Originally Posted by
eamus
It is - but if I had $20K worth of trips lined up (say, a RT to Australia in J from NYC for myself and a colleague) it would seem criminal not to take EXP into the bargain.
You can't use this to buy travel for a colleague. The rules are specific that the name on all tickets must match that of the cardholder, period. (Otherwise folks would buy a $20K card, get EXP status right away, and pay for friends' and colleagues' travel until it was used up. If it was me, I'd even give 'em a small discount to make up for the affinity card miles they're not earning by paying for the tickets themselves.)