Mileage Run Discussion - AA 55K Miles by End of Year

So I am new here and any help would help.

I am currently on the American Airlines status match from United and have the Executive Platinum level, I would love to keep it next year as I started flying mroe with American because of business and need your help.

What options do I really have from getting 55 thousand miles by the end of the year. I am based out of ORD (Chicago + Area) so that should help.

Please let me know what I can do to make these miles and what price I am looking at. I don't care where I fly to, only miles and cost. Thanks

checking this site several times a day ;)
I'm in the same boat, I need 45K miles, but I've got it covered
thanks to several of the deals I found on FT.

What options do I really have from getting 55 thousand miles by the end of the year. I am based out of ORD (Chicago + Area) so that should help.

Code share the CX metal, or just hop on AA153, duh.

Spock Seat.

ORD-NRT (AA153) works as does ORD-PVG (AA289).

Not sure if you have any travel scheduled or you need the Mileage Runs to get you there.

It seems that AA runs a DEQM special the second half of the year. Jump on it if you see an Asia city pair.

Since you are already EXP, it does not matter when you re-qualify as long as it is before the end of the year.

Either of the above flights will cost about $1K round trip this fall. PVG will require a visa.

You could also take the DFW-BNE-SYD DFW loop on Qantas as long as it is an AA numbered flight (codeshare).
ORD-> DFW 800 miles
DFW-> BNE 8300 miles
BNE -> SYD 467 miles
SYD -> DFW 8600 miles
DFW -> ORD 800 miles

Total is about 19,000 EQM.

You could also check out a OneWorld Explorer fare:
http://www.oneworld.com/flights/plan-book-online/

It seems that AA runs a DEQM special the second half of the year. Jump on it if you see an Asia city pair.
DEQM specifically does not apply to this promo.

DEQM specifically does not apply to this promo.
I was not referring to any specific promo. Not sure what promo you are referring to. But in general there seems to be some sweet promos towards the end of the year.

I was not referring to any specific promo. Not sure what promo you are referring to. But in general there seems to be some sweet promos towards the end of the year.
Sorry. AA sent out an email a few weeks after many of us 1Ks were status matched to EXP. We were told that we only needed to fly 55K EQM in order to requalify for the next year, but that this 55K could not include any DEQM, TEQM, or other promotions. 55K real miles flown. Presumably this is because the status match occurred about halfway through the year, so asking us to fly the whole 100K would be a little unreasonable. I assumed from the number he said he needed that the OP was referring to this promo.

Good thread, there are a lot of us in the same boat and trying to make it happen by the end of the year. I got a small head start with 10K in bookings that I would have normally made on UA and have another 10K already booked for September. I originally wanted to hit 30K by the end of August but the fares are just too high for me to justify it. The fares to Europe drope a lot after August 26th it appears so that is when I will most likely kick it into gear. I only need to do a few round trips to Europe between now and year end and I am seeing IND (my home base) to various locations in Europe in the ~$8xx range. That is the most bang for the buck for me. I would prefer NRT or HKG to pick up more miles in one trip but the cost per mile is just too high....hopefully a deal will pop later in the year but I am not counting on it.

Personally, I do not do pure mile runs just for miles. I take short trips to places that I want to go and hopefully get a good deal on flight and hotel. For the purposes of this elite status match I am probably going to go as far east in Europe as possible to add as many miles as possible such as HEL, IST and ATH. Also, I am flying west if possible...head to DFW when at all possible to squeeze a few extra miles.

Be careful on other carriers other than AA though. There are some fares on other carriers that simply do not earn full elite status miles. CX and QF were mentioned earlier but their cheap fares will most likely not give full miles if any in the case of CX so make sure you check those fare codes.

Good luck and report any really good fares you find!

gotten in on the RGN deal it would have been smooth sailing.

I flew a couple of LGA-PEK & JFK-PEK trips in April, each costing $750 a/i. Earned about 36K EQMs.

ORD-PEK is great, as it leaves around 10:45pm on Friday (the day I chose), arrives to PEK at 11:45pm on Saturday, and then I departed at 8:00am~ back to ORD, arriving to the US at 7:00am~.

I flew a couple of LGA-PEK & JFK-PEK trips in April, each costing $750 a/i. Earned about 36K EQMs.

ORD-PEK is great, as it leaves around 10:45pm on Friday (the day I chose), arrives to PEK at 11:45pm on Saturday, and then I departed at 8:00am~ back to ORD, arriving to the US at 7:00am~.

This looks like a good option. What is the upgrade potential on this route?

Excellent thread! I'm in the same boat from Sacramento, and trying to decide if I should make the shift. I'm sitting an unhappy 38k right now on UA (all flown in a tight 60 days), so 62k to requal 1K or 55k to requal ExecPlat. The challenge I have is that AA fares have been coming in very high ex-SMF, and I'm not going to drive 2 hours each way to SJC or SFO for every flight when I lived 15 minutes from SMF.

I have 3 China and 2 NYC flights that need to be booked (~49k miles), the options for using AA SWUs to Asia in 2013 with the limited AA-metal flights is giving me pause. Which sucks, because AA has been doing great follow up, and UA has been treating me like dirt.

This looks like a good option. What is the upgrade potential on this route?

There were empty seats in C both ways, on both trips.

When I checked-in at PEK, they were even selling Y>C for $700~, and C>F for $900, IIRC.

I used SWUs and cleared at booking (about a month before).

Sorry. AA sent out an email a few weeks after many of us 1Ks were status matched to EXP. We were told that we only needed to fly 55K EQM in order to requalify for the next year, but that this 55K could not include any DEQM, TEQM, or other promotions. 55K real miles flown.

After flying 90K so far this year with the all-in AAdvantage miles cut from MM status for a Lifetime PLT where I am at 3MM (actual), but it's recognized as 2.93MM (not true), kicking my four (4) E-VIPs as they dangle on a fish-hook, I think I should be granted the EXP status now, and not you for only 55K (or via a status match); otherwise, maybe my four (4) E-VIPs should be in my account for my next 16,000 mile trip as a Lifetime PLT that hurdles me over the EXP threshold when I land. Thanks.

Spock Seat. :p

I think I should be granted the EXP status now, and not you for only 55K (or via a status match).
You're right. 55K for EXP seems pretty low.

Excellent thread! I'm in the same boat from Sacramento, and trying to decide if I should make the shift. I'm sitting an unhappy 38k right now on UA (all flown in a tight 60 days), so 62k to requal 1K or 55k to requal ExecPlat. The challenge I have is that AA fares have been coming in very high ex-SMF, and I'm not going to drive 2 hours each way to SJC or SFO for every flight when I lived 15 minutes from SMF.

I have 3 China and 2 NYC flights that need to be booked (~49k miles), the options for using AA SWUs to Asia in 2013 with the limited AA-metal flights is giving me pause. Which sucks, because AA has been doing great follow up, and UA has been treating me like dirt.
I would think that's generally a problem from SMF (higher fares than SFO or LAX) - what do you normally do?

Can you do cheap positioning flights on AS or WN? Another option is to acquire some Avios points on BA. The direct flights on AA from SMF-LAX should only cost 4500 Avios each way.

ETA: Here's a similar thread in the AA forum:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-aadvantage/1368855-aabsolute-ultimate-mr-can-done.html

No other online venue surpasses Flyertalk for this level and quality of dialogue. I am military and have been recently transferred to the Richmond, VA area. My new home airport is RIC.

I need 24,221 to requalify for Executive Platinum. With the wind down in the Middle East AO, I am no longer heavily traveling to US bases (here and elsewhere) readying our units for deployment.

Please give me itinerary recommendations. I have done research on my own, but you guys are excellent at this. I’m willing to drive to ORF/DCA/IAD/BWI (if necessary).

No other online venue surpasses Flyertalk for this level and quality of dialogue. I am military and have been recently transferred to the Richmond, VA area. My new home airport is RIC.

I need 24,221 to requalify for Executive Platinum. With the wind down in the Middle East AO, I am no longer heavily traveling to US bases (here and elsewhere) readying our units for deployment.

Please give me itinerary recommendations. I have done research on my own, but you guys are excellent at this. I’m willing to drive to ORF/DCA/IAD/BWI (if necessary).

Whats the best you have found? It helps to show you've done some work yourself and it also lets people have an idea of what CPM you're looking for in your trips. Be sure to also note if there are any days that don't work for you for getting in these runs.

I would think that's generally a problem from SMF (higher fares than SFO or LAX) - what do you normally do?

Can you do cheap positioning flights on AS or WN? Another option is to acquire some Avios points on BA. The direct flights on AA from SMF-LAX should only cost 4500 Avios each way.

ETA: Here's a similar thread in the AA forum:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-aadvantage/1368855-aabsolute-ultimate-mr-can-done.html

This might not help. I've found that a lot of the ex-LAX/SNA/SAN fares are coming in $100+ more than UA right now. It's really frustrating. I'm starting to think maybe AA has too many EXP's and the extra bookings are driving costs up. I can't justify paying $363 on AA when UA is at $170-$240. I'm hoping for better after Labor Day though.

Since you didn't mention where you normally fly for business, can you add additional segments into future trips?