Seriously, I had a neat little #AvGeek post ready to launch this morning about American Airlines. It revolved around yesterday’s announcements regarding the 777-200 retrofits, and how nice it was to see AA making positive improvements in product. The things in that post still apply, and I will post it sometime, just not today. Why?

As you may have noticed all across Boardingarea this morning, American implemented a sizable devaluation in its award charts overnight, without notice. These changes are effective today, for travel June 1, 2014 or later. Just a few high notes:

* Oneworld Explorer awards eliminated immediately

* What appears to be a 4-tier award chart that could grow to 5 – MileSAAver Levels 1 (off peak awards) and 2, and AAnytime Levels 1, 2, and 3. According to the website, “AAnytime Level 3 awards are offered on a few select dates and will require higher number of miles to redeem.”

I’m still studying the changes and may have a little more to say later today. The lion’s share seem to be at the AAnytime level. In the meantime, you can check out AA’s new charts for yourself here. And I haven’t even mentioned the US Airways charts yet, where you will find a new second level of high awards. You can peruse those here. I’m not surprised at the changes. I’m a bit surprised at the lack of notice. Seems a little off key for AAdvantage. More later.

-MJ, April 8, 2014