AAdvantage me!

In the name of social media, I thought I'd share...

American Airlines' AAdvantage frequent flyer program just sent me the following email:

From the American Airlines AAdvantage® Program

Dear Jessica Willey,

We know you have a choice when it comes to air travel and we appreciate the business you have given us over the years. Today, we'd like to extend a special thanks to you as you celebrate your 10th AAdvantage® Anniversary.

Since we launched the world's first frequent flyer program in 1981, we have worked hard to provide great value whether you earn your miles by flying or through products and services offered by the wide range of companies participating in the AAdvantage program. And now, your miles are redeemable for award travel on more than 20 participating airlines to over 700 destinations worldwide.

Thank you again for your business. We look forward to seeing you on an American Airlines flight soon!

Rob Friedman
President
AAdvantage Marketing Programs

To which I replied:

Dear AA Customer Relations,

I'm writing in response to an email I received, titled 'Happy Anniversary!' and notifying me that I have been an AAdvantage member for 10 years.

As a Marketing professional, I am disappointed that American Airlines fell so short here with such a self-serving campaign. If you really want to thank a customer, you should consider offering a gesture of goodwill, something of value - the obvious in this case would be 10k bonus miles for 10 years.

As a customer, I am annoyed that AA populated my inbox with email that offered me no value - be it useful information or an offer of some sort. Annoyed enough that I decided to send you this note.

Thank you for the refresher lesson in CRM. I do know I have a choice of airlines, and while American is usually in the top 2 or 3 of my list, my esteem for it has slipped slightly.

Kind regards,
Jessica