MiamiAirport Formerly NY George

Unless you a have a fair number of International flights where lounge access is important no way I would see $739 worth it. Particularly if your are only flying 20 flights a year.

miamigrad

Welcome to FT.

There is a consolidated thread here:
[removed link]
Whether or not it is worth it, depends on your travel patterns and whether it is worth it to YOU.

Questions that I'd ask:
- How many international trips do you plan to take next year (for use of the lounge)?
- How many miles do you plan to fly (100% redeemable mile bonus vs. 25% as gold)?
etc.

achuang24

People will say it depends on your particular situation. My personal opinion will be buying it back will only be worth it if:
1. You plan to travel 3+ international trips for the rest of the year (Lounge access and double miles)
AND/OR
2. You have tons of domestic travel for this year (double miles benefit)

hangon

thanks for a very quick response.. I do not travel much international so it's not worth..
but one question I have on the challenge, I'm planning on taking an international trip to India next month so If I opt for challenge then will those miles considered as part of the challenge ?

clacko

aa has offered the "buyback" to plt & gld for quite a while....the price has gone up....imho, the math is easy....take the # of mi's you will fly the rest of the year....if you will total over 50k, compute the # that will get you to 50k, subtract your ytd mi's....multiply by .7 to find the additional bonus mi you will get...multiply by your value per rdm....compare to buyback cost....

also, guess how many more ugs you might get being plt rather than gld....

if you don't think you will make gld this year, consider the value of having gld in 2012....it could be significant if you check bags...

i wouldn't put any value on bragging rights for plt....

good luck...

miamigrad

Challenges are based on Elite Qualifying POINTS. As long as the trip is booked with the AA number, it will count toward the challenge.

The challenge section of the AA Wiki has some good information that I recommend you review:
http://www.flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/Challenge_(AA)

hangon

Need Suggestion

I'm planning on taking Platinum Challenge. I need AA Platinum.

I'm travelling to India next month
While Going :
USA To London on American Airlines
London to India on British Airways

While Return:
India to London on British Airways
London to USA on American Airlines

Now I have two questions.
1. All miles from USA to India will be credited to my AA or just only till London ?
2. I also have British Airways Executive Club Membership as well.. if AA only gives miles till london then I will use my BA membership to get access to BA lounge in london.

Please advise..

Alex_I

-If you do the Challenge, then, as stated in the post above, only flights marketed by AA (with an AA flight number) are eligible for earning points that count towards the completion of a Challenge.
As for miles, you can credit your BA flight to AAdvantage. You will also get qualification points but those will not be counted for the Platinum Challenge. I am not sure though whether you can split credit between AA and BA if you have a single ticket/record locator.

mikelat

I'd strongly second that. If you are not flying all that much then its not worth it.

mikelat

I've been told that AA has the ability to apply FF accounts per segment. I've applied it to some upcoming flights such that 1 segment is applied to AS and 1 segment to AA, at least according to the AA agent I spoke with. So, based on that, it *should* be possible to credit diff segments to diff FF programs if you call AA reservations.

grantsi

I'm in the same boat as many....travel was WAY down last year and so far has been this year. As a result, I have been downgraded to gold. The offer to buy back status is available for $739...I carry an AMEX plat so I might be able to knock that amount down to $539. We live in Chicago and my parents live in Baton Rouge....the reason I mention this is we are expecting our first child in August. While we have traveled with carry-on luggage for years, a car seat, stroller, misc stuff will require stuff be checked. However, if I loose status ( which I will in Feb 12 ), we will have to pay. Traveling from ORD - MSY typically got us upgraded when I was a plat.

My debat is whether $539 is worth 21 months of free checked baggage and the occasional upgrade. We fly to Europe a couple times a year to see family so I might be able to recognize the mileage benefit aswell. Any input from people who have kids....how much stuff do you really carry with you and how much does it cost to check.

folex386

With gold status you still get free checked baggage.

grantsi

True...I know I get the free baggage now...however, I just need to debate whether the opportunity to get a few upgrades before baby shows up as well as the mileage bonus is worth it.

I also have to gamble whether AA will offer the buy back next year...assuming I don't qualify for gold this year, I would have to buy that status back in 2012. I consider one of the big value add's of status not having to wait in the security line. Basically, I am paying $539 for platinum for 2011 and gold for 2012.

cody77

Is the buyback program an annual offer, or is it a hit or miss if they offer it? Debating rather or not to make some MR before years end. Company has been sending me on Continental more this year, which I hate. I'm now more in charge of who I fly, and I'm making AA my choice whenever possible. I'm currently Gold, but I don't see making it for next year unless I make some MR's or buy it back. Very pleased with my upgrade ratio. The 5 times I have been able to fly them this year, I've not been upgraded on ONLY TWO flights. Being at the lowest tier, this is a very welcome surprise. That would be a hard thing to say on Continental, even as PLT.

Seems like they don't announce it till December, but I was wondering if it was reasonable to expect them to offer it this year (if you can expect anything from the airlines).

mdavies

They generally say it's only available this year, but for several years now, they've offered it.

depends on the cost of the MRs and the total number of miles. MRs get RDM as well as EQM, whereas buyback status gets just the status.