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ARCHIVE:,End of Feb insufficient miles for 4 500 mile upgrade stickers

Old Mar 1, 2014, 7:11 pm
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ARCHIVE:,End of Feb insufficient miles for 4 500 mile upgrade stickers

 
Old Dec 15, 2006, 3:57 am
  #1  
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ARCHIVE:,End of Feb insufficient miles for 4 500 mile upgrade stickers

I will be frequently traveling over the next two months between LGA and ORD. Due to previous flights throughout the year, I will approach the 20,000 mile mark which would enable me to get 4 more upgrade passes (I already received the first 4 when I surpassed 10,000 miles).

Unfortunately, I will come up to about 19,700 miles, just short of the magic 20,000 mile number.

In order to put me over, I had planned on standing by and doing a connection flight (via Columbus, Washington or Cleveland), getting 500 miles for each flight, thusly going over the 20,000 mile plateau.

The AA agent with whom I spoke on the phone said that the fares I have between LGA and ORD mandate that I take ONLY non-stops (if I go standby). Of course, what they say on the phone and what they do @ LGA are two very different things.

I know that if I call AA in March, they might give me 3 or even 4 stickers. Nice, but I would rather not make the request, if possible. I would rather grovel for more important requests.

What I DONT want to do is yet another MR. Dining miles or anything else (I believe) will not qualify for the in-your-butt mileage the stickers require.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.


-------------------
Edited to add:

As you read through this thread, you'll find that many FTers have been successful in obtaining prorated stickers at the end of the membership year in February. As gemac points out in Post #347, there are two ways to make this request. Read through the couple pages pages preceding that post and you'll find that one method generally yields better results than the other.

/Moderator

Last edited by JDiver; Mar 3, 2014 at 2:34 pm Reason: merge after split
uncle wiggily is offline  
Old Dec 15, 2006, 7:27 am
  #2  
 
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End of Feb insufficient miles for 4 500 mile upgrade stickers (ARCHIVED)

Originally Posted by uncle wiggily
in-your-butt mileage


You didn't say when you are traveling and what fare class you have. But for tomorrow and on the cheapest fare class, EF notes these possible routings:

1. NYC-WAS/STL/CLE/BUF/BOS/BDL/ALB-CHI
2. NYC-CHI
Capite is offline  
Old Dec 15, 2006, 8:19 am
  #3  
 
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Originally Posted by uncle wiggily
What I DONT want to do is yet another MR. Dining miles or anything else (I believe) will not qualify for the in-your-butt mileage the stickers require.

Any suggestions?
You are right that nothing other than BIS (butt-in-seat) miles, including the 500 mile minimum, increase the ug sticker counter.

If you truly don't want to do another mr, then you will just have to hope that:
a) a gate agent will wave/ignore the fare requirements and let you go standby (I've never had much luck with that)
b) a schedule change will give you a chance to rebook, adding a segment
c) weather/mechanical delays will necessitate new routing
oklAAhoma is offline  
Old Dec 15, 2006, 8:21 am
  #4  
 
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Originally Posted by uncle wiggily
in-your-butt mileage the stickers require.

Thanks.
Ouch.
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Old Dec 15, 2006, 8:21 am
  #5  
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O and/or Q

Originally Posted by Capite
when you are traveling and what fare class you have
I am ticketed to fly today to ORD and return on Tuesday. The 5 other reservations all take place in January or February and are also either O or Q.

Again, the agent on the phone said the rules and regulations of O or Q require ONLY non-stop.

Thanks for your input.
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Old Dec 15, 2006, 8:34 am
  #6  
 
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buy one for $35...
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Old Dec 15, 2006, 8:34 am
  #7  
brp
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Originally Posted by jmplatinum
Ouch.
Makes "in your face" not seem so bad...

Cheers.
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Old Dec 15, 2006, 9:35 am
  #8  
 
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Originally Posted by uncle wiggily
I will be frequently traveling over the next two months between LGA and ORD. Due to previous flights throughout the year, I will approach the 20,000 mile mark which would enable me to get 4 more upgrade passes (I already received the first 4 when I surpassed 10,000 miles).

Unfortunately, I will come up to about 19,700 miles, just short of the magic 20,000 mile number.

In order to put me over, I had planned on standing by and doing a connection flight (via Columbus, Washington or Cleveland), getting 500 miles for each flight, thusly going over the 20,000 mile plateau.

The AA agent with whom I spoke on the phone said that the fares I have between LGA and ORD mandate that I take ONLY non-stops (if I go standby). Of course, what they say on the phone and what they do @ LGA are two very different things.

I know that if I call AA in March, they might give me 3 or even 4 stickers. Nice, but I would rather not make the request, if possible. I would rather grovel for more important requests.

What I DONT want to do is yet another MR. Dining miles or anything else (I believe) will not qualify for the in-your-butt mileage the stickers require.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.
This call is not a "grovel". It is nearly automatic. At 19,700, you'll get 4.
CO FF is offline  
Old Dec 15, 2006, 9:37 am
  #9  
brp
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Originally Posted by CO FF
This call is not a "grovel". It is nearly automatic. At 19,700, you'll get 4.
Well, it may generally happen pretty easily, but it is a request and a favor. The agent is going outside the rules to accommodate this. While it may not be a "grovel", it is certainly not automatic.

Cheers.
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Old Dec 15, 2006, 9:45 am
  #10  
 
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Originally Posted by uncle wiggily
I know that if I call AA in March, they might give me 3 or even 4 stickers. Nice, but I would rather not make the request, if possible.
Well, it seems that your options are either request a favor now (wave the fare rules) or request a favor later (ask for another set of stickers). IMO you have a much better chance at the latter request being granted, than the former.
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Old Dec 15, 2006, 10:10 am
  #11  
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Deltahater has it right....

If the favor is not granted and you only get 3 stickers then buy 1 for $30, and if it is, then this is another example of pointless exercise.

Why worry about +/-1 sticker?
andrzej is offline  
Old Dec 15, 2006, 10:19 am
  #12  
brp
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Originally Posted by andrzej
Deltahater has it right....

If the favor is not granted and you only get 3 stickers then buy 1 for $30, and if it is, then this is another example of pointless exercise.

Why worry about +/-1 sticker?
Actually, I don't think the OP was talking about one sticker. He mentioned that 3 or 4 were ok; so it's not about the last sticker. Unless one calls, they will get 0 stickers for the extra 9,700. The policy is 4 for 10,000, not prorated. They will usually give some for partial mileage, upon request, so the granting of any at all is the "favor", not the difference between 3 and 4. If the favor is not granted, OP gets 0. If the favor is granted, OP gets 3 or 4.

Cheers.
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Old Dec 15, 2006, 10:56 am
  #13  
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A more eloquent way of saying it

Originally Posted by brp
Actually, I don't think the OP was talking about one sticker. He mentioned that 3 or 4 were ok; so it's not about the last sticker. Unless one calls, they will get 0 stickers for the extra 9,700. The policy is 4 for 10,000, not prorated. They will usually give some for partial mileage, upon request, so the granting of any at all is the "favor", not the difference between 3 and 4. If the favor is not granted, OP gets 0. If the favor is granted, OP gets 3 or 4.

Cheers.
As brp mentions, this is not automatic. I am asking a favor for 4, not just 1. But thanks all for your sage advice. I will keep you posted.

Right now, I have to see if I can get on ANY flight to ORD today (I am scheduled for the #347 but hope to fly out earlier).
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Old Dec 15, 2006, 11:04 am
  #14  
 
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Originally Posted by brp
Well, it may generally happen pretty easily, but it is a request and a favor. The agent is going outside the rules to accommodate this. While it may not be a "grovel", it is certainly not automatic.

Cheers.
It requires a call but it has gotten to be almost automatic and I would hardly call it outside the rules since it seems to be an accepted practice. I actually got them added twice one year. Several months after having them added in March, I was in a situation where stickers were not applied in time for a flight where I had requested an upgrade. I called to cancel the upgrade request but it had already gone through and my original seat was gone. The agent put me on hold and came back to tell me she was comping me the stickers since I had fallen just short in February of getting the next batch.
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Old Dec 15, 2006, 11:41 am
  #15  
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Originally Posted by tazi
It requires a call but it has gotten to be almost automatic
Ironically I almost agree but I would take the almost out of it. The only favor granted will be if the OP gets 4, but I guarantee the OP will get at least 3.

Last edited by andrzej; Dec 15, 2006 at 11:57 am
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