Originally Posted by Happy

Essentially your proposal is to buy the 5K miles with $250. Not sure this can be any good deal than Opt 2.

The hassle is a non issue if you can manage to spend 1500 for 3 consecutive months you certainly can mange to continue 3 more months then get a total of $350 credit versus only $100 credit and 5K miles which costs $200 to "buy". Meanwhile the Exec card gives you the AA lounge access whether you use it or not, you get 3 more months benefit, plus the 1500 spend still earns you 1500 miles.