A few weeks ago I completed (potentially) my final major trip of the year. With that quick trip to Japan I earned my 100,000th Elite Qualifying Mile and $15,000th Elite Qualifying Dollar. As a result, I unlocked another year of American Airlines AAdvantage Executive Platinum elite status.
About a week after completing my trip I received an email from American Airlines congratulating my milestone.
In the body of the email American included a brief thank you note for my loyalty. The email continued to inform me that I’d receive my new membership card in about 4 to 6 weeks.
At the bottom of the email was a link to a website which highlighted the benefits offered from American Airlines elite status. It seems with the 2019 qualifying year American has opted to move much of the elite material online in an effort to further shrink the Elite Status Welcome Kit. That hypothesis was confirmed when my membership card arrived in the mail a few weeks later.
American Airlines AAdvantage Executive Platinum Welcome Kit
A few weeks after receiving that initial email a small envelope arrived. The envelope was the same familiar shape, size, and color of previous welcome kit’s I’ve received from American. At first glance, if you didn’t know what you were looking at, there is little indication of what’s inside.
However, on the back, along the flap, it becomes very clear what this envelope entails.
After opening the back flap I reached inside and discovered a small pamphlet with a familiar face on the front. The face is familiar as this man is also featured on the new Executive Platinum benefits website.
As I opened up the pamphlet I found another brief message from American which thanked me for my loyalty. However, again, the body of this text directed me to the Elite Benefits websites.
Along the middle section of the pamphlet were two brag tags and a new membership card. Yet again, these are the exact same as the ones I received in 2017 and 2018. Personally, I’d love to see American change these up each year like United does for 1K members.
On the back of the pamphlet were a few of the AAdvantage call center numbers. I don’t quite get why these are useful considering they are online and on your mobile membership card, but that’s not my decision to put them there.
Final Thoughts
First of all, I’m thrilled to once again qualify for Executive Platinum elite status and to do so this early in the year. However, this welcome kit (pamphlet) basically sums up the current state of American. Consistent with American’s current on-board strategy of less is more, American appears to be cutting costs with its welcome kits. A few years ago the welcome kits from American were a complete booklet which listed the various benefits offered from each level of elite status. Those booklets shrunk a few years ago and appear to have shrunk further this year.
What’s even more frustrating is that American hasn’t made any changes to the Membership Cards or Brag Tags since the year following the US Airways merger. By comparison, United gives 1K members a large welcome kit that includes custom drink coasters that change annually. In 2018 the coasters featured domestic destinations and for 2019 it appears United is featuring several international destinations.
In future years I’d love to see American follow suit and make the Executive Platinum kit a bit more collectable. Personally, it would be very cool to see American offer Brag Tags which feature some of their heritage airlines. How cool would it be to have TWA, AirCal, or US Airways bag tags!
