The airline American Airlines has to deal with a class action lawsuit in the United States of America that was filed in a federal court in San Jose: The plaintiffs accuse the carrier of discriminating against certain frequent flyers and closing their mileage accounts. At the same time, the miles collected would expire without replacement.

Among other things, it concerns a case in which American Airlines unilaterally terminated AAdvantage accounts at the beginning of 2020. Around 550.000 miles collected were said to have been canceled without compensation. This is also said to have had an impact on award flights that had already been booked, as these were also said to have been subsequently canceled by American Airlines.

American Airlines alleges violations of terms and conditions

The lawsuit filed last week argues that the complete closure of frequent flyer accounts while simultaneously canceling all miles already earned was inappropriate. Any benefits gained by previously flying with this carrier would have been lost. This is said to have put the affected passengers at a disadvantage.

American Airlines has already filed a brief to defend the lawsuit. It is alleged that the termination of membership in the cases pending in court occurred because the affected participants violated the terms and conditions. The airline has not yet responded to the allegations.

Credit cards may have played a role

In the United States, credit cards that allow you to earn miles are very common and are offered by various banks. There are always promotions that give you a lot of bonus points just for completing the deal. That is exactly what could have played a role, because the plaintiffs are said to have purchased several credit cards that can be used to collect American Airlines miles. As a result, they are said to have benefited from numerous special promotions and generated a significant amount of award miles.

The card-issuing banks are not named in the lawsuit. However, American Airlines appears to take the position that there can only be one credit card that can earn miles per AAdvantage account. But the plaintiffs see it differently because there is no such clause in the terms and conditions of the banks, or even of American Airlines. They are therefore of the opinion that the termination by the airline, including the deduction of miles that have already been collected, is unlawful.

In any case, the people affected are now demanding financial compensation for the canceled miles in court. It can be assumed that the proceedings will drag their way through the courts, as American Airlines is concerned with an amount in the millions of US dollars. The federal court in San Jose has not yet announced a date for the oral hearing. The airline does not want to comment on the content, citing the ongoing legal proceedings.