BrewerSEA

Considering you will hit 10k EQP on your flight JFK-HKG, you will earn the 100% plat RDM bonus for that flight as well as for all your later flights. It's possible that some of your bonus miles may not appear for flights around qualification. If this happens just call up AAdvantage CS.

mreed911

This is a good point. It also gives you a full year in 2012 to re-qualify the "regular" way.

I earned my PLT through a challenge after 6/16 last year and got the coveted "02/2012" PLT card instead of "02/2011."

mreed911

AA lists A as 1.5 EQP/mi. Is it even POSSIBLE to buy an A fare?

I've got A tix that I did paid upgrades (miles+copay) on for HNL, but the base fare is deep discount.

Does AA flat-out sell an A fare that would actually earn 1.5?

miamigrad

Yes. "A" serves dual purpose: for upgrades and for revenue:
http://www.flyerguide.com/wiki/index...igibility_(AA)

BrewerSEA

Plenty. Discount first shows up on aa.com as A and my AONE5 (5 continent Oneworld Explorer in First) books into A and earns 1.5 EQP per mile.

sammaverick

Hello everyone,

First of thanks for all the information on the thread and wiki, I'm a guy in his late 20s and never really paid attention to accumulating miles and frequent flyer programs till now.

I'll be going to Singapore at the end of June (AUS-LAX-PVG-SIN)* and is thinking of doing the PLT Challenge. A few questions; since my flight will be on June 30th, if I call in on June 16th to start the challenge, does my status expire in Feb of 2012 or 2013? Different posts/wiki/website seem to indicate different time frame.

AA is doing a promo for the LAX-PVG leg where miles are counted double, does that apply to the challenge? Also, on the return trip (TPE-NRT-DFW-AUS) I should have obtained 10k miles by the time I arrive in NRT, would I have PLT/access to the lounges immediately?

Thanks.

*PVG-SIN is on Singapore Airlines and I understand does not count towards miles or challenge.

JY1024

Welcome to FlyerTalk and the AA forum, sammaverick!

Glad to see you've already found the forum wiki and have had a chance to peruse it. I'll tackle a few of your questions, and let other experts chime in where I'm ignorant.

- The LAX-PVG promo earns additional REDEEMABLE miles. Those bonus miles do not have any impact on the Elite Qualifying POINTS that you're garnering for the challenge. (Remember, elite qualifying points are calculated based on the fare you buy; cheap/discount fare buckets earn .5 points per mile flown versus higher/more expensive fare buckets could earn up to 1 or 1.5 points per mile. Be sure you check out the chart on this page and look carefully at the EQP column: http://www.flyerguide.com/wiki/index...ility_%28AA%29)

- You should have full PLT benefits after your miles post to your account. Nowadays, flights generally post to your AAdvantage account the day after your flight. If by the time you land in NRT all your flights that contribute to your 10,000 EQP have posted, then you should be fine. (You may need some manual intervention from an AAgent to update your account - others can chime in with their more recent experiences.)

Good luck with your challenge and enjoy your trip!! ^

_kurt

2013. You should be able to call any time after June 1. Make sure to specifically request a June 16 start date. Have fun!

BrewerSEA

I'm pretty sure you can call any time after May 1st. There seem to be 3 future challenge start dates available at any given time.

nickp7286

Hi Everyone, I am new to AA and am interested in a Status Challenge. I currently fly DL, however have not been elite for a few years. My travel will increase drastically in the fall beginning with the two trips below. Am I correct that these two trips will allow me to achieve Gold through a Status Challenge? Also, would it be worth it to book a cheap flight to achieve the remaining few hundred miles required for Platinum? I fly primarily domestic and Caribbean itineraries. Thanks in advance for your help!

JFK - PLS; Booking Class I (1.5 x miles); 3,910 Miles
JFK - AUA; Booking Class I (1.5 x miles); 5,880 Miles

FlyerChrisK

If you want to do a platinum status challenge, you need to pay a bit more at the start of it. As far as it being worth it, there's a long-running thread here about the perks of PLT versus GLD on AA.

whherron

Hi, Nick!

A reminder...it's 2,620 miles or 3,910 points. Points is what counts for a challenge.

Your first route is 3,910 points, and your second is 5,880 points, for a total of 9,790 points. If you were going for AAdvantage Platinum, you'd need another 210 points or no more than 420 miles (if you were in deep-discount Economy). A mileage run R/T to Chicago would be more than enough.

Remember that you need to tell AA in advance and pay your "entry" fee. You could also do the extra trip before your second one, and you should be moved up to AAdvantage Gold status for your second trip.

(Someone else double-check me on this. It's the first time I ran the math for another poster.)

Have fun!

Bill

nickp7286

Thanks Bill for the great advice, much appreciated!

BrewerSEA

AA does not automatically upgrade you to Gold after hitting 5k points. In fact, this is a rare exception.

zpaul

It is true that you do not automatically get Gold during a Plat challenge - you have to call and ask for it, but they usually do give it to you.

However, it seems to be even better than that. I posted about this earlier in the thread, but it was a while ago. Two of us in my office have signed up for the Plat challenge and he was given Gold immediately upon calling and paying. I called back to ask why I didn't qualify for the same and was told that it should have been done and before I was off the phone I had the Gold bar on my account.

I'm not sure that this really is "policy" but the agent acted like it was. I suggest to everyone who starts a PLAT Challenge to ask for Gold status, and see what happens. 25% extra adds up quickly, especially on long flights.