Originally Posted by
xzibit
Really? So it would be worth me signing up with AAdvantage then, and changing my FF number on my booking.
Is there much difference to the rewards?
M earns 50% miles on AAdvantage, and 1.0 QP/mile, while S earns 50% miles and 0.5 QP/mile. The Plat challenge is for Qpoints, so M earns twice as much for the challenge as the S fare does.
You don't say where in Australia you are going, but LHR-SYD-LHR is 21K miles. The S fare would earn 10.5K Qpoints and qualify for the Platinum challenge, while the M fare would earn 5.3K and qualify for a Gold challenge but you'd have to fly to Australia again within 90 days to get enough points to meet the Platinum challenge.
Edit to add that rules changed Jan 2007 for the AA Platinum challenge, making non-AA flights ineligible. Sorry.