Degan

You may not be allowed to do the challenge. That is up to AA. They might let you, they might not. YMMV.

The buy-back is certain, rather than uncertain. Plus, you will earn PLT bonus instead of the GLD bonus. Plus, you will be able to use the longes at LHR.

Have fun either way.

tenmoc

Very nice. It is not how I understood it should work.

tenmoc

AA is charging to start a challenge now? How long has that been going on?

miamigrad

Yes, as of October 15, 2008 - as noted in the Wiki:
http://www.flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/Challenge_(AA)

binsbug

Can I do a gold challenge this year before 6/1 and then do a platinum challenge starting 12/16?

I have a RT flight planned for March LAX-BOS which I plan to book in a fare allowing me 1.0 EQP which should get me gold in a challenge.

I then have a RT LAX-MIA after 12/16 which I will likely book in a discount fare earning me 0.5 EQP. In February 2012 I will book a OW (to catch a cruise ship) LAX-MIA-GIG which I plan to book in Flexible economy (B) so I can upgrade to business using less miles and no co-pay. It is my understanding that I can earn over 10,000 EQP required to earn platinum during this period.

Am I allowed to do this or should I forget the gold challenge in March and go for the Platinum in Dec-Feb.? I would like to have the gold status for the later trips.

Thanks for any help. I have read at least 50 pages on this board and finally gave up.

btwayland

IIRC, you are not technically allowed to do "serial" challenges, however, some have reported being allowed to do so (including me, but i did GLD/PLT within a 3 month period, not spaced 6+ months apart). others with more knowledge/experience can weigh in.

that being said, if you're just flying a few flights, i'm not seeing the benefits of status for just a few flights. excepting airport benefits and boarding early, status doesn't get you anything extra on the plane *internationally* if you do not upgrade with miles (which you can do without status). not going into EXP SWU benefits here since it seems the OP will not fly 100k miles this year.

personally i'd do the platinum challenge in december 2011 only if you will fly around 25k-50k miles in 2012, as you would then have status (if you meet the requirements of the challenge) until february 2013.

can you provide any more details (i.e. how frequently will you be flying AA/OW) about your 2011 and 2012 flying that could help us better advise you?

ffI

binsbug welcome to FT!

This is the way to do it. Sign up for a Gold Challenge
After you fly 5000 miles or 5000 points within 90days, call and upgrade the challenge to a Plat challenge.
It costs 25$ more to do it this way, but it is safer as you get guaranteed gold at least.

Also do the challenges starting June 15th or better July1. The new status is valid till Feb 2012.
In July 2012, do another set of challenges = 1-1/2 more years.
My wife was serial AA Gold/Plat this way for most of the time until 1MM. 18 months out of every 24.

Status gets you seating and better help for IRROPs and Plat gets you lounges in OW.

binsbug

My husband and I will be retired the end of 2011. After the South America trip, we have a European trip planned (farthest point most likely Rome), at least 2 trips back east and a MIA RT for a Christmas Cruise. So I know we will easily make gold on our own. I'd use the platinum for luggage fees, priority boarding, etc - all the things you described.

Thanks again

johndeere19

binsbug, welcome to FT! You could also go my route and ask about the challenge program and then ask if they can match your *gold status with them and they should match your gold then and there. If they don't, hang up and call back (took me 4-5 agents, iirc).

zpaul

I was given Gold status when I signed up for my Platinum Challenge in January (but the Challenge itself doesn't begin until 16 February). This weekend I had two flights on LAN and when I received my boarding passes I noticed that my AA number was there but there was no recognition of my status.

Is that normal between AA and LAN? When I was Platinum with QF my status always pulled and the equivalent OW level was indicated on the BP. Could it be because my status isn't "real" until I start the Challenge? The Gold bar shows up every time I log into my account at aa.com. Any other ideas?

gochoo

I couldn't find any posts using the search function regarding this.

My question is:

If you have flights already booked and you then decide to do the Platinum Challenge, will those flights count if they lie between the dates of the challenge?

For example:

I already booked a r/t flight for LAX-JFK-LAX for Jun 16-17. If I called AA now to do a challenge and request for it to begin on Jun 16, will this pre-booked flight count towards the challenge?

FlyMeToTheLooneyBin

Yes. You can even have flights you've already taken count by asking them to backdate the start date.

And yes, there are a ton of posts about this already. You may not have searched well enough.

gochoo

Nice.

Reading the wiki, I see that you get the most bang for the buck if you begin a challenge starting Jun 16 since, you get to have status for the remainder of that year, the entire next year, and the first 2 months of the year after. Is this correct?

I have found 2 round trip flights:
Leaving 6/16 with W booking code from LAX-SFO-JFK
Returning 6/17 with V booking code from JFK-AUS-LAX
Total miles would be 5680. Total EQP would be the same since the booking codes are worth 1 point.

Leaving 6/18 with V booking code from LAX-JFK
Returning 6/19 with with V booking code from JFK-SFO-LAX
Total miles would be 5398. Total EQP would be the same since the booking codes are worth 1 point.

That's a total of 11078 miles which would safely take me over the 10,000 point challenge.

The 2 flights would cost roughly $1600 plus the challenge fee of $240

So for a total of $1840 is this a good deal?
Has anybody done the challenge for a much lesser amount?

hautecouTours

I snagged a $432 R/T from WAS to HNL from 7/20-27. Based on 1/2 the actual mileage I will be a few hundred miles short of the Plat Challenge. I plan to begin mine July 1 and take a short haul flight to put me over the top prior to the HNL trip. I hope to attain Platinum status for about $800-900.

Gamecock

IIRC I did mine for <$1100 ai.

FRA-DFW-CAE and back. Granted it was 2 years ago...