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Update: My American Airlines account is back post-hack (kinda)

September 6, 2023 by Harlan 6 Comments

AA account post-hack is an update to this post.

My AAdvantage account was brutally hacked back in July. Someone got my login info and used nearly all the miles for an award flight.

They also used my email to sign me up for literally thousands of emails lists—I’m still unsubscribing from them to this day. It was a clever move, because the emails from American Airlines could’ve easily fallen through the cracks. I guess that’s what they were hoping for.

Keeping the “Since 2006” was a nice touch

Stuff is mostly back. All my activity ported over, along with Loyalty Points, elite status… even the date I joined AAdvantage. ✈️

I basically didn’t have an account for ~2 months. And I’m still discovering all the things that don’t quite work the way they should.

I’ve spent hours and hours on hold and talking to various American staff. It looks like more calls are needed.

Starting over isn’t easy following a hack.

What works in my AA account post-hack

American Airlines Cards Officially Useless – I’m Closing Mine in May 2019

March 1, 2019 by Harlan 25 Comments

American Airlines has a case of “too big for their britches,” as we say down south. They think they’re Delta – they’re not. They think their co-branded credits cards are too beneficial – so they’re cutting the best benefit.

As of May 1st, 2019, NONE of the American Airlines credit cards (from Barclays or Citi) will have a 10% rebate on redeemed miles, which was good for up to 100,000 redeemed miles per year (so you could get back 10,000 miles).

I maxed this out every year – and rarely use other benefits of the cards. I don’t check bags. Priority boarding is great, but whatever. I don’t buy airplane food.

And I get better earning rates with ultra-premium cards for all the bonus categories.

In a couple of months, I’m closing my American Airlines cards. Unless Citi wants to give me a big retention offer to keep one a while longer.

*eyeroll emoji* These are not meaningful to me

Even worse – Citi isn’t adding anything to make up for this loss (Barclays is at least trying). Sorry, but spending $20,000 to get a stupid $125 discount isn’t a tradeoff.

Bye bye, AA cards

The Best Offer With the Most Miles for Those Over 5/24 (70,000 AA Miles, Small Biz Card)

October 29, 2018 by Harlan 10 Comments

Update: This offer is no longer available. Click here for the best current offers!

Lord help me, I just got another new credit card. This one’s too good to pass up if you’re over 5/24 and have small business income.

You can earn 70,000 American Airlines miles with the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Mastercard® after meeting reasonable minimum spending requirements. I just signed up and got instant approval!

70,000 American Airlines miles is enough to visit:

4 countries in Asia (China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea)
Northern South America
Literally anywhere in Europe
The Caribbean, Mexico, or Central America

And it’s nearly enough for 2 round-trip coach award flights to Hawaii!

That fateful moment when you open yet another new credit card

I was running low on AA miles. But now that you can book Air Tahiti Nui and Qatar flights on the AA website (along with other partners), it’s easier than ever to use your miles. You do NOT have to fly on American Airlines – use your miles for partner flights instead!

I’m so close to an around-the-world trip on Cathay Pacific with Alaska miles, and Qatar with American Airlines miles, that I can taste it.

Plus, you can make mortgage payments via Plastiq with this card because it’s a MasterCard, so it’s easy to meet the minimum spending in no time! (That’s how I plan to complete the spending requirements.)

Citi AA 70K miles with the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Mastercard®

Why & How to Add Your American Airlines Number to British Airways Award Flights

August 23, 2016 by Harlan 16 Comments

I recently booked American Airlines award flights from Dallas to Albuquerque with British Airways Avios points. I booked it pretty fast and let my British Airways loyalty number auto-populate in the spot for “Membership Number.”

So easy to let this slide

It’s a “blink and you’ll miss it” type thing and easy to overlook.

But, if you have elite status on American Airlines, or certain AAdvantage credit cards with Barclaycard or Citi, you’ll want to change it.

Why to add your American Airlines number

Review: American Airlines First Class 777-200 Dallas to Tokyo-NRT

May 5, 2016 by Harlan 6 Comments

Also see:

Back in January, American released a whole bunch of First and Business Class award seats on routes to Asia. It was pre-devaluation, and I was starting to think of ways to burn some AA miles before the late March deadline. Awards to Asia in particular went up quite a bit.

It reminded me a lot of when I booked Lufthansa First Class to Frankfurt for Oktoberfest before the United devaluation – similar timing and concept.

Our bird from Dallas to Tokyo

I saw routes were open from Dallas (where my new condo is) to Tokyo – a place I’ve always wanted to visit. Dates were open in early April – prime cherry blossom time!

Even more serendipitously, I had to be in Texas around that time anyway for a week-long work meeting.

Of course, booking flights to catch the cherry blossoms is always a bit of a crapshoot. But, I’m happy to report, we arrived just in time to see the beautiful blooms.

This flight was an excellent pre-cursor to a lovely stay at the the Hilton Tokyo in Shinjuku.

I’ve been meaning to post about it for a while, so let’s hop to it.

Grabbing the space

Just Booked: Tokyo and Osaka, Japan in April for Cherry Blossoms

January 29, 2016 by Harlan 15 Comments

Thanks to Frequent Miler for posting this “Quick Deal!”

It certainly did go quick.

I saw Business Class award availability shrink away from me with the Wicked Witch of the East’s shoes when the house fell on top of her.

But First Class seats were still there – at least 2 of them – and I thought, you know, whatever. And just did it. DFW-NRT First Class on American Airlines. And ITM-NRT-DFW coming back.

At least I got in on this one during its prime time unlike the ~$747 AA Business Class ticket to Barcelona (which still ended up being a very good deal).

This trip cost 62,500 American Airlines miles each way, but I got back 10,000 miles for having the Citi AA credit card.

In total, I paid 120,000 American Airlines miles round-trip.

I wish it were on JAL, or Cathay Pacific, instead of AA, but oh well. It’s in the middle of cherry blossom season. I hope these dates are lucky so I’ll be able to see cherry blossoms during Japan’s spring.

By the numbers

4 Things Holding Back Citi ThankYou From Being the Best Points Program

January 24, 2016 by Harlan 26 Comments

For too long, Chase Ultimate Rewards has been considered the best all-around points program for peeps who like collecting them (myself included).

You welcome

AMEX is failing miserably at just about everything right now, except for AMEX Offers.

They lost Costco and jetBlue, might lose Starwood, Membership Rewards doesn’t have (m)any great transfer partners (maybe Delta, Aeroplan, and ANA for niche award flight redemptions), and they’ve absolutely failed to make timely and industry-leading adjustments to their credit card and points line-up for a long time (thanks for dropping forex fees after like, a decade…).

That left the door wide open for Citi to swoop in (Barclays and Bank of America were never a concern). And man, they really took their chance.

I went from having 1 Citi AAdvantage card to wanting multiple Citi cards in a short while. I’m in love with Citi Prestige because of all the money it’s saved me in the few months I’ve had it.

Current Citi cards I have and want

Out and Out Is in Barcelona! Any Must-Dos? (And Updates!)

January 15, 2016 by Harlan 16 Comments

Dear Out and Out readers, I miss you so.

I got to Barcelona (Barcy) Wednesday morning and have spent the past 3 days wandering, sleeping, working, eating (tapas), and drinking (sangria and Spanish wines and local craft beers).

Wandering in the Gothic Quarter

I still have 3 more full days in Barcy and am totally open to ideas about how to fill the time. I’m meeting with friends, and have a few things on my to-do list (on Todoist):

Restaurants, sites, and things to see. Anything I should add?

I’ll get up tomorrow and see La Sangrada Familia, then maybe head to the Picasso Museum and see the Arc de Triomphe along the way.

Feel free to share any tips about where to go, what to do, or great restaurants you love. I’ll try to work in as many things as possible!

A few updates

Forget AAdvantage! I’m Switching to Alaska MileagePlan This Year

January 1, 2016 by Harlan 30 Comments

Also see:

The beginning of the year is an excellent time to set new travel goals.

Especially when you’re looking at this:

Ruh roh!

I already broke down the numbers of qualifying for top-tier status on American and Alaska, and found that Alaska MVP Gold 75K status is easier to earn with less flying. And you end up with more miles than AAdvantage Executive Platinum status when you start from zero and hit the top tier – 36,250 miles to be exact.

And now it’s even more attractive in light of American’s upcoming devalued award chart.

But… what about Dallas?

Barclaycard Aviator Downgrade Offer + Q1 Bonus Points at Supermarkets

December 27, 2015 by Harlan 6 Comments

RIP, Barclaycard AAdvantage® Aviator™ Red World Elite Mastercard®.

As part of closing on my house, I had to ax this card (I’ll explain why in another post). But, before the boot, I downgraded the card from the Barclaycard AAdvantage® Aviator™ Red World Elite Mastercard® (with an $89 annual fee) to the regular ol’ “Aviator card” (with no annual fee), and got it in the mail just in time to say goodbye.

You are lost and gone forever, oh my darlin’, Clementine

Here are 2 offers I got that might be helpful to some folks. One you have to call to receive, the other is targeted – so be on the lookout if you’re interested.

Downgrade offer

Alaska MileagePlan: The Last Good Loyalty Program? (Alaska Vs. American by the Numbers)

November 8, 2015 by Harlan 17 Comments

Also see:

I’ve been interested in Alaska’s MileagePlan program for a while now. But I’ve never actually banked any flights to them.

As I get ready to base out in Dallas, I, like everyone else, am waiting for all of American’s little shoes to drop. And what it might mean.

For all the speculation, we haven’t actually heard anything from American yet.

It’ll be a shame the program might change as I move to their backyard.

There can only be one

I even thought, wow, I can really kick off earning miles toward Executive Platinum status with my biz class flight to Barcy in January. That’ll be a nice boost toward status right at the beginning of the year.

But now I’m looking at MileagePlan all over again.

The numbers

Kohl’s B’day Gift, Free Admirals Club Membership In, Instant FIA Credit Line Increase + Inquiry

August 1, 2015 by Harlan Leave A Comment

Just a few bits and baubles to follow up on recent posts.

1. Kohl’s $10 Birthday Gift

Also see:

August is my birthday month, and Kohl’s got their timing perfect.

Because today, in the mail, was a card/gift from Kohl’s. Right after I mentioned how much I love them this morning.

$10 birthday present from Kohl’s

I also just received my Yes2Rewards this morning as an email, too.

Kohl’s has a great thing going. Their rewards program is more straightforward than Sears Shop Your Way Rewards and their website is way better, they have frequent discounts (usually 30% off) and promotion codes, often free shipping, and now I get a $10 bonus.

I wish their portal payout on the Discover Deals shopping portal was 10% cashback like Macy’s, Sears, and Kmart (it’s 5%).

But free money is great. I can always buy some new sheets and towels for my Airbnbs.

aadvantage

Update: My American Airlines account is back post-hack (kinda)

What works in my AA account post-hack

American Airlines Cards Officially Useless – I’m Closing Mine in May 2019

Bye bye, AA cards

The Best Offer With the Most Miles for Those Over 5/24 (70,000 AA Miles, Small Biz Card)

Citi AA 70K miles with the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Mastercard®

Why & How to Add Your American Airlines Number to British Airways Award Flights

Why to add your American Airlines number

Review: American Airlines First Class 777-200 Dallas to Tokyo-NRT

Grabbing the space

Just Booked: Tokyo and Osaka, Japan in April for Cherry Blossoms

By the numbers

4 Things Holding Back Citi ThankYou From Being the Best Points Program

Current Citi cards I have and want

Out and Out Is in Barcelona! Any Must-Dos? (And Updates!)

A few updates

Forget AAdvantage! I’m Switching to Alaska MileagePlan This Year

But… what about Dallas?

Barclaycard Aviator Downgrade Offer + Q1 Bonus Points at Supermarkets

Downgrade offer

Alaska MileagePlan: The Last Good Loyalty Program? (Alaska Vs. American by the Numbers)

The numbers

Kohl’s B’day Gift, Free Admirals Club Membership In, Instant FIA Credit Line Increase + Inquiry

1. Kohl’s $10 Birthday Gift

2. Admirals Club Membership Materials Are In

harlanvaughn

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