What's your advantage account number? Or say, I don't have one."
Calling American Airlines can be a time-consuming process as I discovered while trying to get information about purchasing gift cards. Most people call American Airlines to get help with flight reservations, ticket changes, baggage claims, cancellations/delays and refunds along with accessing accounts. I was first greeted by an automated message saying the call was being recorded, and suggesting I could receive faster service by using the American Airlines mobile app or website.
In addition, the recording informs callers that American Airlines cannot address changes or questions related to travel reservations booked through an agency. Customers need to call that agency directly. After this, I had to sit through another minute of messages directing callers to visit American Airlines' website for questions and concerns.
After these messages, callers are guided to press 9 for Spanish, which I thought would be the first option, or remain on the line to enter in an advantage award number. I didn't have this information so waited for a menu of options, but was instead directed to say in a few words what help I needed.
Having no current reservation or booking, I opted to gather information about buying gift cards. I said the words 'gift cards' and was placed on hold while another automated recording informed me that my hold time could be a while and I could keep my place in line and receive a call back in 26-36 minutes by pressing 1. Otherwise, I could schedule a call back for a later time by pressing 2 or stay on the line by pressing 3.
I chose to wait and see how long it would take to reach a service representative. While holding, I was still given the option to get help from American Airlines' website. After about 10 minutes, a rep came on the line and asked how I could be helped. After asking for information about gift cards, the rep shared the options of buying a plastic or virtual gift card that could be mailed or emailed directly to the recipient. The tangible gift cards would require a shipping fee while the virtual cards are sent for free. The rep also suggested I could go online to read details about gift cards and decide which type to purchase. Gifts cards can only be used toward the purchase of air travel,
The conversation was quick once I got through to a rep but didn't seem to warrant the amount of time spent on the phone wading through recordings and options. The website is the better choice, yet it seems best to request a call back if you need to speak with someone directly or can't find what you need online.