Complaint Review: American Airlines

One day I had 103,440 air miles with American Airlines. The next day, they were gone and if AA has its way, I'm not getting back those miles.

I earned most of those miles with TWA. When TWA went under, my miles were automatically transferred to American Airlines...without my consent.

Although I seldom flew on AA, I linked up a credit card with AA so I could earn AA air miles for every dollar spent. According to AA's web site, I accumulated 103.440 air miles. I never used or cashed in those miles. I always purchased a new ticket. I was saving my miles for rainy day.

I recently logged into my AA account & discovered that I HAD NO MORE MILES! AA still lists my 103,440 air miles under Program to Date Miles but my ending balance is now ZERO. Of course, calling AA was nothing but an exercise in futility.

According to the AA agent I spoke with during that fateful phone call, it was apparently my fault that I had no more miles especially since I failed to log into AA's web site at least once during the last three years. The AA agent actually chewed me out for failing to at least log into my account at least one time. According to the agent, my failure to log into the web site was justification and some kind of implied consent to allow AA to permanently deprive me of every single air mile! I had no one to blame but myself for have ZERO air miles. How dare I not know that AA could rob my air miles pursuant to AA's own policy!

Before AA ripped off my miles, I never received any notice from the company! Oh, d**n, turns out AA failed to update its records with my correct address. MY FAULT! AA apparently had no duty to telephone me about the imminent air strike. Oh, well, here today, gone tomorrow was AA's attitude.

It's been @ 2-3 weeks since I discovered this theft of my property. Each passing day has not relieved my deep-seeded feeling that I am getting screwed here. Now, I AM MAD AS HELL & I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!

I paid for and earned every single one of those miles. I don't believe any of those miles were earned on American Airlines! Those miles were VALUABLE TO ME. Each mile had a definite, marketable value. I thought it was unlawful to take something of value from a person without that person's consent.

However, all was not lost, said the AA agent. I was lucky enough to be able to buy back MY MILES from the entity (AA) that just picked my pockets! The agent estimated I could buy back MY MILES for @ $1000! WHAT A DEAL! WHAT A JOKE!

OK, there's more. According to the agent, I could apply for a Citibank Card and, if approved, I would be entitled to receive 50,000 bonus miles from AA! It was of no concern to the agent that that was less than half of the miles I started withthat if NOT approved for the card, I didn't even get a bus tokenand what kind of person didn't want to apply for a Citibank Card anyway? There must be something wrong with me to turn down these options!

Since I called, the AA agent told me that she would email me some information explaining how I could restore my miles. I then received an email from noreturnaddress@aa.com & I copied the attachment in full below. I asked the agent why this information was not already posted on AAs web site. Why all the secrecy? Again, AA's policy to send the information to select customers.

In sum, I feel that AA has acted unconscionably in taking my air miles from me. AA's actions are representative of the downward spiral in American customer service and accountability. WHAT AA did to me & all others similarly situated IS DISGUSTING, SHAMEFUL & UNLAWFUL. I don't care what I did or did not do or whether I logged into AA's web site or not--IT'S MY BUSINESS. AA did not have permission to steal a valuable property right from me without due process of law.

AA has made a BIG MISTAKE by ripping off my miles. I am going to hold AA fully accountable by availing myself of all legal remedies allowed under the law. All CORPORATE SWINE must be held accountable & I'm the one to do it.
BTW, I called Northwest Airlines today to ask about my air miles with NW. I wanted to know if there was an expiration date on my miles. Answer: NW air miles do NOT expire!

SHAME ON YOU AMERICAN AIRLINES!
CHECK OUT THE NUMBER OF TIMES THAT AMERICAN AIRLINES HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN FATAL PLANE CRASHES SINCE 1970: http://www.airsafe.com/events/airlines/american.htm

WHERE DOES AA GET THE NERVE TO RIP OFF MY AIR MILES??

Here is the attachment that the AA agent emailed to me:

Here's the Info You Requested on Restoring Your Expired Miles:
We're delighted that you wish to re-engage in the AAdvantage program, and encourage you to keep up your progress. Once you complete the following requirements, be sure to let us know and we will restore up to 200,000 of the miles that expired from your account:

1. You are already opted in to the AAdvantage eSummarySM email and the AAdvantage Promotions email. The first requirement is to remain subscribed to these two programs for the duration of your challenge (which must be a minimum of 3 consecutive months). We encourage you to stay opted-in since these emails help you keep up to date on your AAdvantage account activity and provide many opportunities to add bonus miles to your account. One other benefit of receiving the AAdvantage eSummarySM email is that you will have a monthly reminder of the date on which your mileage balance is set to expire so you can avoid having to deal with expired miles ever again!

2. The next requirement is to become a Citi / AAdvantage cardholder and earn a minimum of 750 base AAdvantage miles with the card. You can meet this requirement by applying for and receiving a new Citi / AAdvantage credit or debit card and using the card for purchases. Depending on the type of card you obtain, you will earn 1 AAdvantage base mile for every $1 or $2 spent on purchases with the card. To speak with a Citi representative about applying, please call 800-640-1517 (be sure to have your AAdvantage number handy). Or, use this link to visit the Web site at miles7.citicards.com. (Please allow 8-10 weeks after your first purchase for miles to be posted to your account.) Remember, any enrollment bonus you may earn for becoming a new Citi cardholder does not count toward the 750 base miles you must earn to satisfy this requirement but it sure can help you rebuild your mileage balance!

3. For the next requirement, you can choose either one of these two options:
a. Earn a minimum of 5,000 AAdvantage miles by using the products or services of at least 3 AAdvantage program participants. For suggestions, visit the nifty Web site at mileagemaximizer.com. This interactive tool helps you calculate how many miles you can earn simply by doing the things you normally do. Visit AA.com for the complete list of program participants and learn all of the many ways to earn AAdvantage miles. We think you'll see how easy it is to stay active in the program and keep your mileage balance from expiring ever again. Once you get in the habit of earning miles for your transactions, it's a tough habit to break! Please note that Citi base mileage earnings in excess of 750 miles will count toward the 5,000-mile goal and toward the 3 partner minimum. The only miles that will not count toward this requirement are any miles received through the shareAAmiles program or the reactivateAAmilesSM program, from Citi enrollment bonuses and through Customer Service.
b. The second option is for you to purchase a ticket and fly 1 roundtrip on American Airlines, earning a minimum of 750 base AAdvantage miles each way. Go to AA.com for the latest fare sales and see just how affordable it can be to travel on AA. Treat yourself to a weekend getaway or a family vacation; visit relatives or historic sights; take that business trip or spur-of-the-moment flight. With our online booking tool at AA.com, it's easy to explore the possibilities.

4. Please note that you will have 12 months from the day you contacted us and we set up your challenge to complete all the requirements. The sooner you let us know that you're done, the sooner we will restore up to 200,000 of the miles that expired from your account.
5. Which brings us to the most important step: Once you have fulfilled all requirements, you must contact AAdvantage Customer Service so we can validate your activity and restore your expired miles. This does not happen automatically, so please don't forget to call! The number is 800-882-8880, then simply say AAdvantage Account from the Main Menu. We'll take it from there.
Finally, keep in mind that anytime you need to use some of your expired miles quickly, the fastest way to get them is with the reactivateAAmilesSM program. For more information on the cost, validity period and procedures, please visit our Web site at aa.com and select Buy, Share, Gift Miles from the AAdvantage fly-out menu.
Even though your miles have expired we hope this unique opportunity helps to reward you for becoming active once again. We want you to make the most of your membership, and we are always available to help.

Lisa
Santa Monica, California
U.S.A.