Originally Posted by
andersonCooper
I did dummy booking on AA on PHX and ORD and can't even find a $52 Basic Economy deal.
In terms of overhead bin access: you could consider 1)checking you bag for $25 for the first one (plus $25 service charge, $50 in total for 1st bag), given the price difference between Basic Economy and Main Cabin is way higher than this. 2)The overhead bin restriction does not apply for status and credit card holders. However, status costs way more, and credit cards come with annual fees. The lowest annual fees product is $95, but sometimes the financial institutions (Citi or Barclay) could waive it for you.
Seat assignment, unfortunately, is not granted for status or credit card holders. At the end of the day, this is part of the ultra-low price of basic economy.
I really appreciate your response. I should have mentioned I only purchase one-way fares. As I type this, there is a $52 fare PHX-ORD at 6:20am for Jan 9th. I use Google Flights to get a general idea of pricing, then book thru AA.
The $25 checked bag fee is not as important to me as the convenience of simply getting off the plane and being on my way. Not to sound snobbish or lazy, but I don't want to walk over to baggage claim and wait for my "carry-on" sized luggage to appear on a revolving belt, not to mention the time it takes to check this bag before the flight, along with the added the risk that they'll lose it, which would totally destroy a trip.
In other words, no carry-on/no seat assignment is a deal breaker for me and I'd just assume fly Spirit or Frontier at that point (airlines that up until now, I've avoided like the plague). I've never paid an annual fee for a credit card except to American Express and I suppose I don't mind doing it here. But I'd have to do some math. My current credit cards earn me anywhere from 2%-5% cashback on purchases and this card will earn me 1 award mile for each EQD for any dollar spent and 2 miles for fare purchases. So far, it's looking like it might be worth doing both the credit card and the Gold challenge if I'm going to continue flying AA for this route unless I'm missing something.
Again, thanks for the response.
I should also note that while my travel days are "flexible" they are not so flexible that I can wait weeks. If I find out Sunday that I have to travel from PHX to ORD that week then I may have some flexibility as to the exact date and time, but I will have to travel that week. So it seems like I'm going to be spending +$3k a year sticking with AA no matter what I do. May as well get immediate status thru the challenge and get the card, right?