I am pledging allegiance….

This week heralded the birth of octuplets somewhere in California and my first thought was “traveling with all 8 by air would NOT be a fun prospect!” Given that my job is a regional one, I do a lot of travel in the region and every once in a while to Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. Over the years, I have amassed over 2 million frequent flyer miles between two major airlines and although most of these miles have been earned on American Airlines, today January 29th 2009, I am formally withdrawing my allegiance from them and as for where I put it, who knows? Right now, I am leaning towards TACA who partners with United and Iberia so I will be covered practically to the places I travel most frequently. Why am I disgruntled with American Airlines? Well, briefly put, and in my humble opinion, they don’t seem to be all that concerned with keeping loyal customers and after many less than satisfactory experiences with them, I have decided it’s time to cut the cord. Most recently, I received an email from them inviting me to pay to extend my platinum status for a year but, upon clicking on the link, I was told I did not qualify. I then contacted them thinking that: a) since I was a Platinum Member and b) they had sent me the link that they would do the right thing and honor their initial invitation-mistake or not. Alas, that was not to be instead, I got the following response:

Dear Me,

The AAdvantage® Customer Service representative with whom you've been corresponding is not immediately available. Rather than keep you waiting, I'm pleased to assist you.We appreciate your sharing your feelings about the expiration of your AAdvantage Platinum® membership.

It is never easy to tell customers thatwe cannot extend the elite status they have enjoyed, even through an exception to the Retain for a Fee offer.Still, we are committed to the principle that members should earn elite status through their demonstrated loyalty. We believe in the importance of exclusivity and do not wish to dilute the benefits earned by members who have met the qualification criteria.

Please keep in mind that because premium fares earn 1.5 points per elite-qualifying mile flown, you can qualify for your desired elite membership even if you fly less than the required elite-qualifying miles. For more information about earning points, please visit our Web site at aa.com/aadvantage. Select 'AAdvantage Elite Status/QualificationRequirements.'I am truly sorry to disappoint you and hope you will be successful in earning the elite status you desire.

Please continue to favor us with your business.Again, thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond. I look forward to assisting you in the future.

Regards,
XXXXXX.
AAdvantage Customer ServiceAmerican Airlines

I thought about asking how my request “dilutes the benefit” for others seeing as I am Platinum and have been for many years but decided against it. Apparently, they are only willing to dilute the benefit by just a little bit but not too much.
The caveat is I am pretty close to having 1 million miles with them, which would guarantee me elite status for life so, while I will no longer go out of my way to fly American Airlines, if I have to fly them once in a while because that is what work dictates, then I will. I am not sure just how long my allegiance will last with other airlines but we will see.