Originally Posted by
Monoliths
Tell me if I am doing this wrong, but it seems like you could actually get high status for significantly cheaper.
On my typical route which consists of Minneapolis-Amsterdam-Berlin, I could technically hit diamond in 3 flights by spending $15k (3 first class tickets). It takes nearly $30k just to make Platinum as it stands.
The changes are for redeemable miles, not qualifying miles.
One thing to keep in mind with the calculator - the example you showed with $5000 from MSP-TXL is most likely for J, so you have to also add the class of service bonus to the old number for it to be accurate. The new calc you still come out ahead, but not by as much as this makes it look.
With a cheap Y fare on this route you would lose.