Originally Posted by bjtaylor
First, let me introduce myself. I am a student in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania and am relatively new to these boards, but love them... I routinely fly AA from PHL -> DFW, but book through to HOU, as AA connects through DFW but is forced to match Southwest fares, so this drop the price by $100+ usually...
I am looking to do the gold or even the platinum challenge this fall, and I am planning 4 or so trips home in a 3-month time span...
My questions:
1) Do O, N, or Q classes count towards the AA Gold Challenge (usually the only fares I can afford).
2) I am trying to make my flights home mileage runs, and have looked at booking various items, but I don't know if there is anything round-trip wise that could challenge an O or N class fare at around $200.
3) What is the least most plausible number of trips I could take from PHL -> HOU (or other local Southwest city by booking through DFW) in order to qualify for Gold - and Plat? I'm trying to reduce cost/maximize output here (which is a universal goal).
I'm willing to do other mileage runs from PHL during the challenge period, but need advice from you professionals out here
. Please suggest anything you can that I might be able to do, I would really appreciate it
.
I too am a student (at the University of Wyoming) and I will get status via a challenge. To address your questions:
1) O, N, and Q class does count towards the challenge. But, because the challenge is based on points and not miles these classes will earn .5 points per mile. So in all actuality you will need to fly 10,000 miles when booked in these classes. (By the way, once you get status these fare classes will have a 1:1 ratio for miles flown.)
2) I just did a quick search for PHL-HOU on Oct. 23 and 25 and found this: PHL-DFW-HOU-DFW-ORD-PHL for ~$200. This will get you 1,891 points -- you will need 5,000 points in 90 days to do a gold challenge.
3) According to the routing I just listed you will need to make 3 trips to do a gold challenge.
You might have to do what I did -- do some mileage runs. I am doing a run over labor day weekend, so whenever your school has a few days off do a run. I just do my reading and notes when on the plane. AA has some cheap fares from ORD to San Juan, PR. Also, you might hear people say that gold status isn't that great and it's somewhat easy to attain. But, you as well as myself are students. I think the fact that we go to school full time and have elite status is, for lack of a better term, amazing. Flying with status is so much better than flying with the lowest status. Good luck!