Originally Posted by
Gold_Member
B) Assuming I fly an AONEx that has 45000 miles and that I undertake the Platinum challenge with all flights credited to AAA, how will I manage to attain EXP/OWE Emerald?? Even with the bonus earn rate via the Platinum challenge (100%) it seems I will still fall short of the magic 100K miles required for EXP. On the other hand, if all of the flights were credited to QFF, I'd have QFF Platinum status about 2/3rds the way through the trip. I could then push out the final third of travel for 11-12 months later to coincide with my next assessment period and requalify for QFF Platinum for another year.
C) Lets assume I am now AAA EXP with 100K+ miles to my name and I want to redeem flights within Australia on QF. From what I've read, the QF flights I choose must have an AA codeshare, otherwise its not available. Well from my inital checks, it seems MEL-PER (as an example) offers a single daily AA codeshare however there is no return codeshare available!! What is the point of then holding AA status and redeeming points in Australia if you then can't use them at all, or only on very selected flights which may not match your timeframe requirements? Wouldn't I then be better off retaining QFF despite the reduced points value?
D) From what I can tell, the major drawcards of EXP status in the AAA program are:
1) Points redemption value
2) 8 x eVIP upgrades (AA metal, and subject to availability)
3) US domestic compimentary or cheap upgrades
From all the research I've done, I concur with the first point (although question C poses an issue for Oz based travel). The second point however, is probably an exceptional benefit. Would I be right in assuming that since the 8 eVIP upgrades can be used on AA metal both domestically and internationally, I could then choose to upgrade the longest possible international economy flights to maximise this value? That could account for up to $30-40K if you were to purchase these as outright upgrades alone . This sounds too good to be true... If so, what is the availability like to do so?
With AA you have to distinguish between elite qualifying miles and points and redeemable miles and points. In J and F all OW metal (except BA between the US and UK) earn 1.5 AA EQP per mile and 1 EQM per mile. The work-around on the US><UK BA business is to fly to/from Canada or Mexico, where there's no limit. Besides, this "Bermuda II" restriction is probably going away soon anyway.
However there are bonus redeemable miles awarded above the EQM - a 25% bonus for business class and 50% for first class ("cabin" or "class of service" bonus) and in addition, AA Platinum and Executive Platinum members receive a 100% redeemable mileage bonus on some, but not all OW carriers. Those include QF, IB, AY, CX and LA (don't remember RJ or MA) but not on BA or JL. If you fly an AA code on BA or JL you receive the same bonus miles you would as if it was AA metal.
The Plat challenge requires 10,000 EQP (within 90 days) while flying on AA-numbered flights. So for example if you start in Oz, flying J or F, and use the AA code on, say, SYD-LAX, you'd achieve Plat on the first flight (7488 x 1.5 = 11,232) and with cabin and Plat bonus (which you earn starting with the flight that takes you over 10K points) you'd earn around 16,850 redeemable miles in business or 18,720 in first.
However with 45K miles on your route you'd still be 21,666 away from EXP. You would need to decide if the extra flying was worth it. I would look at the earn/burn figures myself but it's always a judgment call. Remember AA status does not get you lounge access for any domestic flights in the USA, so it might depend on your overall flying patterns. AA eVIP upgrades are only good on AA metal.
You can use AA miles on any AA partner, including QF. What's hard (close to impossible) is to use AA miles on QF transpacific flights in J or F, but that's due to lack of availability, not anything having to do with codes. I'm not aware of any problem in redeeming AA miles for domestic or trans-Tasman, or Oz-Asia flights, etc
I really haven't had too hard a time redeeming eVIPs on long international sectors, but of course it's always a matter of specific flights, dates, etc. Some routes are hard, some are easy. Depends.