000
-60%
Executive Platinum
40,000
20,000
-50%
One thing you’ll notice is that any rewards earned in 2023 still are subject to ‘old’ pricing, while rewards earned in 2024 feature this new pricing.
I’ve long argued that that airlines should offer the opportunities to gift status to friends and family for a single trip.
Loyalty isn’t primarily about points or benefits. It isn’t transactional. It’s about building a relationship based on taking care of customers and building trust. That’s difficult to do in a mass way, even with elite benefits because that group can number in the tens of thousands (for top elites) to the seven figures (for lowest level).
A program systematizes how guests are cared for. Benefits are part of doing that. In formulating a set of benefits it’s most important to understand what matters most to the customers that matter most. That’s often how a travel brand cares for the people the member cares most about.
At the same time the quickest way to lose a customer is to treat the people who are important to them badly. That doesn’t just hit a loyal member more than a single instance of bad treatment for themselves, it embarrasses them as well for the loyalty choice they’ve made (“I can’t believe you are loyal to ____, they are such a bad company”) in front of someone whose opinion really matters to them.
Air Canada has done a great job with their ‘status pass’. Hyatt lets Globalists confer their status for a single stay with the Guest of Honor program. It’s great to see American improve upon their similar, albeit paid (in miles) offer.
Under the ‘Enhance With Miles’ brand or category, American promised for this status year that Platinum Pro members and higher would be able to redeem miles for access to the airline’s Flagship First Dining. Hopefully that’s still coming as well.
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