More Generous Frequent Flyer Program Drives Profits At Alaska Airlines

by Gary Leff

alaska airlines plane
Feb 01 2020

Despite being hobbled by a less aggressive co-brand credit card issuer in Bank of America, Alaska reports in their fourth quarter earnings call that they “saw double-digit percentage growth in our revenues” from Mileage Plan and that comes on top of “incredible years of growth in our loyalty program since the acquisition.”

The financial performance of the program demonstrates that charting their own course – investing more in marketing – drives customer loyalty and revenue to the airline and helps them to compete effectively against less generous airlines

Continue Reading »

American’s New Denied Boarding Bidding System May Turn Out To Be A Bait And Switch

by Gary Leff

airline ticket
Jan 31 2020

American has a new bidding system for customers to volunteer for denied boarding compensation. The goal is to hold down costs by getting customers to state up front how much they’ll accept for a bump, and the airline started holding people to their bid amounts rather than paying everyone the highest amount necessary to get enough volunteers.

One problem with this system has been customers placing their bids without knowing how long it will be until the next flight they’re able to get on, so it’s not really possible for a customer to know in advance what amount they’d accept for inconvenience. American is testing a new approach to showing customers flights when they’re volunteering, but there’s a pretty big catch.

Continue Reading »

American Reaches Tentative Agreement With Its Mechanics

by Gary Leff

american airlines hangar
Jan 30 2020

Since no joint contract had been achieved, each work group kept their own separate work and the airline’s 2013 merger still isn’t complete. 2019 was a long, hot summer with the airline’s operations melting down amidst a work slowdown by mechanics.

So what did American agree to? The details are still being worked through, and comparisons to existing deals will need to be made, but roughly it appears…

Continue Reading »

New Bank Lets You Earn Miles For Saving Money – Instead of Spending Money

by Gary Leff

Jan 30 2020

I’ve been a Texas Capital Bank, N.A. customer since July 2003 when I opened my BankDirect online checking account. Through BankDirect I’ve earned hundreds of thousands of American Airlines AAdvantage® miles.

Texas Capital Bank, N.A. has now launched Bask Bank offering online savings accounts that earn American Airlines AAdvantage® miles. Many of you will earn more miles saving than you will spending whether it’s spending money on a credit card or through an online shopping portal.

Continue Reading »