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Update 3/24/15:
American Airlines has confirmed that the integration of AAdvantage and Dividend Miles will begin, though the process could take several days.
Tomorrow (3/25/15) is the last day you can book US Airways Dividend Miles awards.
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The reliable rumor is that American Airlines and US Airways plan to combine their mileage programs on March 28, which is this Saturday.
- US Airways and American Airlines legally merged in December 2013.
- They announced in October 2014 that the AAdvantage and Dividend Miles programs would combine in the second quarter (April 1 to June 30) of 2015.
- They announced a few weeks ago that the integration would happen within a month.
Now the word is that the programs plan to combine March 28, though that could be backed up if there are problems with the combination.
Reliable Rumor?
The most recent word from the Traveling Better forum features input from JonNYC, a legendary source of inside info on American Airlines.
When he talks about what American Airlines is about to do or what its computers say a routing rule is, I believe him.
We can’t be 100% sure that we’re about to see an announcement that the US Airways and American Airlines frequent flyer programs will merge March 28, but I am going to make prudent preparations as if they will. Here’s what JonNYC says:
The date of “single frequent flier program” is…March 28.
Listed as a target date, so I’d imagine could change, but that’s the date being aimed for.
What You Need to Do
- Link your US Airways and American Airlines accounts, so that your US Airways miles are seamlessly transferred to AA miles when the programs combine.
- Burn US Airways miles for the awards on which its award chart is cheaper than AA’s.
- Get the US Airways card before it disappears to get its 50,000 mile bonus.
Just getting started in the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best card for you to start with.
With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!
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I was approved for the Barclay’s card on Friday but haven’t received it in the mail yet….they said it could take 2 weeks. Will the 50k bonus miles, companion certificates, and all of that still be honored or did I just get a line of credit added to my report for nothing?
You will get your miles one way or another. The companion certs I’m not so sure.
What will happen to our unused us airways companion passes?
I think it disappears. I’m not 100% sure.
I believe you can still use the companion certificates till August 31st, 2015 as US Airways will still be operating flights. (Thats what I was told by Barclay customer service)
Scott, is there any precedent that you know of in an airline’s credit card company honoring the miles bonus for existing clients when a credit card is replaced by the new parent airline? For example, if one has a US Airways Mastercard that will be replaced with an American Airlines Aviator credit card. If one were to cancel the US Airways Mastercard at the end of this month and then apply for an American Airlines credit card as a “new” client, he/she would be eligible for the 50,000 miles bonus (if $3k is spent in 3 months). It would be nice if Citi would let one avoid that hassle and earn the miles bonus on the new American Airlines Aviator card by spending the same amount in the same time period.
That American Aviator card will NOT be serviced by Citi, so Citi will not be giving out any miles on its spending.
The AA Aviator cards will be serviced by Barclaycard. Existing US Airways cards will become Aviator cards. No one new can apply for an AA Aviator card.
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[…] Airlines miles. This could be because of a stronger economy leaves fewer empty seats or because US Airways management took over, and US Airways always offered less award space than American. I wish I could be more specific […]