Credit Card Brains

Lately, I’ve been feeling stuck in a bad relationship. You know the kind: the more effort you put in and the harder you try to make things work, the worse it gets. The kind where you get nothing in return for your loyalty and sacrafice. The kind where promises always disappoint, and joyfulness turns to bitterness.

That relationship describes the one I have right now with American Airlines (we’ll call it Amer). Despite how perfect we seem together — it’s for business travelers, it has great schedules, direct flights and courteous staff — I know that deep inside, Amer doesn’t really care about making this relationship work. He’s got too many other things going on to care about little ol’ me. He’s working late nights, trying to come up with efficiencies to balance the cost of fuel to keep his planes running. He’s lobbying congress for lower oil prices and higher subsidies. He’s focused on the bottom line. And our relationship is suffering.

In the beginning, Amer was the best. There was a certain glamour to flying together, a cache that came with the ticket. He offered gifts (sure, they were just peanuts, but they meant something) and we went to movies together. When I got cold, he offered me a blanket. When I got tired, he offered me a pillow. We stayed together long enough for me to earn Gold status, and I couldn’t have been happier. He even managed to take me on vacation once per year.

Our relationship wasn’t always perfect. I admit, I strayed a few times over the years. But those experiences only reinforced how strongly I felt for my superior partner.

But over the past two years, to be blunt, things have been strained. Amer first stopped doing the little things - pillows, blankets, food, movies. I could deal with that if he kept me on time and running efficiently, and especially if I managed to get a free ticket out of the deal, but for two years, due to CRAZY restrictions on travel and changes to the loyalty program, there’s been no vacation trip. (Really? Do you think I’m going to take a three-leg, 12 hour flight to San Jose??? Am I worth nothing to you?) Just a cold, online booking interface that frustrates me to no end. And a promise to sock my friends and family with extra baggage charges whenever they bring their trip supplies.

So last weekend, instead of waiting around for Amer to meet me halfway, and after waiting around for months Amer to come to its senses on price or rewards, I did the unthinkable: I applied for a loyalty program with Southwest Airlines, and then I booked two flights on it.

And now, I have a vacation scheduled. For $450 ($300 less than Amer), I’m flying to Seattle in August to enjoy a lovely coastal retreat (my favorite kind). And while I’m not terribly excited to be traveling with a bunch of families on summer vacation, (I’m a travel snob now, what can I say…it’s no fun to be around crying babes or rowdy teens when you’re on a plane and wound tight. It’s just not.), I think there’s a lot to like about Southwest.

So Amer, I know we’ll be seeing each other around, and probably will even be hanging out sometime soon. But know this: it’s not the same. I’m through being that naive girl who waits expectantly for your gifts, only to settle for broken promises. I’m moving on. Southwest may not have your glamour, but it certainly makes up for it in niceness (how’s that for a word?) and appeals to my sense of frugality.

Plus, he’s offering that vacation flight way easier than you are.
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(Moral of the story? I FINALLY booked our week-long vacation! More expensive than I wanted — I was hoping to cash in free miles to cut the flight cost in half — but less expensive than it’s been looking for the past few months. I’ll let you know how Southwest’s Rapid Rewards program goes. I think more and more of us are going to be flying it lately.)