[Dick Arentz]

I 1 wish to report, which I believe to be “bait and switch” tactics practiced by American Airlines in the issuing of reservations under their frequent flyer awards.

My contract clearly states the mileage awards available for accumulated miles. For example, 100,00 miles allows me to fly round-trip business class to a number of European cities. The underlying conditions are listed as “based on availability”. I have followed those conditions for 25 years, always booking months ahead and allowing for a wide choice of dates.

This year, I found that there were no seats available to and from a number of European cities within a broad time range under the terms of my contract, but I could fly on an “any time” basis for 200,000, essentially doubling the number of miles I needed to fly overseas. Since I was seeking times in the spring and summer, I tried a tactic. I asked the agent to find any European city at random from now until December 1, 2010. When following the terms of my contract, there were no seats available for any city for the entire year.

This is clearly “bait and switch” tactics”, where something is advertised at a certain price and, when the customer calls, is never available, but the identical product can be found at twice the price.

When I commented to the agent that my miles were now practically worthless, she said that was not true. I could donate them to a children’s group!

This is illegal. Clearly AA is blocking practically all seats for normal redemption under the terms of their contract with frequent flyers.