Hi-

Since you're only 1/2 way to DL elite, you're a prime candidate for the AA Challenges.

Read the AA forum for more information than you need to know. In a nutshell- you have three months to get 5,000 (Gold) or 10,000 (Platinum) Q-points to get status. Q-points are earned at 50% of mileage on discount economy, so two cheap JFK-LHR tickets will net you Gold, for instance.

A BIG NOTE: However, challenges started in the first half of the year only earn status through 02/02, while challenges started after are good through 02/03. So unless you have a lot of flying coming up and/or you can requalify for next year on actual mileage in 2001 (25, 50 or 100K), my advice is to not worry about anything for the next few months and do an AA challenge in the 2nd half of the year.

I'm an AA flyer and have had no problems flying out of JFK, LGA and (sometimes) EWR. However, if you're convenient to EWR, you might want to consider CO for the range of non-stops.