This week, we’re revisiting one of our most insightful conversations with Bridget Blaise-Shamai, former President of the AAdvantage Program at American Airlines — and now one of our wonderful Let’s Talk Loyalty hosts.
In this episode, Bridget shares timeless lessons on customer engagement, personalization, loyalty ecosystems, and why relevance is at the heart of every successful loyalty strategy.
From building emotional connection with customers to creating value beyond travel, this conversation remains incredibly relevant for loyalty marketers today.
A must-listen episode for anyone thinking about the future of loyalty, trust, and customer relationships.
Show Notes:
4)#32: AAdvantage – Caring for Loyal Customers through Challenging Times.
PAULA: Welcome to Let’s Talk Loyalty, an industry podcast for loyalty marketing professionals.
PAULA: I’m your host, Paula Thomas, and if you work in loyalty marketing, join me every week to learn the latest ideas from loyalty specialists around the world.
PAULA: So welcome to episode 32 of Let’s Talk Loyalty.
PAULA: Today, I am truly excited to be interviewing a woman who runs one of the most prestigious and compelling programs in the world.
PAULA: And in fact, perhaps one of the ones that’s been around the longest.
PAULA: So Bridget Blaise-Shamai is the Vice President of Customer Insights and Loyalty and President of the AA Advantage Program.
PAULA: She is responsible for all aspects of the program, including recognition and rewards for AA Advantage members, all mileage partnerships, AA Advantage customer service, business solutions and American’s customer relationship management initiatives.
PAULA: In fact, Bridget has more than 20 years of experience with American and has held roles in finance, revenue management, alliances, sales and loyalty.
PAULA: So without further ado, please welcome Bridget Blaise-Shamai to Let’s Talk Loyalty.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : Thank you.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : Delighted to be here.
PAULA: Great stuff.
PAULA: And we were talking before we came on Irish Bridges.
PAULA: First of all, I just wanted to celebrate your Irish heritage.
PAULA: And as some of my listeners will know, Bridget is an Irish name.
PAULA: And delighted to know that you have some Irish heritage in your own background.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : I love having Irish in my background.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And it’s a real huge point of pride for my mother’s family.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So we celebrate all the fun and celebrations that are Ireland every year.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And I certainly look the role, too.
PAULA: OK, fantastic.
PAULA: OK.
PAULA: So listen, you run an extraordinary program.
PAULA: And as I’ve talked about in the introduction, you have over 20 years of experience.
PAULA: So we have loyalty managers all over the world who are really keen to hear your insights and what we can learn from what American is doing in the industry.
PAULA: So as you know, I start every show asking my guests about their favorite loyalty statistic.
PAULA: So tell me, what is your favorite loyalty statistic?
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : Well, if you’ll indulge me, Paula, with a few, because there are so many important statistic metrics that I look at to ensure that the health of the business is where we want it to be, right?
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So first and foremost, I look at enrollments in the program.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : You know, it all is centered around having customers participating in the program.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And then what I look at is how quickly are we able to get them engaged with us.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : It’s one thing to enroll and it’s another thing to be engaged.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And our data really does reveal that there’s a very defined time period where you have that opportunity to engage them or it’s perhaps not going to happen.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So the enrollment, the speed by which we’re able to get them engaged.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And then from there, I look at both breadth and depth of engagement with our program, but with the airline and the whole wonderful network of partners with whom we partner.
PAULA: Incredible.
PAULA: And actually, I think you’re the first person, Bridget, who has made that point about the speed of engagement.
PAULA: Everyone talks about the percentage of engagement, but I hadn’t, I suppose, really thought about that window of opportunity.
PAULA: So it sounds like you have some very clear insights in terms of how important that is.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : That’s right, Paula.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : We have the wealth of data, right?
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And it’s only as good as doing something with it.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And we do an awful lot with it.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And this has been one of these key insights that’s been teased out about, you get a defined period of time with most customers for you to do something with the fact that they raised their hand, gave you some important information to get started.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : Now it’s on you to make sure that you make sure you are relevant to them.
PAULA: Absolutely.
PAULA: Yes, relevant and respectful.
PAULA: I’ll be dying to hear exactly how you do that kind of stuff.
PAULA: So before we get into all of the detail, tell me about your loyalty background, like how did you end up in this area of the whole world of American Airlines?
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : Oh, absolutely.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So if I can take a bit of a step back with you, culturally at American, it’s quite common that you move around.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : You know, it’s a complicated business to operate an airline, a global airline.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So we really have an encouragement for us to have broad exposure.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So I am started in our finance organization, doing very typical airline type projects.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : Taxes is a very common part of our industry.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : Organized labor is a part of our industry.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : Alliances are a part of our industry.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So those are the types of projects and initiatives I was involved with out the gate.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And made my way around the company after starting in finance, as you had started here with the audience at the outset of revenue management and distribution and alliances.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And then as a part of returning to finance at one point in my career, I was tasked with being part of a commercial team on the nascent stage of the One World Alliance.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So right at its very outset, I was a part of how do we realize more to gather commercially?
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And the vision by our CEOs, we had five airlines at the time.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : The vision, and this is many years ago, was could there be a global rewards program for One World?
PAULA: Yeah.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And I had no experience or exposure to Advantage at the time.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And here I was exposed now to Advantage and British Airways Program and Iberia and Cafe and Qantas.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And wow, what a phenomenon, what an extraordinary, almost blessed experience to have been provided, given.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And so that was my first introduction, which led ultimately to my joining the organization of Advantage for American Airlines.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And so that was many, many years ago.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And it was first round of the.com.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And everybody wanted to partner with Advantage.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : You know, you had all this money pouring into these companies that no one knew their names.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : But they were promising time value and they needed to connect with brands that already had an intrinsic value, right?
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So we were absolutely just bombarded with inquiries, requests to partner together.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So the short of it is that we can my exposure experience with Advantage.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And I’ve had a host of experiences here, from creating the database marketing team, which is why I have such a love of data.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : I have been the controller, it’s a huge budget in P&L for American Airlines.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : I’ve led the strategy team.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : I have led all the partnerships, both airline and non-airplane.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So you think credit card partnerships are a big part of our proposition here in the United States.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So really just through an unrelated opportunity at American many years ago, I got introduced to Advantage and just really fell in love with it.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : I’ve been in and out of the program ever since I came here.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So it’s not like I’ve extensively been here.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : But I’ve been leading the program for about three years now and really feel very honored to have this position and to be caring for our customers and our partners in this capacity.
PAULA: Extraordinary.
PAULA: And there’s so many things that you’ve referred to, Bridget, that I want to pick up on.
PAULA: So I almost don’t know where to start.
PAULA: But first one I will comment on is I’m ex-British Airways myself.
PAULA: And after the One World Alliance was formed, I was responsible for the communications of that alliance here in the Middle East region.
PAULA: So I’m just thinking back to those wonderful times and the extraordinary vision that those airlines came together to create.
PAULA: So you’ve done extraordinary work for a very long time.
PAULA: So just want to compliment you first of all on building that because it really was the first.
PAULA: And I can hear a real passion for loyalty coming through.
PAULA: And again, I think that’s something that unites everyone who listens to this show in that I think people who move into loyalty marketing inherently love taking care of customers and inherently love giving something back.
PAULA: And often what we struggle with is actually the financial justification.
PAULA: So I love the fact that you came from the finance side and you’re also so passionate about embracing the investment side in terms of giving back to customers.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : That’s right, Paula.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : You know, one thing that’s one of our defining pillars is to ensure that we have a fair and balanced value proposition for our customers.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : You know, it is a two-way street, and we’ve got to be mindful of that and act against that and be good stewards of that with our customers.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So, you know, we are the representatives within the company on behalf of our customers, ensuring that the underlying value is relevant to our customers and is returned back to our customers.
PAULA: Amazing, amazing.
PAULA: So, I know the program AAdvantage, as I mentioned, I think at the start of the show, is I think the second one ever launched, really, in the corporate world, dating back to 1981, so almost 40 years.
PAULA: So, where did the initial idea for AAdvantage come from?
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BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : Gosh, it was such a reflection of the time, you know, we were coming out or we were out of the regulated period of our industry, and we had a couple of problems we needed to solve as a company.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : First and foremost, we had no means by which to track our customers.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : What was true then and remains true today, we distribute, sell a lot of our tickets through our travel agency partnerships, right?
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : We have wonderful relationships with our travel agents, and so they are a big outlet for us.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : But we found that we had no customer information within the reservations that were being booked on our behalf by our agents.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And so all the information that was collected was that of the agency.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : The second part was we had a pretty commoditized product, and the idea by the leadership is how do we create a point of distinction.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And so in one fell swoop, the opportunity through what was initially just a numeric code, now it’s alphanumeric, allowed us to both track our customers and create a bit of a personality for the American Airlines brand.
PAULA: Love it.
PAULA: Love it.
PAULA: Yeah.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : That’s a great story.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : Great story.
PAULA: It sure is.
PAULA: And I don’t think there’s enough people talk about personality, Bridget, actually, you know, because particularly when it is a product that can be commoditized, I think the fact that, you know, the personality of AAdvantage is such a focus.
PAULA: I think that’s super exciting, and I love to hear a bit more about that.
PAULA: But what do you think, I suppose, in general, would you say is the most surprising or exciting thing about AAdvantage as a loyalty program, particularly in such a, what I would say, I guess, a mature market?
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : Great question.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : I love how you end it with it being mature, because so much about it defies what would be a business in a mature phase of its life cycle, right?
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So I’ll ask, I’ll answer you less about being surprised and more about what I love.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : I love the amount of growth we experience in the program every year.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : I love the size of the memberships that are less than 30 years old.
PAULA: Okay.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : I love the size of the population that has multiple years of tenure in the program, active participation, tenure in the program.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So it’s just like this best of all world set of data that reflect that the program and travel, and American Airlines remain very relevant to a broad and disparate set of consumers who were all united by travel and the brand advantage, the brand American Airlines and AAdvantage miles.
PAULA: For sure.
PAULA: And I know we didn’t really talk about this before, Bridget, but just occurred to me, and I know some of this might be commercially sensitive, so if you can’t answer, that’s completely fine.
PAULA: But I always love to get a sense even of the scale of the type of team it takes.
PAULA: Like how many do you have between, I’m sure you’ve got everyone from the tech team to the communications team.
PAULA: So broadly speaking, how many people does American Airlines have just to manage and dedicate it to managing the AAdvantage Program?
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So I’m happy to share with you the size of my organization, but of course I don’t want to undersell because there’s a whole lot, many more folks who are participating and actively support the program.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : But I’ve got over 700 professionals in my organization.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : Now that includes a best in class contact center.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So the AAdvantage customer service organization sits in my purview as well.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So we have a wonderful set of management professionals who are day in and day out, caring for the program alongside our data insights and analytics.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And then, and that includes research.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : But alongside that, we have professionals in our marketing organization, digital, IT, reservations, and sales who also are directly engaged in supporting of the program.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So I dare say we’ve got a good four-figure number supporting this really fantastic asset for American Airlines.
PAULA: Incredible, incredible.
PAULA: Well, 700 alone, as you said, with contact centers and all of the various departments.
PAULA: So it’s an extraordinary operation.
PAULA: So given all of the data that you have access to and, you know, just your awareness of what’s going on in the world of marketing.
PAULA: What kind of trends, Bridget, are you seeing overall in the industry?
PAULA: And that’s either within the airline industry, because again, we have a shared passion for airlines.
PAULA: But even if, you know, just in general in terms of loyalty.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : Yeah.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So your questions are so great.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So the consumer who is a frequent flyer typically skews wealthier and educated, and are typically spending a lot of the money on discretionary items, right?
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So they are exposed to many brands, right?
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And they’re day-to-day consuming lives.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And so what happens is when they are experiencing a great interaction with another brand in retail, let’s say Amazon, they understandably then have loftier expectations of other brands outside of that vertical, right?
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So we are certainly subject to that as well.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : Heightened expectations that may be borne out elsewhere, but are then imposed on our company, our industry as well.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So wonderful targets that get set elsewhere.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And of course, we work to create our own targets too, but that’s really our reality.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So heightened standards, sometimes set by our industry and our company, and oftentimes set outside of our industry.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So I would offer no argument whatsoever.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : Digitization is the name of the game, right?
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And it’s just an ability to be more frictionless, more personalized, it’s just easier, it’s faster, and it really is more relevant at the customer’s terms, more compatible way in which to engage and interact.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : Personalization, as I’ve mentioned within that, is just really important.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And as I said, frictionless ease, it’s just got to be easy.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : It cannot feel like one more thing on the to-do list.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : It’s just got to fill, just flowing right off the customer.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And that’s what we are striving for here all the time, ourselves to interact with our customers in that manner.
PAULA: Amazing, amazing.
PAULA: And just one piece, I’d love to know where you feel you’re at.
PAULA: And this is purely, I suppose, a subjective, I suppose, opinion.
PAULA: A lot of brands talk about personalization, and it’s the holy grail and it’s the new oil.
PAULA: Do you feel American is doing personalization at the level that you feel it should be done?
PAULA: Or where do you feel you’re on that journey?
PAULA: Do you think there’s still a long way to go?
PAULA: Or how comfortable are you with how you’re delivering on that?
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So I want to answer that in the way that I find this opportunity.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : I think it’s important to address it with great humility, because I think this journey of personalization is going to be never ending.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : Because I think one is going to learn more about our customers and our company and ourselves every day, that we will have some insight from, that we’re going to want to action.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So I would offer to you, we’re out the gate.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And this, to me, is going to be, if we’re doing it right, it’s going to be an ongoing journey that will fill, we always have opportunity to do better.
PAULA: Okay.
PAULA: Okay.
PAULA: And it’s a great answer, because I often make the point, and I know you’ve listened to previous shows, it always, to me, comes back to the intention of the leadership.
PAULA: So if the intention of the leadership is ongoing improvement and ongoing personalization and continually making it better, then it always will.
PAULA: And that humility will come through for consumers, for sure.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : That’s right.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : I insist that we approach this with humility and with curiosity, and just always be asking the question, you know, what can we learn?
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : What more can we do?
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : But it’s got to be relevant.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : It’s got to matter to the customer.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : It has to be what we can tell the customer once versus what we have.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : It’s just got to be.
PAULA: Yeah.
PAULA: And I think that’s when it becomes an emotionally connecting loyalty program, because again, there’s so many transactional programs out there.
PAULA: And that’s when consumers just go, well, that’s not good enough.
PAULA: So, you know, you’re definitely getting into that amazing space.
PAULA: So it’s incredibly exciting.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : Yeah.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And then we get to we use travel.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : I mean, talk about something that’s endlessly emotional.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And that’s ours at the core of what we do to engender loyalty with our customers.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : I mean, we just have just the holy grail.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And we have got to make sure we treat it with the respect it so deserves.
PAULA: It definitely does.
PAULA: And I suppose it’s a particularly difficult time for travel, you know, with the virus.
PAULA: We’re literally recording this now.
PAULA: I think today is the April the 17th and literally releasing next week.
PAULA: So tell me how is American coping with COVID-19 and, you know, how will the crisis maybe affect the AAdvantage Program?
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So I would share with you that American Airlines and our 130,000 employees are approaching this with great resilience and great creativity on how we’re solving the problems and adaptability.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And it is a very tough and difficult time for our company, our industry and just the world in which we live.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : But I’m certainly very proud of how the people who are American Airlines are handling this and making our way through it.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And that starts at the top.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : I think our leadership is just doing a really admirable job, a very noble job.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So we will get through this, Paula.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : It is true that the industry has had its large impacts in our past.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So we will come through this.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : We will be on the other side of it.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : This may prove to be like no other.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : But we will be better for it.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : That’s for sure.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And on the Advantage Program, no argument with our customers flying dramatically less.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : The program reflects that as well.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So there’s not nearly the engagement through flying that we would be seeing on this beautiful April day in 2020.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : But what is interesting is how much engagement we’re having on the ground.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So still the affinity for the miles, still the affinity for travel is bearing out in the behavior that we are seeing in behaviors that have people just reflective of the times.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So the co-brand spend or home delivery or wine delivery or retail, all those kind of commercial activities that are well enabled online, you still see a lot of great engagement in what we’re turning on the ground.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So while our customers are grounded, they remain very active with the program.
PAULA: Incredible.
PAULA: And it’s perhaps a message that airlines don’t always have enough opportunity to communicate because there’s so much to talk about in terms of the destinations and the travel.
PAULA: So the in the air piece.
PAULA: So it sounds like you’re taking the opportunity to create awareness of a whole other area of the AAdvantage Program that might have just kind of slipped below the radar in the past.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : Or certainly has bubbled up to the top in relevance.
PAULA: OK.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And the team is on their game about doing that because it’s only as good as it’s value added to the customer.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And the customer ultimately makes that decision and they make the decision about how they spend their money.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So the team’s done a great job redirecting very quickly to ensure that we’re doing something that’s of value to our customers.
PAULA: Fantastic.
PAULA: And I saw that you also recently extended the status for your members, given the whole coronavirus.
PAULA: So tell us exactly what you’ve done and how it came about.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So we have always tried very hard to have the customer at the center of everything we do.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And as this was clearly, absolutely impacting our customers from flying, which was not their intended behavior.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : I mean, these travel directives and then how the corporates handled it, etc.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : proved to be uncontrollable by our members.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And so here they are grounded through no actions of their own, but had done everything that was asked of them a year ago in earning their status.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And so we certainly knew that we had to both express our gratitude to our customers for that loyalty to us and be empathetic to their situation.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : Again, they are abruptly being grounded.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So as we thought about it, we knew we wanted to extend the status.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : That part was clear to us out the gate, but we wanted to make sure that we were also being practical given the environment, both the fair environment and the schedule that we are all operating.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : I mean, we’re all operating fractions of the schedules that we wouldn’t ordinarily be operating.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So how could we in current period, so we cared for the customers for essentially next year, but how could we in current period take care of those customers who don’t have status today?
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : We have a number of customers every year who earn status for the first time, and we had nine great weeks starting in 2020.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : We had lots of customers off to the races, off in pursuit of status.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So we knew we wanted to do something for them as well.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And for those who already earned status and were the beneficiaries of the extension, they may have been on path themselves for a higher status than what had been extended.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So we knew we wanted to do something for them as well.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So we also created lower elite qualifying thresholds for 2020.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And then alongside that, we wanted to make sure customers were able to realize the value of things like their Admiral’s Club membership, their upgrade certificates.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : These are benefits that either paid for or they earned.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So we extended those.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And then we also wanted to ensure that we incentivize our customers.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : Again, think about, think about that trip.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : You know, maybe you’re not traveling right now, but go ahead and indulge in thinking about when you are ready to go, where might you go.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So we offered a vacations discount to our elite customers.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And then as I mentioned to you a moment ago, we’re seeing a wonderful engagement on the ground.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And we had this benefit for many years that we actually retired about a decade ago.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And that is, if you spend a dollar on your co-branded credit card, you could earn a mile towards lifetime status in the AAdvantage Program up to our second level, which is platinum.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : It was wildly, wildly popular.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So in a period of time where I wasn’t working in the program, we chose to sunset that.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And it was a unique, it was a point of distinction though for American Airlines.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And because we saw some wonderful engagement on the ground, we brought that back, we brought that benefit back for the balance of the year.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So between May and December, your spend on either a co-branded card issued on behalf of American by a city or Barclays or select, this is a new one, a select international cards, because we issue our cards in a number of countries outside the United States.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : Your spend qualifies for earning lifetime mile status too.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So those were the kind of the rationale between appreciation, empathy and incentivizing our customers were really kind of the themes we cared for and what you saw earlier this week to our customers.
PAULA: That’s extraordinary.
PAULA: Yeah.
PAULA: And again, it is all about empathy because as you said, this is being imposed on all of us.
PAULA: And for me, it’s certainly very difficult living away from home, not to be able to travel back to family and friends.
PAULA: So, if the airline didn’t respect that I really am missing out on the whole industry and penalized me as a result, I mean, it just would damage the relationship.
PAULA: So, a lot of proactive stuff going on there.
PAULA: And just, I suppose, we’re coming just towards the end of the interview, Bridget.
PAULA: Just want to maybe just generally ask what kind of things you’re thinking about going forward, maybe beyond COVID-19 or any other kind of ideas that you’re excited about that you see in other industries.
PAULA: Is there anything else that you wanted to add in terms of where you’re going with AAdvantage?
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So, I will offer to you that we are really working ever harder about advantage being the point of engagement or relationship for all of American Airlines.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : It’s just such a distinguishing point on offering that or providing that to the airline.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And I think you should expect us to continue to work nonstop on creating experiences that are easy and with as little friction as possible, that they are going to be personalized, that the value exchange that I referenced is balanced and relevant, and that the customer feels that they’re in a dialogue with the airline, with the program, they’re in conversation with us, that we are using what we hear and learn from them back into the business, so that they feel that it’s being actioned.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So, you should expect those types of things to continue, and absolutely an undertone of travel.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So, we’re not flying everywhere we want to be flying today, but prior to this, we were putting just some fantastic dots on the map.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : The more dots on the map, the more places our customers are going to be motivated and inspired to travel, which means involved in our program, and that we will seek to be interacting with our customers and the channels that they prefer.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And yes, digital is a big one, but you know what?
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : We’ve had extraordinary success with our telephone line.
PAULA: Wow.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : Technology from the 19th century has a role still with American Airlines.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So, look for us to be out there broadly across many channels, but it’s all fueled by our data and insights, and it’s really proven quite helpful to us being relevant, because with relevance, you engender trust, and with trust, you have loyalty.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And so, there you have where we’re going to go.
PAULA: That’s incredible, Bridget.
PAULA: And again, I suppose there’s another guest recently who mentioned that whole piece around talking on the phone and reaching out to people in ways that might be considered not scalable and not viable, but actually the power of one phone call from anyone in America to empathize with the customer, and makes an extraordinary impact.
PAULA: And perhaps that is the differentiator, because we all know it’s quite easy to send out an email blast or any other form of communication.
PAULA: So I love the dialogue mindset to make sure that it is a two-way street.
PAULA: Yeah, no, very powerful.
PAULA: And the other thing I love actually that you talked about Bridget is the vacations discount, because I’m a real planner, and I think most of us who, you know, professionals, we’re working hard, you know.
PAULA: So, six days a week, sometimes seven.
PAULA: And the critical thing is to know when’s the payback for me personally.
PAULA: And it is all about driving inspiration.
PAULA: So, I think to use the Advantage Program to drive people to think about their next holiday is a very good idea as well.
PAULA: So, one I’ll definitely be tapping into.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : Absolutely, you know, we’re encouraging folks to be thinking about it, even though they’re not yet ready to travel.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : But go ahead and be thinking about where you want to go next and start planning for it.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And it’s, it’ll be wonderful and it’ll be ready for you with a welcomed open arms.
PAULA: Oh my goodness, that’s gorgeous.
PAULA: That’s gorgeous.
PAULA: So, listen, was there anything else you wanted to add, Bridget?
PAULA: I definitely wanted to just, I suppose, as I always do, close with asking what kind of resources that you recommend the loyalty managers who listen to this show should consider reading.
PAULA: You know, there’s so many different channels out there.
PAULA: So, you know, from somebody at your level who’s got this kind of background, what do you recommend to the loyalty managers around the world who are looking for inspiration professionally?
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : I think it’s really important to have strong business acumen in all matters, but I really do draw upon it myself in the role that I have.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So, you know, I’m an avid reader of many, many, many publications daily.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : So, you know, The Wall Street Journal and The Economist and Bloomberg are just, to name a few, with great religion, I’m reading those.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And then I love podcasts, I love tech talks.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : I follow Simon Sinek, I follow Dan Ariely, I listen to Shelly Palmer.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : There’s a lot of great folks out there that aren’t necessarily talking about loyalty, but they are talking about human behavior.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : And that to me is really a wonderful source of inspiration and learnings that I then worked hard to apply within the AAdvantage Program for American Airlines.
PAULA: Yeah, yeah.
PAULA: Perfectly said, Bridget, actually.
PAULA: I’m also a constantly curious student of human behavior.
PAULA: And I think the older I get, the more fascinating I find it.
PAULA: So there’s definitely a shared passion there as well.
PAULA: So all of those references that you’ve mentioned, I’ll put into the show notes, as well as obviously links to your own profile on LinkedIn and obviously the AAdvantage Program.
PAULA: So I just want to say a huge thank you from my side, Bridget, at the start of the show, actually before we came on air, I did mention that I looked up how your name translates because it is an Irish name.
PAULA: So just for listeners, I will share that Bridget means power and strength and noble or exalted one.
PAULA: So I think AAdvantage is incredibly lucky to have you leading its program.
PAULA: So I just want to say thank you so much from Let’s Talk Loyalty.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : Thank you.
BRIDGET BLAISE-SHAMAI : I’ve enjoyed this very much, Paula.
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