iDine/Rewards Network - VIP Earnings Start with 11th, 12th, or 13th dine?

I'm at 9 dines for the year, and I have a large dine planned for this weekend. I plan on hitting several restaurants this week to hit VIP before the big spend this weekend.

Will I get the 5+5 AAdvantage miles with the dine that qualifies me for VIP, or with the next one? Also, I know that it says 12 dines, but when it tells me how many dines I need to hit VIP, it always adds up to 11 (as documented by others here as well). So the bottom line: Is it the 11th, 12th, or 13th dine that earns 5+5 miles?

Anyone who hit VIP for the first time this year could find out by looking at their Rewards History to see which dine jumped from 3 to 5 or 10.

I think it's the 10th or 11th dine. If it were me, I'd make a couple of $3-5 purchases as 'insurance' to make sure you're over the threshold.

Rewards Network words things somewhat misleadingly with the "12 dines" business. I've been elite with multiple partners for years; "status" has consistently kicked in when the 11th dine posted, making the 12th one the first "elite" dine of the year.

Thanks! Sounds like the answer (to which dine is the first one to earn VIP miles) is the 12th dine. I just did dine #10 tonight, so I'll probably go ahead and do #11 and #12 later this week just to make sure, just in case it's really #13. I want to make sure the big ticket gets full credit. (10 miles/$1 + 1000 miles/$75 can really add up! That's 1750/$75, or a bit over 4 cpm!!! I usually value miles at 2 cpm, so that's essentially a 50% discount on dining!)

I have very few iDine restaurants close to me (the nearest is about 10 miles away), and the ones I've tried haven't been that great (two of the closest ones are Denny's), which is why I've never pursued VIP status. I had a few dines this year where I was able to double-dip (one with OpenTable and iDine, another--twice--with Restaurant.com and iDine) and we dined five times at qualifying restaurants when we were out of town last week, so all of a sudden I was within striking range. Fortunately, I just discovered a gem of an iDine restaurant tonight. It's a burger joint with ice cream and shakes, and I'm in the same area with my son twice a week, so I'll be able to get VIP status cheaply and quickly with it.

Once all my points post, I'll follow up in the thread to confirm that #12 is the right answer!

"..and I have a large dine planned for this weekend"

Get your 'safety' hits in early ~ some joints seem slow to report, and you'd *hate* to have your really-big-do counted as #11 :mad:

/.

My 10th, 11th, and 12th dine have all posted (all at 3 miles per dollar, however). My account now reflects VIP status. I have a 13th dine that should post soon, and I suspect that it'll post at 5 miles per dollar (10 with the survey).

My big dine ended up falling through, but I'm sure I'll have others. With the current 1000 miles per $75 promotion, I'll be dining at iDine restaurants all I can between now and the end of the year. That's over 23 miles per dollar for VIPs. I value my AAdvantage miles at 2-3 cpm, so that's essentially a 50-70% discount on the food.

Dines go by the date of the restaurant visit. You do not have to worry about which dine posts first. That happened to me during an AA 1500 bonus miles promotion for first dines over $25. I spent $40 on my first dine but my second dine ($8) posted first. I just called RN and was told not to worry.

The 1500 bonus miles should post within 6 to 8 weeks after the dine.

Dines go by the date of the restaurant visit. You do not have to worry about which dine posts first. That happened to me during an AA 1500 bonus miles promotion for first dines over $25. I spent $40 on my first dine but my second dine ($8) posted first. I just called RN and was told not to worry.
Uh, that's because that particular promo didn't care which order you did the dines in. Until you did a $25 dine the promo ignored all other dines.

But there have other promos in the past such as "double miles on your first dine after registering", and that kind of promo it would most certianly matter what order they post (especially one posts very late, as in weeks later because you have to do a "missing dine" followup).

No. I had to spend $25 or more on my first dine after joining AA Rewards Network in order to earn 1500 bonus miles. I know other promotions do not care about the order, but this one did.


Moreover, the 1500 bonus miles have already posted in my AA account. It did not take 6 to 8 weeks for them to post. It was only about three weeks.

Just as a followup, my 13th dine posted and it was the first that posted as 5 miles per dollar spent. If anyone experiences anything different, they may want to post their results so that people can know if this is a YMMV situation. Glad to finally be VIP!

Just as a followup, my 13th dine posted and it was the first that posted as 5 miles per dollar spent. If anyone experiences anything different, they may want to post their results so that people can know if this is a YMMV situation. Glad to finally be VIP!

Just checked over my spreadsheet (I actually created one to keep track of my AA miles :D ) and it seems that you do earn $5 / mile on the 13th dine, but they retroactively credit the difference of the 12th dine several weeks later.

I've had an excel file called "idine" for years now. Four vertical columns: AA, AS, DL, and PC; the current month dates run down the far left column. I keep a free space next to each airline for number of dines toward re-qualification, promo visits, aggregate promo spending, etc. I keep roughly 3 months/page, deleting the page after all the dines/bonuses have posted correctly. I mark Fridays in the calendar column as several here are blacked out on weekends; I bold visits at once-a-month joints, though I've seen far fewer of those recently.

AA AS DL PC

January
1
2
3
4
5 Joe's Pizza (1/12) (AS visit)
6
7 Snooty Frenchy's (1/12; 43.40) (running total towards DL promo)



Can't get the column data to line up here, but you get the idea ...

Kebosabi, Thanks for the information about the 12th dine. I will keep an eye out for the credit. I have 17 dines in the month of December already, with about six more dines planned before Jan 1. Being VIP is great. The miles roll in.

Kebosabi, Thanks for the information about the 12th dine. I will keep an eye out for the credit. I have 17 dines in the month of December already, with about six more dines planned before Jan 1. Being VIP is great. The miles roll in.

Here's copy-and-paste from my spreadsheet:

09/12/06 AA Dining - Far East Café 54 mi (spent $18)
09/13/06 AA Dining - Red Brick Pizza 80 mi (spent $8)
09/30/06 AA Dining - Tier Upgrade 200 126 mi

The dine I did on 9/12/06 was my 12th dine. I got credited 54 miles based on $18 spent and at 3 mi/$1. Thought it was weird, but seeing that my 13th dine on 9/13/06 posted as 5+5 mi/$1, I didn't give much thought and believed that's how it was.

But in November '06, a mysterious "AA Dining Tier Upgrade 200" came up in my AAdvantage account. When I looked into to this, the miles was exactly the difference of 180 miles I should've received from my 12th dine.

So if nothing has changed since then, you should see something similar when you've forgotten about it :D



On another note, does anyone know if this mysterious bonus was a promo or do they still give this out as a conglatulatory surprise?

12/08/06 AA Dining - Build up 5000 miles 1000 mi

I don't recall ever registering for this back then, so I'm assuming this is a surprise gift from RN when you obtain 5000 miles. Again, didn't give much thought back then because I was happy to receive what I got :D

Couldn't find the answer to this question in this thread or any other but thought this question fit in with this post. How long does VIP status last...is it until the end of the following year? Or do you qualify in a particular year and it's only good for that year?

Good question - I think it's a calendar year phenomenon - qualify this year, you are good for the remainder of this calendar year and the following.

Perhaps Elizabeth can elaborate, as the T&Cs (http://aa.rewardsnetwork.com/terms.htm) and s (http://aa.rewardsnetwork.com/faqs.htm)do not seem to mention it, at least for AAdvantage.:td:

Couldn't find the answer to this question in this thread or any other but thought this question fit in with this post. How long does VIP status last...is it until the end of the following year? Or do you qualify in a particular year and it's only good for that year?

Couldn't find the answer to this question in this thread or any other but thought this question fit in with this post. How long does VIP status last...is it until the end of the following year? Or do you qualify in a particular year and it's only good for that year?

Through the following year - one's 12th (really 11th) dine in 2009 means "elite" status through 12/31/10, whether that was last January, or happens at the end of next month.

Through the following year - one's 12th (really 11th) dine in 2009 means "elite" status through 12/31/10, whether that was last January, or happens at the end of next month.

I had a feeling that was the case but couldn't find a definitive answer. Looks like I just need 3 more dines for 2010 VIP status.

BTW, for anyone trying to get VIP status I was at Steak & Shake yesterday (not very many good dining options near my job so decided to grab something there yesterday) and they have 1/2 off all drinks from 2-4pm. I realize not all Steak & Shakes are in the program but there are a couple around me. I'm meeting some friends for lunch tomorrow and plan on hitting S&S after for either a small milkshake or a soda to get another dine.