Tag Archives: Gold Status

Our Flight Home From Barbados: AA Gold Status Pays Off

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a man holding a baby

We had a very nice flight home from Barbados on Lucas’ 3 month birthday.

On our first flight from Barbados to Miami, Kim and I each had an aisle seat. The middle seat on my side ended up being empty so Kim changed seats with me a couple of times to feed the baby. The flight attendants were very nice on the flight as were many other passengers. The only real problem was after landing. Our stroller did not make it to the gate and was sent to the baggage claim area.

a baby lying on a white sheet
After wasting some time waiting for the stroller, we had a long walk to the passport control area. With only a little over 2 hours between flights this did not give us a lot of time to get through passport control, re-check our bags and go through the security screening again.
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It would definitely be nice if people with babies were placed on a fast track line to make things a bit easier.
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We stopped to grab something to eat before heading over to our gate and within 5 minutes of sitting down my name was called to report to the check-in counter.
I couldn’t imagine what they needed. Did they need to check our tickets or ID? Maybe it had something to do with flying with an infant.
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When I showed up at the counter, the friendly American Airlines representative told me that the flight had been oversold and that we were being upgraded to first class! He then said to me “You’re gold right?”
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This was the first time that getting gold status had paid off!
(Check out my post on Reaching Gold Status and )

Sitting upfront in first class was a great way to end our trip. The extra space in the seats and generous recline made for a comfortable, quick flight back from Miami to New York.

The service in first is a big upgrade from coach.
In coach all that is offered on short flights is beverage service- water, juice, soda or coffee.  Anything else you pay for. You can purchase snacks, sandwiches & liquor if you choose to do so.

In first there was no meal service but we did get brought drinks and snacks a few times.
Prior to take-off a flight attendant came around with a tray of juice and water.

Once we got in the air the beverage cart came by. I decided to have a ginger ale with vodka.

a glass of liquid and a can of vodka

The first snack was a small glass of warm, mixed nuts. It was definitely tasty and went well with my drink!

a glass full of nuts

The other snack was a warm English toffee cookie. It was really good and I ended up having seconds.

a fried food on a plate
Thanks to the upgrade, we had a really comfortable final flight home. Lucas slept like a champion and was able to stretch out and get very comfortable.
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I am glad to have had such great experiences so far flying with an infant. After getting through four flights on his first trip, Lucas is a real pro at flying! Too bad lap babies do not earn frequent flyer miles. I can’t wait for our next trip!