Originally Posted by
mike_la_jolla
I'm A-List Preferred now. I can't justify spending the money necessary to get to the A-List Preferred tier for 2015. I don't think that the extra money I need to spend to get to ALP is redeemed by the 100% match on points.
I think I'll slum it next year as a mere A-Lister. Am I missing something? Has anybody done the spreadsheet?
To answer the question of whether it is worth spending extra to get to the A+ tier, it depends on your usage pattern.
If you typically buy WGA fares and redeem for WGA fares, the effective discounts are
A-: 10.7% (12.5% before the devaluation)
A+: 17.1% (20% before the devaluation)
The difference between the two is 6.4%. To determine whether getting the A+ designation is worth it, estimate the cost of your next-year's travel and multiply by 6.4% - that's your break even point. So if you plan on spending 10k next year on travel, the A+ designation is worth it if it costs you less than $640.
If you typically buy Business Select fares and redeem for WGA fares, the effective discounts are
A-: 21.4% (25% before the devaluation)
A+: 34.3% (40% before the devaluation)
and the break even point is 12.9%. So if you plan on spending 10k next year on travel, obtaining A+ status is worth it if it costs you less than $1.29k.
There are also some fringe benefits to A+ such as the free internet and almost-guaranteed 1st place in the stand-by line, so you have to price in what those are worth to you as well.