When I signed up for the card, it was just a Visa. How did I now get two different cards?

The enclosure explained:

We have enhanced your Citi/AAdvantage credit card account. You now have two Citi/AAdvantage cards, including a Citi/AAdvantage American Express card, to access your existing account and credit line. These two new cards – which are enclosed and carry no additional fee — replace the Citi/AAdvantage card you are currently carrying, and provide you with more places to earn American Airlines AAdvantage miles.

Perhaps there’s precedent for this, but I’ve never had a bank issue me a second, different card before.

I suppose it’s a no-cost addition, and since it’s considered part of the same credit line, it doesn’t hit my credit report as a new, separate account. (Their enclosed FAQ’s stress this point.)

But no thanks. My wallet’s credit card space is already fully occupied, and frankly, I don’t need this Amex. (“Waste of plastic” comes to mind.) If I’m using an Amex, it’ll be my Starwood-linked card.

Anyone have a different take?

In recent months, trade groups representing hundreds of airports and dozens of airlines have quietly stepped up the pressure on the European Commission to abandon its plan for a gradual easing of restrictions. From April 29, the change would allow passengers passing through Europe from a third country to carry liquids, aerosols and gels purchased either at an airport duty-free shop or on board a non-European airline. They are calling instead for the ban to remain in place until 2013, when Brussels has vowed to eliminate all cabin restrictions on such goods.

“The existing technology is not fit for the purpose,” said Olivier Jankovec, the director general of the Airports Council International Europe, a lobbying group based in Brussels that represents more than 400 airports. “We risk paralyzing the big hubs.”
[...]
But the intense lobbying has so far failed to sway the commission, which committed two years ago to simplifying the often onerous security screening process. It remains a source of frustration for passengers who are forced to jettison drink containers, toothpaste, skin creams and even jars of marmalade before boarding planes.

Aides to Siim Kallas, the European transportation commissioner, said he remained unconvinced by the industry’s arguments and was satisfied by the performance standards set by European regulators for liquid-explosive detectors. Moreover, they said, the numbers of transfer passengers likely to be affected by this first phase of the plan should be manageable.

Upgraded: AA miles on Facebook
It’s a spin of the wheel, essentially, but you could earn a random number of American AAdvantage miles — between 100 and 1,000,000 — if you “like” the AAdvantage program on their Facebook page. I think these “like” campaigns are kind of lame, but hey, if you’re a Facebooker, have some free miles. Full details here.

Upgraded: Atlanta Braves parking for Delta SkyMiles Medallion members
I guess this is a thinking-outside-the-box perk for upper-tier Delta elite frequent fliers: Medallion-level members get access to a special parking area within the Green Lot for Atlanta Braves games at Turner Field. It’s not free parking — normal rates apply. I’ve never been to a game at Turner Field, but the Green Lot looks like it’s as convenient as it’s going to get.

Upgraded: Taiwanese analysis of American aviation
For those who appreciate the kitschy animations of global news by the Taiwanese animators at Next Media Animation, please enjoy this cartoon analysis of American aviation’s obsession with fees. Note the not-so-subtle digs at the age of U.S. flight attendants (ouch) and the ragging on US Airways in particular, going so far as to use their logo. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the video celebrates the triumphant Asian airline industry, singling out Cathay Pacific. Who knows, maybe Cathay paid for this episode. Watch it below.

Upgraded: Flights from NYC to Tokyo
American Airlines is launching flights from New York JFK to Tokyo Haneda Airport. Haneda, which is closer to downtown Tokyo, not Narita, the primary international airport.

Downgraded, then Upgraded: United grounds, then fixes, its 757s
United grounded all 96 of its Boeing 757s yesterday, to perform required emergency updates to all the planes’ air data computers. A day later, the airline reported that only 15 flights were nixed, and that all planes were back online.

Upgraded: One-way rentals out of Florida
If you’re in Florida and looking to leave the state between April and June, Hertz is serving up one-way out-of-Florida rentals for merely $5 a day. Rates are good for a limited range of destination states, and for a max of 14 days, but $5 is cheap. No one-way drop-off fees, either. Snowbirds bring the car in, you bring it out. This isn’t necessarily something for everyone, but if it meets your needs, go for it. (via)

Downgraded: Hot cheese
Beware of hot cheese when you travel. Seriously. The headline: “Disney in Hot Cheese Lawsuit.” It’s quite sad, actually, for the kid who got hurt. Poor child, but wow, what a sentence: “[Walt Disney Parks and Resorts] has just received the lawsuit from a Californian couple who say their four-year-old Isaiah Harris was injured at Cosmic Ray’s Starlite Café [at Orlando's Magic Kingdom] when he toppled into a scalding hot cup of cheese that had been prepared for pouring over nachos.”

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FareCompare wants you to go on a mileage run
The folks at FareCompare are running a sweepstakes of sorts, offering the lucky winner the opportunity to go on a mileage run for up to 15,000 miles of travel on the airline of their choice. If you’re just shy of elite status (re)qualification and have time to kill, it can’t hurt to enter.

OpenSkies knocks $200 off fares to Paris
All-premium carrier (and British Airways subsidiary) OpenSkies has a promo code for $200 off flights from New York to Paris if you book and fly by November 30, 2010. Promo code is PAR200DO.

Citibank brings back the 75,000-mile American AAdvantage bonus
Well, that didn’t take long… While the mega-bonuses on new Citibank/American Airlines credit cards ended on October 31, a new offer is already up. 75,000 miles after $4000 spend within 6 months, with no annual fee. Not quite as easy to attain as the last round of offers, but still a fine, fine way to collect some major mileage balances. (via Gary Leff)

Now, back to the polls…

I opted for a personal Visa card that offered up 75,000 bonus miles after just $1500 in spending. I quickly reached the threshold, and the bonus appears on my current statement (screenshot above). The miles were reflected in my AA account the next day.

Echoing Gary Leff’s comments on this subject, these bonuses are among the best credit card mileage offers that have ever been made available. If you’re feeling particularly frisky, sign up for one personal card and one business card. If you’ve got a partner, have the partner do the same. This is an easy way to rack up a boatload of miles in one of the best programs out there, a program that actually has solid award availability.

The mega-offers run out on October 31, 2010, so act fast.

Here are the links again.

75,000 miles after $1500 in purchases within 6 months, no fee the first year:

• 75,000 mile bonus: Visa
• 75,000 mile bonus: Visa Business
• 75,000 mile bonus: American Express (issued by Citi, not Amex)

100,000 miles: 50,000 miles after $750 in purchases within 4 months, and another 50,000 miles after $10,000 in purchases within 12 months, no fee the first year

• 100,000 mile bonus: Visa
• 100,000 mile bonus: Visa Business
• 100,000 mile bonus: American Express (issued by Citi, not Amex)

So what will the new schedule look like?

Two morning flights: 8:00 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Then, starting at 6:00 p.m., flights leave every half hour, through 11:30 p.m., albeit not necessarily from the same airport. The reconfigured schedule will be take effect in April 2011.

So is this much of a change? I’ve always been impressed, frankly, at the sheer number of flights between New York and London. Here’s the current schedule of New York (JFK and Newark) flights to Heathrow on American and British Airways (chosen for October 28, an arbitrary date in the near future). This list excludes BA002 and 004, which are all-business class flights to London-City Airport. And this obviously doesn’t even take other airlines’ service into account at all, such as Virgin Atlantic, Delta, Continental, Air India, or Kuwait Airways…

Again, this is the OLD schedule:

Pre-reconfiguration:
AA142 departs JFK at 8:30 a.m.
BA178 departs JFK at 8:40 a.m.
AA100 departs JFK at 6:15 p.m.
BA112 departs JFK at 6:20 p.m.
BA184 departs EWR at 6:25 p.m.
BA174 departs JFK at 6:50 p.m.
BA176 departs JFK at 7:35 p.m.
AA104 departs JFK at 8:20 p.m.
BA188 departs EWR at 8:50 p.m.
AA132 departs JFK at 9:25 p.m.
BA114 departs JFK at 9:35 p.m.
BA182 departs JFK at 10:40 p.m.
BA186 departs EWR at 10:55 p.m.
AA116 departs JFK at 11:50 p.m.


From where I sit, a move to flights on the half-hour is a tweak, not a radical shift, but it’s still an improvement in booking ease. It sure is a lot easier to remember your flight options this way. But it’s still the same number of total flights, at the end of the day.

If you’re going to cash in your AA miles for a flight on BA, though, you’re going to pay through the nose. BA slaps fuel surcharges onto the base airfare, which are payable even on frequent flier tickets. Those fuel surcharges can run as high as $500 for a roundtrip ticket in a premium cabin, on top of the miles you cash in. What would cost you $150 cash or so on an AA flight will cost you 5 times as much if booked on BA metal. This is completely and utterly lame.

The logic (and legality) of these fees has always escaped me. When I buy a plane ticket, I’m buying transportation from point A to point B, and the on-ground and in-flight services associated with that transportation. Fuel is part of that transportation equation.

By backing out the “fuel surcharge,” airlines act as if the consumer is just renting space on the plane. But last time I checked, I wasn’t just renting a chair. I also paid for the the movement of that chair across the oceans.

AA has posted an FAQ page related to the changes. It’s worth reviewing. See also Gary’s Friday post on the issue.

Maybe I’m seeing the glass half empty here. I’ve spent much of the weekend (and all of today) in bed, sick as a dog, so I’ve had had plenty to time to get crabby. Yes, this is better than before. Yes, other airlines and airline alliances play similar games. But these discrepancies within an alliance defeat the spirit of cooperation. They insult and dispirit customers, and they embolden the critics who argue that miles are “worthless” because of airline shenanigans.

I am glad they did something to improve the alliance. But I still hoped for better.

Beginning Oct. 1, American Airlines is offering travelers another benefit of membership in its Admirals Club(R)lounges. American will offer alcoholic beverages, including wine, beer and spirits, free of charge to customers visiting any of its domestic clubs, in addition to complimentary coffee, tea, soft drinks and juices.
[...]
Domestic clubs will offer well brand liquors, as well as beers and house wines as a complimentary service on Oct. 1. Premium liquors and wines and a selection of Amora(TM) fresh food items will be available for purchase in all U.S. Admirals Club lounges. Menu items vary by location, and include fresh salads, sandwiches, hot entrees and small bites. Seasonal and regional specialties are featured throughout the year, with special chef demonstrations offered at select clubs. All menu items are available to enjoy in the club or for carry-out. Customers visiting an international Admirals Club location will continue to enjoy complimentary alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages as they do today.

I understand that they don’t want to break out the single-malts at an open bar, but I hope that their well liquors are a step above Popov vodka.

Upgrading the snack selection without making them for-pay would have been nice, too, but that may be asking a bit much.

Regardless, a nice upgrade to the domestic airport lounge scene!

The 75K bonus (with $1,500 in purchases within 6 months) and a 100K bonus (with $10,000 in purchases within a year) first hit the inter-tubes about a month ago. I thought I had posted about it, but looking back, I didn’t. (Gary Leff was on the scene.)

This sort of deal usually doesn’t last long, but the fact that they’re sending it out to folks via snail mail (with an application deadline of October 31, 2010) and not just electronically suggests that it has some legs.

Some caveats/warnings: 1) If you can’t manage your credit, stay away from these cards. It’s not worth messing up your finances for a chunk of miles. 2) The cards have an annual fee, but it’s waived the first year. You can collect the bonus and cancel the card before the fee kicks in, but you’ll need to likely need to hold the card for 8 to 10 months after qualifying for the bonus in order to receive the miles. And 3) choose the right card. If you’re not going to spend $10,000 on a card in 12 months, don’t sign up for the 100K mile cards.

But, caveats aside, and in the interest of beefing up your mileage accounts, here are the links, via Gary.

75,000 miles after $1500 in purchases within 6 months, no fee the first year:

• 75,000 mile bonus: Visa
• 75,000 mile bonus: Visa Business
• 75,000 mile bonus: American Express (issued by Citi, not Amex)

100,000 miles: 50,000 miles after $750 in purchases within 4 months, and another 50,000 miles after $10,000 in purchases within 12 months, no fee the first year

• 100,000 mile bonus: Visa
• 100,000 mile bonus: Visa Business
• 100,000 mile bonus: American Express (issued by Citi, not Amex)

Many airlines have been selling “premium” seats in the economy cabin for years. Northwest (pre-merger with Delta) started selling selected seats at the front of the economy section back in 2006. And United has sold Economy Plus upgrades for most of the past decade. (Though those seats have extra legroom, which is a bit more “premium.”) So selling seats isn’t entirely new.

The only real twist on existing “premium” seat reservations is that paying the new AA fee bumps you up to boarding group 1. You’ll not only sit toward the front of the bus, but you’ll be assured of space in the overhead bins and can be among the first to board and exit the plane. And that’s how the airline is spinning this: It’s a speed premium, not a comfort premium.

The real losers here are the elite-level AAdvantage members who used to be able to pre-reserve these seats for free. Those passengers will have to sit a little further back now. The airline promises to leave a similar number of seats available for the frequent fliers, but they just won’t be the same seats. If you were a gold, platinum or executive platinum AA flier and a fan of bulkheads, this is definitely a downgrade.

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