[Carole]

To American AirlinesI am very disappointed with the service I have received when trying to book my vacation. I started planning this vacation over a year ago. I called AA to see how many points needed for my airline ticketsand was told 35,000 per person to Hawaii from N.Y I must have called each month for the last 6 months trying to reach my goal of 70,000 points. I have a credit/debit card with Citi bank which earns me points and I applied for the AAdvantage credit card to earn more points. which I have been racking up. At no time on the web or from customer service was I told that there would be limited seating for those who choose to reserve with points,at no time was I told that I could reserve my tickets up to 7 months in advance in fact I was told I could not reserve in advance unless I had all my points . I have been a loyal Citi bank and AA user. And I cannot get over that a person who has cash can get a seat on the plane or another couple who use a different typeof credit card which earns them points can get a seat on the flight but I can't, I have spent my cash per say to earn these points, I will not be using either one of my credit/debit cards or anything else to do with earning points from AA, I will be switching to a card and company that actually helps their customers. You have put a very big damper on my 25th anniversary vacation. I was even willing to buy extra points, but not another 70,000. This has been a very dishearting experience. Carole

[airhead]

I am sorry you had to go through that experience and learn the hard way. Upon agreement with the citibank card, the bank should have sent you a disclosure of terms. The terms state in fine print that usage of points or miles allows you to book in certain fares only. If those fares are not available then they can not be booked.
It is impossible for one person to spoon feed you all the information you need to know about air travel. Everything you NEED to know is out there. You just need to read the fine print. And yes, others who choose to purchase a ticket not using points, have much more buying power. Cash is king per say. For example, a person who chooses to pay more for a full fare (refundable) ticket has more buying power and can even elect to change without penalties in most cases.
I hope this information helps. I am sure other airlines operate under these premises too so don't think only AA does this.