Originally Posted by
robsterny
My point is there isn’t much incentive beyond $28k.
All airlines have conveniently timed flights JFK-LHR. I don’t travel domestically much so don’t care about upgrades. And by reaching Diamond I have the status I need when i do fly domestically.
Thank you to everyone else for their constructive input. The solution in my situation seems to be to switch spending to AA once $28k is reached to provide some diversification. I appreciate everyone’s situation may be different, particularly if you live by a hub like ATL or MSP.
It seems an odd incentive that they’ve created here.
It is no different than the period before they introduced MQM Rollover to the program. Yes, if you don't really value the status benefits all that much due to primarily flying on paid J, then there's not much incentive to go beyond the status threshold. There are probably not as many people who fit your profile as you think and the ones that do aren't necessarily as analytical as you are. There's a reason why you ended up on FT which is a self-selecting community (and hence shouldn't be taken too seriously as the "norm").
Note that DL award levels now largely correlate with revenue fares to/from US/Canada and you can find better award deals if you understand how revenue fares work for finding the cheaper revenue fares. Namely, meeting advance purchase requirements and making roundtrip bookings that meet minimum stay requirements (typically a Saturday night stay or 7 days). You can also mix and match cabins and still qualify for the cheaper roundtrip mileage award levels (which have a 50 day advance purchase requirement and a Saturday night stay requirement along with roundtrip booking for the ones below).
