Earlier this morning I received an email from American Airlines. The subject of the email read simply, “Your Year In Review.” When I opened the email I found a Thank You note from American Airlines which thanked me for remaining loyal to the airline for another year. The email also included a few statistics that summed up my year of flying with American Airlines and the OneWorld Alliance.
I have to admit I’m a sucker for emails like this because I love looking back. It’s extremely fun to look back over the past year and think of all of the amazing places I’ve been because of this hobby. I also love emails like this because it’s nice to know that the airline appreciates my loyalty. Sure, this is a system generated email, nonetheless someone at American thought about doing this which is enough for me.
I’ve cut up the email into smaller pieces below and thought I’d share my year in review with you. After all, I wouldn’t be here without you, the reader. Without your support and the support of my friends and family I would have stopped blogging a while ago. So, sincerely, Thank You! I’m looking forward to what will come in 2018 and hope you’ll continue following along.
My American Airlines Year In Review
The American Airlines Year in Review email began with a nice thank you note.
Airtime
Following the comment about my time the email estimated the number of hours I spent in the air this year.
In 2017 I spent 69 hours in the sky! Assuming I flew at an average speed of 550MPH I’d estimate that I flew 37,950 miles. The above number only includes hours in the sky on American operated flights.
Times Around The World
The second stat estimated the number of times I flew around the world. Keep in mind it’s estimated that the earth’s circumference is 24,900 miles.
The above number of times around the world represents travel on American and other OneWorld partner airlines. Given the above figure it’s safe to assume I flew about 75,000 miles (seems accurate given EQM multipliers). If the above number is correct, it means I actually spent about 136 hours in the sky (at 550MPH).
Destinations Visited
I have to admit, given all of the flying I did last year the next set of statistics were a little depressing.
Given all of the miles I flew last year, I only visited 11 different cities. I hope next year the number of destinations visited is much higher.
Date Of Status Earned
The next piece of information found within the Year In Review email notified me of the exact date that I earned my status.
For 2018 it wont really mater when I qualify for status because I’ll earn my EXP bonus (120%) all year long. There’s really no benefit to qualifying early once you already have elite status. However, it would be nice to get it done earlier next year so there isn’t such a mad year-end dash as there was this year.
Award Miles Earned / Used
Next, the American Airlines Year In Review email showed me how many AAdvantage miles I earned other than by flying and how many miles I used.
All of the miles I earned without flying came from the AAdvantage Dining program, but next year I should have many more earned through the AAdvantage Aviator Red card. Also, the miles redeemed went to good use when I upgraded to business class on my American Airlines 787 flight home from Paris.
Upgrades Received
The final statistic found in my Year In Review email was the number of upgrades I received. Keep in mind I was just an AAdvantage Gold elite until November 2017. I went from Gold to Executive Platinum in about two weeks during my Qatar Airways mileage run.
Toward the bottom of the email was a nice little cartoon airport. If you look at the email as a whole it’s one continuous photo which depicts an airport and the skies above it filled with American Airlines aircraft.
Final Thoughts
Yes, I know this email is cheesy, but I really appreciated it. As I mentioned, I love looking back on the past year. This year has been more fun than I ever expected. This year I’ve been to Asia (a few times), Europe (a few times), and the Middle East (a few times) all from chasing elite status.
Thank You American Airlines and the OneWorld Alliance for another fantastic year of travel, I look forward to spending another year and another 100,000+ miles with you in 2018!
