If you’ve got US Airways frequent-flier points amassed in your account, be prepared for them to magically change into American Airlines AAdvantage points this weekend. American says it’ll start transferring the points between accounts as it continues to integrate the two carriers.
The airlines merged in December 2013 and have been working on becoming one ever since then. But the airline says travelers won’t have to take anything into their own hands during the switch.
“American is trying to make it so customers don’t need to do anything,” Suzanne Rubin, the American Airlines executive in charge of the loyalty program told the Chicago Tribune.
The move begins Thursday when American will freeze US Airways Dividend Miles accounts and placing them in read-only mode. Then Saturday, the airline will begin the transfer of mileage balances and other information into new AAdvantage accounts for each traveler.
The process will involve moving some 200 billion frequent-flier miles in 150 million transactions, and may not be fully completed until the first few days of April.
Some fliers may have already connected their two accounts, if they have them — and about half of frequent fliers have already done that, according to American. Those who haven’t linked their accounts already will end up with a new AAdvantage account and can later merge the two.
What if you’ve already booked upcoming travel using Dividend Miles? The reservation will be updated with a new AAdvantage number and American says it will make sure those miles are pushed into the correct elite benefits category.
US Airways frequent-flier accounts to be folded into American Airlines [Chicago Tribune]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
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