WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has refused to let a company continue to buy and sell American Airlines’ frequent flyer points while the airline presses a suit to stop the practice.
The high court refused to lift a temporary injunction against Frequent Flyer Depot Inc. A lower court judge had banned the company from working with American Airlines AAdvantage points while the airline’s lawsuit against the brokers proceeds.
American Airlines says Frequent Flyer Depot’s practice of getting American’s passengers to sell their frequent flyer points is illegal. The brokers use the points to buy tickets for people who do not want to deal directly with American Airlines.
American says its AAdvantage program prohibits the selling of frequent flyer points.
The brokers say that buying an airline ticket from them is cheaper than buying it from American. They also say the AAdvantage program is not a contract under which the airline can sue.
