A week and a half ago American Airlines announced three changes that have a common theme: you’re no longer a valuable, loyal customer when you travel with them when you buy the cheapest fare. Your loyalty doesn’t matter, even if you’re spending $30,000 a year on tickets and putting all of your spending on their credit card. If you fly expensive tickets for work, and then you’re cost conscious on a weekend trip with your family of four, you will be treated well when you fly those expensive tickets – but not on that trip with your family when it arguably matters most to you. After eliminating all mileage-earning on the cheapest ‘basic economy’ fares in the fall they will: charge customers on basic economy fares $5 more for checked bags than they charge regular customers – and that’s after raising the price of a checked bag $10 for everyone to begin with.…