Originally Posted by owie69

Like the others, I would take a cheap, unnecessary flight to achieve Elite status for the various reasons above, but the OP is talking about cutting a trip short and paying extra money to complete the Elite qualifications. Not quite the same thing.

If the reason you did not want to journey back on 12/31 was purely based on the flight cost, then yes, pay the $200, go home early, be Elite for 2008. If you just wanted to stay a few more days, then it is tougher to justify cutting short an international trip to qualify.

I am guessing you need most of the return EQMs to achieve Elite or else you would just spend the $200 on a mileage run prior to this trip, right?