Stoughton

But if he were to a gold challange (I know it's too late but I'm curious), he would reach his goal after the 1st flight.

Could he then upgrade the challange to Plat (and pay the extra fees) and get the 1.25% & other gold perks for his second flight?

I'm still unclear on this and it affects my decision for a flight next month. I can't make Plat via the trip UNLESS I get gold on the way out (easily done - flight out is longer than flight home), and then upgrade the challange to Plat while at the destinaton, and that, paired with the 500 eqm/eqp minimum for gold would give me the 10,000 eqp

Does that make sense?

dstan

The PLT Challenge requires 10,000 EQP (AA flights and codeshares)

Regular qualification levels (any qualifying flights) are:
GLD - 25,000 EQM or EQP or 30 segments
PLT = 50,000 EQM or EQP or 60 segments
EXP = 100,000 EQM or EQP or 100 segments

http://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/pr...quirements.jsp

m_abbott

If you sign for the plat challenge you're not be upgrade to the new status until 10,000 points

almost right away, or as soon as they post your miles in to your account.

You're not going to recieve the stickers until you get 10,000 miles after your new status, you will recieve 100% miles even for your first flight as a bonus after you get your new status.

mvtm

Looking through my old expired card, did anyone notice the back of the card? At the very bottom it has a tiny inscription. For example: "GC07/08" denoting which type of challenge, the month and year it was requested or completed?

InfoMofo

Ok folks, long time lurker of FT here, trying to actually execute a Platinum Challenge. I'm currently AA-Gold, and I've never attempted any challenges before. I live in NYC and I have 5 weddings to attend in California this year so I figured it was as good a time as any to try to do a platinum challenge.

I was hoping I could post my numbers here and my assumptions, and people could tell me if I was way off? So originally (before deciding to try the challenge), I was going to just book all my flights the cheapest possible online, which would be class code "N". I've already booked the first flight, which will be from 7/13-7/21 (I have left the 7/13 flight off the list because it will be before the dates I am using for the challenge).

It's my understanding that I have to begin a challenge on a 1st or a 16th, and so I will be starting mine on 7/16 and ending on 10/15.

The flights I was planning to book are as follows (the one in italics has already been booked). I got the miles from the AA timetable.

However that will only net me 7568 EQP. I could either add a roundtrip flight to california somewhere else in this time, or I could upgrade my roundtrip from JFK->LAX to a 1.0 EQP fare (using the helpful instructions I found on FT). By upfaring that one roundtrip, that puts my total EQP at 10040.

Given the really tight constraints here, I wanted to make sure I wasn't messing up anything and I was hoping someone could examine my assumptions.

1) The platinum challenge will cost $240 to enter.
2) There will be a cost associated with upfaring my JFK->LAX round trip. Around how much would I expect to upgrade a N class to a L or W fare?
3) As I am starting the challenge after June 16th, 2010, I will have platinum status through February 2012.

When I book the platinum challenge with the AA-gold helpdesk, will they be able to confirm right then that my travel plans will qualify, or will I be in limbo?

The last thing I wanted to check was:
4) I heard a while back that if you pre-book all your travel for the challenge, you can actually travel with platinum status for the flights during that period. Is that true?

Anyway, thanks again for this amazing resource and community at FlyerTalk. I don't know how anyone would ever figure out these crazy rules without it.

UPDATE: Also, I just saw this deal on the AA website for triple EQM on LGA->ORD flights, and I was actually planning on going to visit chicago anyway, but I hadn't included it in my calculations because the 732 miles per leg didn't seem like they'd be enough to offset the miles I needed, but at triple points, if I booked that, and upfared just that trip (which would be cheaper than upfaring the trip to california, right?), I could also do that... Man this is making my head hurt.

kicknit

Interesting. I signed up for PLT challenge to be effective 4/1/10, and completed the challenge within a month. The back of my card does have 'PC03/10' on the bottom left corner on the back of the card.

miamigrad

Triple EQM will not help you with your challenge in any way, since challenges are based on points and that promo rewards with additional EQMiles.

dstan

Mine says PC07/08 and I have never done a Challenge.

mvtm

Maybe it's supposed to read platinum card, instead of platinum challenge. Just a thought. Still, mine says 07/08. I wasn't even an AAdvantage member by then! So no clue what those numbers mean. Nevermind, i just entered vacations and have lots of free time . (Until mid September)

InfoMofo

Thanks! This is exactly the kind of detail I would have messed up. So I'm not gonna upfare my chicago flight, and stick with my original plan of upfaring my roundtrip to LAX.

I'll let you know how it goes!

chemist661

Background: I have a July 17-19 LAX-OGG-HNL-LAX flights on hold that I got for $267 all in. Need to decide tonight if I ought to buy. Also, I have 3 flights booked from Sept 1 to Oct 11 that will is approx 14K miles (7K points).

Should I purchase the Hawaii flight and start the Challenge on July 16 or start the Challenge on Sept 1 and buy 1-2 more flights to get me over the 10K point level?

My 3 ticketed flights are as follows:

1. Sept 3-6. LAX-SFO-MIA-PTY-MIA-DFW-LAX. Q Class. 7582 miles
2. Sept 10-13. LAX-ORD-FNT-ORD-LAX. Q Class. 3935 miles
3. Oct 7-11 LAX-DFW-MEM-DFW-LAX O Class. 3333 miles

Ticket on hold: LAX-OGG-HNL-LAX Q Class. July 17-19. 5142 miles

Above miles calculated by Great Circle Mapper. May not be completely accurate but would a decent estimate.

Notes: 1. Segments shorter than 500 miles:. (I have no AA status)

1. LAX-SFO
2. ORD-FNT & FNT-ORD
3. DFW-MEM & MEM-DFW
Ticket on hold: OGG-HNL Hawaiian codeshare (AA flight #)

I know that the above classes only give 0.5 pt per mile.

Thank you for your help.

aktchi

chemist661: Definitely start July 16 because all four trips will qualify for the challenge. However, some crucial info missing from your post First, what is the booking code of the July 17 flight (IOW do you get 0.5 or 1 pt/mile)? Second, do you have gold status now? If so, you'd get 500 miles minimum per flight, but not otherwise. Finally, LAX-ORD-FNT-ORD-FNT is 2413 miles, not 3935 you are expecting. Unless you forgot a LAX at the end.

Pay attention to these points and recalculate carefully. If you are coming up with fewer than 10,025 points, check with AA what their mileage charts say. If less than 10K, plan a MR. If your July trip is 0.5 pt/mile, you can also check with AA how much extra would it cost to upfare it to 1 pt/mile. Good luck.

chemist661

Thank you for pointing out my mistakes. I edited my post with the corrections. LAX-ORD-FNT-ORD-FNT is instead LAX-ORD-FNT-ORD-LAX. The July ticket is Q class. That was the inexpensive LAX-HNL fare posted yesterday. I can check with AA to see what the upfare is but it may be very expensive.

I have no status. I used to be Platium & for 1 year Exec Plat.
I just booked some tickets where I wanted to go. (and some cases, were very cheap).

I am going with the July 16 as the challenge date. I purchased the Hawaii trip plus I just bought a SNA-DFW-BOS-DFW-SNA ticket (I'm bringing my wife on this trip) for late September for $259pp all in. I will be way over 10K points for the challenge.

Thank you for your advice.

KCEG

I'm just starting a Platinum Challenge after falling from EXP to zero the past several years, and thought I'd share the letter that was sent to me in case it's helpful for other travelers.

I hope to re-join the EXP's soon now that my travel is picking up again. I don't know whether to cry or rejoice after typing that last sentence.

In case it's helpful, I have copied and pasted the letter I received from AAdvantage Customer Service. The price was steep at $240, but they gave me instant Gold to make it an easier decision( I was over half-way there already), and it's good until 2/2012. They told me Gold was good through 2012, as well, even if I fail to qualify for Plat. during the challenge.

This was a last-minute decision at the airport, and I was rewarded by being able to utilize some old stickers for an upgrade after showing my updated status to the GA on my iPad. Interestingly, it took her several different screens and more than a few minutes to see my newly-minted status to clear my requested upgrade.

Letter Posted Below:

Dear MR. KCEG,

Thank you for registering for the American Airlines AAdvantage PLATINUM® challenge. We have charged your credit card $240.00. If you successfully earn 10,000 points by 09/15/2010, you'll enjoy AAdvantage PLATINUM status until the last day in February 2012.

Here are some tips to help you succeed:
Be sure to fly AA (we know you want to anyway!) since only points earned on American Airlines, American Eagle and AmericanConnection® flights (including AA codeshare flights operated by other carriers) count toward Challenges


Since Challenges are based on points, not miles, you'll meet your goal more quickly if you select fares with high point values. If, for example, you use Deep Discount Fares, remember that those fares earn points at half the rate of miles - so you'll have to fly twice as much! But if you buy Discount Fares, the rate is one point per mile and you can meet your Challenge by flying 10,000 elite-qualifying miles. And if you select premium fares, you earn 1.5 points per mile and can meet the Challenge by flying just -- OK, you do the math!


Know the point values you'll earn for the booking codes you select. Yes it may look like alphabet soup, but there's a point to these codes. In fact, there's anywhere from 0.5 -- 1.5 points!
Earn 1.5 points per mile when the purchased fare on your American Airlines ticket is booked in one of these booking codes: A F P D I J R B C Y
Earn 1.0 point per mile for these AA booking codes: H K L M V W
Earn .5 points per mile for these AA booking codes: G N Q S O (excludes tickets between North America and Latin America booked in O inventory, which are not eligible for mileage credit)


How can you determine what booking code is used for the fare you're purchasing? Simply ask the booking agent, whether that's your travel agent, corporate travel planner or AA Reservations representative. Or, even better, when you book your flights on AA.com, the Flight Summary screen displays the booking code in the same column as the cabin booked.


If you have the opportunity to upgrade, good for you! But with respect to the points you will earn, traveling in a premium cabin is not the same as purchasing a premium fare. When you upgrade, the points for your flights are still calculated on the fare and booking code you purchased, not the cabin that you were lucky enough to travel in!


Remember that the charge for your Challenge is nonrefundable - even if circumstances beyond your control (or ours!) prevent you from meeting the goal. But we're thinking positive thoughts and we know you can do it!

Keep in mind that a Challenge is intended for members who are in a hurry to get to the elite level they desire and begin enjoying their benefits. Think of it as a shortcut to the status you would probably earn on your own during the normal qualification period. Assuming you're successful, please be prepared to meet the normal criteria when it comes time to requalify for your status, since we offer only limited opportunities to earn status via a Challenge. That's fair, right? Now you're all set -- Good Luck!


Sincerely,



XXXX
Manager, Member Services
AAdvantage Customer Service

thebutlerdidit

I'm sitting around wondering whether to attempt a challenge to Platinum. Maybe someone can check me on my math.

In a two month period September-October this year, I have the following 18 flight segments on AA booked:

IAD-LAX
IAD-DFW
DFW-SFO
SFO-LAX
LAX-IAD
BWI-DFW
DFW-IAH
IAH-DFW
DFW-SAT
SAT-DFW
DFW-BWI
LAX-IAD
DTW-ORD
ORD-CLE
CLE-ORD
ORD-DEN
DEN-DFW
DFW-BWI

Actual miles 16,773. I'm now Gold, and if I get minimum 500 miles per segment on the short runs that would bring it up to 18,625. But these flights are all booked N, O, and Q so I'm credited at .5. So I'd be at 9312.5, short of the 10,000 for a Platinum challenge.

My current FF account balances:

EQP = 11,003
EQM = 19,564
Qualifying flight segments = 14

At this rate I'll have Gold nailed but I'm still way short of platinum without some kind of double elite qualifying promotion.

And even if I order up a challenge, I still need at least 1,400 more actual miles' worth (one more mileage run?) to hit the Platinum 10,000 challenge requirement.

Is it worth shooting for the challenge, at $240, assuming I'll have at least one additional MR to make? Or just stand pat with Gold for another year? Am I missing something here?