yiggiddy

Back on 4/16 I applied for both Gold and Plat challenges. I recently met the gold and currently have 7100 Q-pts. I have til 7/16 to complete the Plat challenge but I dont have any more business trips planned. Now I have 2 options. 1. Fly LAX to MIA for $430 or 2. Fly LAX to NYC for $440. Based on your guys' expertise, should I fly one of these so I can reach Platinum status or is the cost ($400-500) not worth it to get to plat considering I am gold status. I also signed up for the double miles promotion so if I do book this trip by 5/31 I can get double miles too. Your suggestions would GREATLY be appreciated.

vasantn

Sigh ...

It's really a subjective and personal decision.

DrDaveEXPLT

PLT will get you higher status for upgrades, waitlists and some other perks. So I would go for it. If you don't you will always wonder about it. imho..

little bunny

Were you able to apply for both challenges at once? I did it separately. I mean twice. Although I earned more than 10000 points first, I was not eligible for Platinum coz my challenge was for Gold. Yes, that's nonsense. I should have applied for Platinum from the first.
Regardless. If you applied for Platinum and you couldn't reach 10000 points, then I think you are not eligible for Platinum nor even Gold...
Call AAdvantage and ask the details.

Also I'm curious to know whether that double miles are added to YTD Elite Qualifying Miles or not.

vasantn

Welcome to FT!

Some people have been lucky enough to have done that, although technically that's supposed to be a no-no.

No. You have to fly the q-miles.

swag

I've been Gold a while and made Plat (the old fashioned way) for the first time back in December. From what I've seen, I probably wouldn't do that mileage run, spending the time in coach and the money, for 8 months of Plat vs Gold.

Plat gets you higher up on the upgrade & standby lists; an extra 75% bonus on flown miles, and some lounge access when flying internationally. My experiences, I haven't felt too much of a difference.

If you do decide to go for it, check the end date on your challenge. Some here report the challenge is not 3 months but 90 days, which would end July 13, if my math is correct.

And sorry, bunny, bonus miles including the DBL06 are not elite-qualifying.

vasantn

No, the beginning date is the key. Challenges starting on or after June 16 give you an extra year of status.

mvoight

It depends on what you feel it is worth.

How much will you be using PLT before Feb 28 of 2007?
What is your plan for flying for the rest of this year?

Will i tbe worth it to you to get the extra 75 percent mileage bonus?
Remember the bonus starts on your last flight that qualifies.
Don't forget you will get miles for this mileage run.

I am still amazed at the people that sign up for a challenge without knowing in advance how they are going to get enough EQPs

little bunny

Thanks vasantn & swag

mmm.. I started platinum challenge in Jan and achieved in Mar. is that why my membership is going to expire in Feb '07

nako

Yes.

Mike

little bunny

Thanks Mike!
Fair enough. What a silly question lol

Incidentally, how do you guys find the lowest fare on AA.com?
I'm planning to go to Los Angeles and London for summer break(from now until the end of Aug.) and I've found the lowest fare, as of today, $330 to LA and $800 to London by using the dates flex option. But the problematic thing is my instinct tells me that the fares can be changed and cheaper as time goes on!
Would you tell me, please, whether I ought to buy tickets now?

How come JFK-LHR is always costly

Yaatri

I applied for PLAT Challenge on the first go. The outbound trip DCA-JFK-LAX-SYD-ADL in business met the requirements. By the time I return to DCA, I will have met EXeutive Platinum challenge requirements, but it's only open to UA 1K.

psyflyer

if you fly a lot like me... the above is a huge difference.

yiggiddy

Correction, I did know how many EQPs I was going to accumulate but was unsure of all my trips. I had 4 trips (1 leisure, 3 business) planned between Apr 16 and May 20. I calculated that this adds up to 7100 QPs. I was unsure if I would be making a business trip to NYC, which would then get me over 10k (add a LAX-Vegas flight if I was a little short). Turns out, I won't be going to NYC from LA until late summer/Oct, when my Plat challenge period is over. Thus, when I applied for both Gold and Plat challenges, I told them that with the booked flights I easily qualify for Gold but unsure if I can get to Plat. They put notes on my account that I would be eligible for both. I called back twice to confirm and now I have reached gold and starting to accumulate at 125%. Now my quandary is do I go ahead and fly to NYC to meet the Plat challenge plus visit my family and friends. My feeling is its worthwhile considering I will be flying to NYC later on this year plus Brazil and the end of the year, which I would be able to get the double miles. Now, if double miles and the plat perks are not worth it, then sure I don't have to make my trip to NYC and just settle with gold. It's not that easy of a decision and therefore I defer to all your guys' expertise, and I appreciate each person's opinion.

One other question, if I meet my plat challenge in mid Jun (began in mid Apr), how long does my plat status extend to?

nako

February of 2007. The completion date is irrelevant - how long status lasts is completely dependent upon the start date.

Mike