vulches

I've been running various mileage run options at Orbitz, but I can't find any that might get me 5,000 q-points in 1 flight for under $350. Do any of you mileage gurus know of crazy flights (2+ layovers) that will get me the 5,000 points needed for the gold challenge? I'd like to do it on a weekend if possible... sometime in September. I might actually need only 3,600 if I take a flight to Dallas next month as planned, but I'm trying to find a way to knock it out at once if possible.

kdp

I've not priced anything out, but have you tried segment hopping within California, ie. SNA-SFO-LAX-SAN-SJC, or on Alaska, hitting PDX and SEA? The 500 QPoint min. on segments negates the QPoint deduction on the cheapest fares.

Dunbar

If you're willing to drive up to ONT there are some really cheap ONT-DFW-ORD fares in October ($220, 4k miles.) If you get creative with routing another short ORD leg (500 mile min each) you're there.

Just out of curiousity, why are you willing to spend $350 just to make gold?

ricktoronto

Good question. The plethora of these both Gold and Platinum how to's all sound like people who cannot possibly fly enough generally to maintain either level. I could make Gold under a challenge once a month.

vulches

Thanks for the tip on Ontario, but I think that would get me only 2,400 Q-points (700 to DFW and 500 to ORD each way) since that fare is likely deep discounted economy or whatever the cheapest is called. But the regional airport like that might be better since it'll force some extra legs in many cases.

I NEED gold elite status in order to get the cap on my mileage lifted from my Citibank card. We spend $10-20k per month on business expenses with my personal card (self employed and can't get the business card), and the challenge is my only way around it. On that note, does anyone know if I can requalify this year if I lost my status (from a previous challenge) back in February. Will they consider me qualifying for 2006 or for 2005? I guess I could call and ask right, but I want to make sure they don't BS me.

Fly AA J all the way

If you did a Gold challenge in the past, and fulfilled, it, that's it, no more. You would now have to do a PLT challenge, which would be 10K Qpts. I would look at some of the fares to SNN. You might be able to do it really cheap from LAX in the fall.

Fly AA J all the way

Have you considered multiple cards? I believe you are allowed to do that, and then you would have to worry less about the mileage cap. When one card hits the cap, just start using the other one. I believe (someone correct me if I'm wrong) that you will also get the bonus miles for the new card(s) you sign up for. Also, keep on charging, because with 100k-200k miles/year on the card, plus bonuses, plus your flight miles, you will have MillionMile status before too long, which comes with lifetime GLD.

vulches

Well crap... I thought you couldn't do it 2 years in a row... I last qualified in the fall of 2003 (good for gold status through Feb 2005). Dang it... 10,000 q-points will be a bit harder to do on a budget. I'll check into getting another card though... just wish they'd approve without pulling another credit report. Oh, maybe I'll just open a checking acct with a miles check card. I'll have to see if those give 1 mile per dollar though...

AAToday

Only butt in seat miles count toward status...

kdp

If still interested, you should call AA and see if you can sign up for the gold challenge. Posters here used to report being able to repeat a challenge once they lost their status. So once your Gold lapsed in Feb, you could challenge again in March. It's possible that this has now changed, but if a CS agent will sign you up, then it's worth the phone call.

Flyer23

I would call and ask about doing the GLD challenge again. They might let you do it. If you're forced to do the PLT challenge, check out the fares to DUB. I just booked a weekend trip (depart Fri night, return Sun night) SFO-MIA-ORD-DUB-ORD-DFW-SFO for about $530 including taxes. It's in W class, so 1 pt/mile -- nearly 14,000 q-pts total. I think there are similar fares out of LAX and vicinity, good for the next few months.

Yes, it's more than you wanted to spend. But it does get you PLT in one trip. And remember, AA will only drop you down one level a year, so a PLT challenge right now would keep you PLT through 2/07 and then GLD through 2/08. So you wouldn't have to go through this again for quite a while... and by that time, as Fly AA J all the way points out, you should have lifetime GLD from crossing the 1-million mile mark.

Edit to add: I forgot that Fly AA J all the way said you'd be earning 100-200K miles per year with your CC, not per month . So you probably won't be lifetime GLD quite yet in 2/08. But still, a PLT challenge will keep you from worrying about this for over two years, plus if you do fly at all next year, you'll pick up a few more bonus miles towards lifetime GLD if you're PLT than you would if you were just GLD.

vulches

Wow!! 2 years for $530!? I'll take that! I'm going to price out some DUB trips and see what I come up with. Any other routes that someone could suggest?

Edit... how do you book so many legs in one trip? Even with the multi-city option I cannot get enough spaces for all the cities =)

JDiver

Watch this winter's fares - BRU is another destination that can come up cheaply, and it is a great place to visit. Yes, with 1:1 you could indeed get 2 years+ of status...

Flyer23

Leave out the hubs, or at least the obvious hubs . AA only flies to DUB from ORD, so you don't need to put ORD in as one of the cities -- you're gonna go through there whether you like it or not. I think I booked it as: SFO-MIA, MIA-DUB, DUB-DFW, DFW-SFO.

Another tip: Be very careful about the fare classes. As I started to price it out, I would frequently come up with the W fare on the outbound trip but S fare (0.5 qpts/mile) on the return trip, or vice versa. I eventually figured out that I couldn't do Sat/Sun as W class both ways, but I could do Fri/Sun or Sat/Mon. So our SFO-MIA leg is actually a red-eye leaving on Friday night. (You really want the W fare... the S fare is more expensive, despite earning fewer EQPs!)

I picked this one up on the Mileage Run forum here on FT, so if you're having trouble booking it, you might want to post there for some help.

IceTrojan

Well, he asked the question I wanted to ask, but knew I shouldn't