AA Advantage Advantageous to Me
Written: Jul 31 '03 (Updated Jul 31 '03)
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Pros: Helps you earn free travel, Quality customer service
Cons: Annual fee, high interest rates
The Bottom Line: Great as a component in a program to earn free travel if you use it enough justify the annual fee and don't carry a balance
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| mrlarry's Full Review: American Airlines AAdvantage (Citibank) |
If you’ve read the other reviews of the Aadvantage Card (and other airline travel cards), you probably know how the system works and the advantages and disadvantages of having such a card. I’ll recap those in a moment, but stick around. After that, I will show you how to work the system to make the card work for you.
Aadvantages
You probably know that you get one airline mile for each dollar purchased. Those count toward the 25,000 miles for a trip within the 48 states, 30,000 miles for most other Western Hemisphere trips, 40,000 off season and 65,000 inseason charge for other foreign trips.
You may know that with the basic card, you can accumulate 60,000 miles a year and with the upgraded card (at a higher annual fee) you can accumulate 100,000 miles a year.
I have found Citibank to be better than average in customer service. They send you an annual statement. They worked very closely with me on several billing disputes. They guided me through one dispute involving $1500 on which I prevailed. I also have received several calls from the fraud unit when unusual patters of charges showed up. In all cases the charges were mine, but it is good to know they are looking out. A live voice is available 24/7 for customer service, even on Christmas.
Disadvantages
You probably know those too. You have to pay an annual fee ($50 for the basic card and $85 for the deluxe version). Finance charges run on the high side (14.24% for purchases and 19.99% for advances.
The annual fee can be cheaper than airfare if you know how to use the system. If you carry a balance, this card definitely is not for you.
American also hopes that you pay the extra dollars to fly on American so you can earn points rather than selecting a low fare airline. Do the math before you do this.
Is This Card for You?
A news report I saw stated that the majority of the people who sign up for airline credit cards never complete a flight (I’ve done three so far and have enough points for two more). Indeed, those non-flyers are very profitable for the bank and the airline. They pay the annual fee, probably some fairly hefty interest rates, and the airline gets to sell the miles without having to service the customers.
This card may be for you if you like to travel, can rack up the miles quickly enough to make the annual fee less than you’d spend for airfare, and can plan ahead with some flexibility in your award travel.
I have always found American very helpful in planning my award travel. I have always been able to get a seat to go where I wanted to when I wanted to.
You also have to have enough restraint and self-discipline to use the card only for purchases you can afford to make. It is easy to fall into the trap of talking yourself into using the card for purchases you can’t really afford because you’re earning miles.
Making the Card Work
The key to making the card work is to take advantage of every opportunity to rack up the miles and combine the card with other methods of earning miles. The whole system is detailed on American’s website (aa.com), but I’ll give you some tips here:
Use the card for most of your everyday purchases If you have an airline card and are stopping on the way home for $7.21 for groceries, put that purchase on the card even if the clerk gives you a weird look. Those small purchases add up. Do you really want to be stuck 328 miles short when you want to go somewhere because you didn’t use the card on those small purchases?
Look into using AA’s partner for you telephone provider Right now AA’s provider is AT and T. I got in on a promotion of getting 1000 miles a month for five months for having my telephone service with AT and T. I also get five miles for every dollar spent.
Look into the dining program AA partners with idine to give extra miles for using the card (or any other card you register) at specific restaurants. Registration is free and if you find a restaurant you like in the list, there’s a way to earn some points.
Get points for car rentals and hotel stays Most of the major car rental companies and a large number hotels (including a few budget chains) give points for stays. Those add up.
Pay for inexpensive trips and use miles for expensive trips Routes like LA to New York and relatively inexpensive if you plan ahead. You can earn miles by paying for those trips. Trips like, say, LA to Minneapolis to Raleigh and back to LA (a trip I did last summer) would be very expensive. I used my miles for that trip.
Look on the website for promotions Last month when I flew to DC, I discovered I could get an extra 500 points for printing out a boarding pass at home. Promotions are regularly available and looking on the aa website from time to time will help you find them.
An airline travel card such as the AA Advantage card may or may not work for you. It works great for me. I use it merely as a cashbox, not for credit. Citibank offers the card services that are valuable to me. I combine the points I earn through card usage with other points to rack up the miles relatively quickly. I don’t like paying an annual fee, but it sure is cheaper than airfare.
If you carry a balance, use a card sparingly, or don’t want to bother learning how to work the system, this card may not work for you.
Know yourself.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
mrlarry
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Member: Larry Wiener
Location: Alhambra CA
Reviews written: 64
Trusted by: 14 members
About Me:
II'm a black-belt bargain hunter. Check on my e-book at www.betterbudgeting.com/
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