American Airlines has released an update to their Android app that now allows you to seamlessly pinpoint your pick up point for Uber right from within the app. The partnership between the two companies is new and while the Uber pick up isn’t in every location American flies, it will save you from having to fumble around through both apps to arrange your pick up location. To do this, users need to go to the terminal maps in the app, which also have been significantly improved, and let the app leverage your location services to pinpoint you and get you an Uber. There is even a $20 discount if you use the code RIDEAA for you first time Uber users.
The update to the terminal maps and Uber partnership are not the only changes in updated American Airlines app. Any trip that you access on Find Reservations will now automatically be saved to the home screen under My Trips to make it easy for you to access them later. You can also request and view the status of 500-mile upgrades for up to two passengers on the same reservation in the app. As a frequent flyer on America, one of the features I’m personally looking forward to in this app is the login screen remembering my login preferences without having to enter them each
time.
As you would expect, there are also a fair number of bug fixes in this release. One bug that caught me out was the inability to show boarding passes on my Android Wear watch. The issues did not impact all smartwatches but certainly impacted my Moto 360. The bug would find my reservation on my watch but when I went to show the bar code to scan, it would only show a blank screen. The American team worked hard and in a conversation I had with one of the developers, he said “This was a tough one to fix”. In testing of boarding passes for an upcoming trip, I can confirm that the boarding passes are displaying properly on Android Wear now and the issue should be resolved.
The new version of the app is version 4.4 for those keeping score at home and if you have the app already installed on your phone, the OTA update has been released and should be on your device very soon. To take full advantage of the app, you’ll need to have a sign-in on AA.com and an AAdvantage Frequent Flyer account (although not required for much of the app – only for personalized information)