American Airlines has shut down a number of frequent flyers loyalty accounts due to perceived credit card rewards “abuse”. I promised an update on this situation so here we are. It seems that the pattern these shutdowns are following is as follows:
- Account is ‘locked’
- Reservations are cancelled
Some other things to note:
- Previously it was uncertain what would happen to existing reservations but unfortunately it’s all bad news with everything booked via miles being cancelled for people with shut down accounts. This includes people mid itinerary
- If you’ve had reservations cancelled some people have had the taxes/fees automatically refunded, but others will need to contact American Airlines directly to get these refunded.
- The easiest way to check if you are locked is by trying to book a ticket. If the ticket is ticketed (and not just pending) then you’re not shut down. You can also try to call in and see if there is a note on your account about corporate security (personally I don’t think this is a good idea as the less eyes on your account the better).
- Citi is claiming that have nothing to do with these account shut downs at all and there is nothing that can be done on their end
- Shut downs are coming through extremely slowly, it seems that American Airlines corporate security is manually processing these and are only able to do a few per day. The shut downs are ongoing so even if you haven’t been shut down yet, it doesn’t mean you’re in the clear.
I think this should go without saying, but don’t use the mailers that aren’t targeted to you to try and bypass the rules any longer. It will lead to a shut down.
