More Shutdown Emails from American Airlines Today

As you might know already, American Airlines is going after people who have abused credit card rewards. I wrote about accounts that were shut down over a week ago. An email surfaced, regarding an account that was shut down, which detailed some of the reasons. But it was dated December 5th, which was before the news broke out about the massive shutdowns.

Today looks like a similar email is going out. There’s a few reports of these emails rolling in throughout the day. Here’s what the email looks like:

…we must now exercise our right to terminate AAdvantage account #______. All membership benefits associated with this account, including all remaining miles and issued award tickets, are forfeited, effective December 18, 2019. Award tickets obtained through fraud, misrepresentation, or violations of the AAdvantage Terms and or Conditions of Carriage are not valid for travel. Any tickets issued from these accounts have been cancelled and you will need to make alternate arrangements for any upcoming travel plans.

Because it is clear from our investigation that you have been engaged in one or more violations of the General AAdvantage Program Conditions, any additional accounts in your name or that you control must also be terminated. All membership benefits associated with these accounts, including all remaining miles and unused tickets, are forfeited, effective December 18, 2019. You are no longer eligible to participate in the AAdvantage program.

Guru’s Wrap-up

Let me know if you received a similar email or letter, or if you were affected by this wave of AA shutdowns. This email is clearly related to recent events, but it still doesn’t specify the exact reason. If your account was shut down you probably have an idea already.

There’s some reports of people who have used multiple credit card offers and have not been shut down yet. While that’s good news for those lucky ones, it could also mean that more waves of shutdowns are coming in the near future. If possible it would be best to use up your miles as soon as possible. And with award flights being canceled that won’t be easy.

If you’re not sure if you account is shut down, the easiest way to figure it out it to call American Airlines customer service and try to make an award booking or modify one that’s already in place. If they mention that Corporate Security is involved and they’re looking at your account, then it is locked. A locked account doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be shut down. You will be notified via an email when American Airlines decides to shut down your account. It should look like the email above.