American Airlines caused quite a buzz yesterday with their newest holiday gift promotion. They’re offering some type of gift to all members of its American AAdvantage program; all they have to do is log into their account and registering with one click.
This holiday season we’re giving a complimentary gift to all our AAdvantage® members to show our appreciation for being the reason why we fly – this year and every year. It’s our way of saying thank you for your loyalty and for letting us be a part of your future travel plans, whether you’re flying to explore new places or reuniting with familiar faces.
If you haven’t already done so, you have until December 16 to log in and claim your gift.
Sharon and I both checked yesterday for our gifts. I received a preferred seat coupon and an upgrade/double miles promotion with Hertz. I can also earn a bonus MCE coupon if I book two flights before 2/28/21.
Sharon received 100 AAdvantage miles. If she books two flights before 2/28/21, she’ll get double miles on those flights and any additional flights through the same date.
While these gifts aren’t very valuable, I’ve been told that it’s the thought that counts. We don’t see any other airline giving away things to their members, do we? I’d say the amount of attention that the promotion has generated for American is worth way more than the cost of the gifts they’re giving.
Enrolling for the offer didn’t come without something reminding me which airline I was dealing with. When registering, I was greeted with this screen with the wheel spinning and spinning and spinning.
Eventually, a new page loaded with this message.
It did work on the next try and I could chalk it up to the promotion being more popular than they’d expected.
When it comes to giving things away, I can’t speak about American Airlines without mentioning our past experiences with them. In two instances, not one but two, American has gifted us with high-level status for no apparent reason. In 2018 they upgraded Sharon to Platinum Pro with no strings attached. Then in 2019, American offered me an upgrade to Platinum status and twenty 500-mile upgrade certificates. I turned down that offer because I had no travel plans in the promotion period and most everyone said the upgrades were useless unless you have top-level status.
Since there’s no list of the different gifts being given to members, we have only data points from other members. People have received lounge passes, MCE upgrades, bonus miles and upgrade certificates.
When it comes to the gifts American Airlines is giving out this year, all I have to say is that I liked their last two gifts more.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
2 comments
I got 100 miles and an offer for double miles if I book a flight in the January/February time frame. I actually have a RT flight booked in that time frame. Wouldn’t it be nice if they made they offer retroactive? Yes, but they won’t happen.
AA has a smart PR Marketing person there to be sure to call this a gift rather than just a promotion. Bloggers sure have taken the bait. I got 100 miles, but may have lost on some quality content that could have been blogged from everybody covering this.
It is the thought that counts, but there’s nothing altruistic here.