Meet the woman now in charge of American's AAdvantage frequent flyer program
American Airlines has a new head of its frequent flyer program.
Longtime executive Julie Rath was appointed to a new role as vice president of customer experience, loyalty and marketing.
Rath previously served as vice president of customer experience and reservations, a role in which she oversaw various parts of the airport and customer experience. Among other functions, she oversaw the teams that help rebook passengers after operational issues like weather disruptions. She also helmed the departments in charge of handling checked baggage.
AAdvantage has been without an executive head since the previous president, Rick Elieson, resigned in September after nearly 30 years at the airline.
AAdvantage was led in the interim by Heather Samp, the loyalty program's managing director, who will continue in the role and report to Rath.
While Elieson focused solely on AAdvantage in that role, Rath's responsibilities also include marketing and various aspects of customer experience that she carries over from her previous role. She will report to Alison Taylor, American's chief customer officer.
"These remarkable leaders are each strategic, enthusiastic champions of the customer experience," Taylor said in a press release. "We look forward to the great strides we will continue to make in providing an easy, consistent experience for our customers under their leadership."
Read more: 7 elite status qualification changes TPG staffers hope to see in 2022
Rath has about three decades of airline industry experience. She began her career with Northwest Airlines in 1991, continuing with Delta Air Lines after its merger with Northwest, according to LinkedIn. She joined American in 2016 as the managing director of customer experience and customer service recovery.
Rath's appointment comes several weeks into an overhaul of the AAdvantage frequent flyer status program.
Under the new program, a new metric called "Loyalty Points" replaces the previous elite status benchmarks, Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) and Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQDs). Members earn Loyalty Points when they earn AAdvantage miles — one mile earned equals one Loyalty Point. While the requirements for each status tier are steep, making it more difficult to earn status through flying alone. On the upside, however, almost all mileage-earning activity counts towards status now, including credit card spend and the use of shopping portals.
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