My Bad Relationship with American
Posted on July 17, 2008 9 Comments
Lately, I’ve been feeling stuck in a bad relationship. You know the kind: the more effort you put in and the harder you try to make things work, the worse it gets. The kind where you get nothing in return for your loyalty and sacrafice. The kind where promises always disappoint, and joyfulness turns to bitterness.
That relationship describes the one I have right now with American Airlines (we’ll call it Amer). Despite how perfect we seem together — it’s for business travelers, it has great schedules, direct flights and courteous staff — I know that deep inside, Amer doesn’t really care about making this relationship work. He’s got too many other things going on to care about little ol’ me. He’s working late nights, trying to come up with efficiencies to balance the cost of fuel to keep his planes running. He’s lobbying congress for lower oil prices and higher subsidies. He’s focused on the bottom line. And our relationship is suffering.
In the beginning, Amer was the best. There was a certain glamour to flying together, a cache that came with the ticket. He offered gifts (sure, they were just peanuts, but they meant something) and we went to movies together. When I got cold, he offered me a blanket. When I got tired, he offered me a pillow. We stayed together long enough for me to earn Gold status, and I couldn’t have been happier. He even managed to take me on vacation once per year.
Our relationship wasn’t always perfect. I admit, I strayed a few times over the years. But those experiences only reinforced how strongly I felt for my superior partner.
But over the past two years, to be blunt, things have been strained. Amer first stopped doing the little things – pillows, blankets, food, movies. I could deal with that if he kept me on time and running efficiently, and especially if I managed to get a free ticket out of the deal, but for two years, due to CRAZY restrictions on travel and changes to the loyalty program, there’s been no vacation trip. (Really? Do you think I’m going to take a three-leg, 12 hour flight to San Jose??? Am I worth nothing to you?) Just a cold, online booking interface that frustrates me to no end. And a promise to sock my friends and family with extra baggage charges whenever they bring their trip supplies.
So last weekend, instead of waiting around for Amer to meet me halfway, and after waiting around for months Amer to come to its senses on price or rewards, I did the unthinkable: I applied for a loyalty program with Southwest Airlines, and then I booked two flights on it.
And now, I have a vacation scheduled. For $450 ($300 less than Amer), I’m flying to Seattle in August to enjoy a lovely coastal retreat (my favorite kind). And while I’m not terribly excited to be traveling with a bunch of families on summer vacation, (I’m a travel snob now, what can I say…it’s no fun to be around crying babes or rowdy teens when you’re on a plane and wound tight. It’s just not.), I think there’s a lot to like about Southwest.
So Amer, I know we’ll be seeing each other around, and probably will even be hanging out sometime soon. But know this: it’s not the same. I’m through being that naive girl who waits expectantly for your gifts, only to settle for broken promises. I’m moving on. Southwest may not have your glamour, but it certainly makes up for it in niceness (how’s that for a word?) and appeals to my sense of frugality.
Plus, he’s offering that vacation flight way easier than you are.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
(Moral of the story? I FINALLY booked our week-long vacation! More expensive than I wanted — I was hoping to cash in free miles to cut the flight cost in half — but less expensive than it’s been looking for the past few months. I’ll let you know how Southwest’s Rapid Rewards program goes. I think more and more of us are going to be flying it lately.)
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9 Responses to “My Bad Relationship with American”
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July 17th, 2008 @ 11:21 am
I use United since I’m so close to Chicago and I’ve been feeling the same way! I’m only a few thousand miles from bumping up my status this year….but every single time I fly something goes wrong. Either late flights, sitting on runways, missing luggage. It’s awful! But it works because ORD is the United hub and it gets me everywhere! Definitely let us know about Southwest….I may switch to flying out of Midway as well!
July 17th, 2008 @ 11:58 am
Hi Nicole!
I too travel a lot and Southwest has never dissapointed with their Rapid Rewards. Once your over the “niceness” part you get used to it. I like open seating and once you’ve flown enough, you get A-list membership which allows you the ability to board first and grab the seat you want. The luxuries may be minimal but you’ll rake in the free flights quickly! The only times I’ve ever had an issue with blackouts is around the holidays. So far this year I’ve earned 7 free flights! And if you travel enough, you get a companion pass that allows a selected person to fly free with you.
I heart Southwest!
Good Luck,
Nichole in TX
July 17th, 2008 @ 12:00 pm
One more thing… for business travel, you can select business class for a few dollars more. This means that you earn your rewards twice as fast!
July 17th, 2008 @ 12:36 pm
Really? Redeeming awards was bad? I read a few horror stories before my first try, but there was a lot of availability and minimal fees. Now I’m not sure what to think, if it is route-specific, or what…
On the bright side with Southwest (my first love) you get free flights quickly, and you don’t have cramped short-hop planes. But no international means you might be back on Amer before you know it.
July 17th, 2008 @ 7:21 pm
Great post and I share your pain. I recently wrote about my horrible experiene with United and vow never to fly them again!
July 17th, 2008 @ 11:21 pm
Let me know if you would like to meet up in Seattle. I am a longtime reader of your blog and also a fellow blogger
July 18th, 2008 @ 1:04 am
No, I don’t work for Southwest, but I used to travel a lot for work throughout the northeast from the DC area and they always had the cheapest flights. You do tend to rack up free flights pretty quickly and here’s an email update I just received:
Double the amount of Rapid Rewards credit you receive when you purchase and travel on a Business Select Fare between July 17 and August 28, 2008. This means you can get up to four credits for each one-way Business Select flight.
* Simply register for this promotion by clicking here between July 17 and August 28, 2008.
* Book a Business Select Fare for yourself between July 17 and August 28, 2008 for travel between July 17 and August 28, 2008.
* Complete your travel between July 17 and August, 28, 2008
With this promotion, you’ll get to an Award even faster and enjoy the benefits of Business Select—extra Rapid Rewards credit, priority boarding and a drink.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nicole, if you think this post/comment is spammy, feel free to delete it. I was just sharing and proving your sentiment that SW has good deals for frequent flyers.
Also, readers may want to actually use this promotion.
Thanks,
L
July 18th, 2008 @ 4:42 am
You’re hilarious. I’ve noticed a drop off in service with everyone. And I hear even worse things! I flew Virgin America from San Francisco to Seattle recently, and loved it. They’re in limited locations, but if you have the chance to fly them, do. Comparable prices (for my last minute trip, at least), no hassle checking in, funny safety video, and an amazing little screen on the seat in front of you, on which you can watch movies, play games, and create a playlist of music. I’ll definitely fly Virgin again, when I’m going to one of their destinations.
July 19th, 2008 @ 3:16 am
Funny!
I am stuck in an American Hub in STL, so I feel like I am in an arranged marriage to someone I hate!