BrewerSEA

You pretty much always always earn points for the original purchased fare class when a ticket is upgraded. One exception is when a ticket is upfared, which is essentially buying a revenue ticket in the higher fare class and using the previously purchased ticket as credit. Another is during IRROPS you are sometimes booked into a full fare inventory bucket and may earn at the higher level.

mikelat

With Q one way and I on the return you'd earn 0.5EQP/Mile on the one way and 1.5EQP/Mile on the other. So you'd average out at 1EQP/Mile assuming the same routes. Seems like a decent way to get guaranteed biz class on one set of the flights. I'd pay the extra $100 to ensure Biz class on one set of flights and then try to use miles/co-pay on the other set.

Edit to Add: If you include your specific dates we can probably help you out with more specific details on flights & costs.

Nerfgirl

IAH to DUB, August 9 through the 20th. Looks like there are routes through MIA - MAD and DFW/LAX - ORD. I wouldn't mind adding a segment on the front end just to cushion the miles a bit (especially if the cost is the same). Gotta love FT for all the assistance. ^ It never occurred to me that there was anything better than award travel!

side note: IAH would be the most convenient, but I'm not ruling out HOU and DFW in my search. DFW is my base, but I have to be in the Woodlands the weekend I return and the price difference was pretty non-existent for more miles + convenience.

mreed911

Just another datapoint - signed my wife up for PLT challenge today starting 6/16. She'll qualify based on the following flights (EQP listed, not EQM/RDM):

6/22/11 AUS DFW O 250 (miles+copy to A, booked in V)
6/22/11 DFW HNL O 1,892 (miles+copy to A, booked in V)
6/29/11 HNL DFW O 1,892 (miles+copy to A, booked in V)
6/30/11 DFW AUS O 250 (miles+copy to A, booked in V)
7/19/11 AUS DFW T 0 (award ticket)
7/19/11 DFW MIA T 0
7/20//11 MIA BOS A 1,887 (purchased A, not upgraded A)
7/20//11 BOS LHR I 4,898 *Hits PLT on this flight @ 11,069 EQP
7/20//11 LHR AMS I 750
7/24/11 AMS LHR I 750
7/24/11 LHR BOS I 4,898
7/24/11 BOS MIA A 1,887
7/25/11 FLL DFW T 0
7/25/11 DFW AUS T 0

Also she was given GLD as of today (when we signed her up), so she'll be GLD and get the 25% bonus and have the flights count towards MTEU (the real reason we asked about GLD status) for the whole time.

Note: The rep was unsure, but said she might get the class of service bonus for traveling in A, even on an award ticket. I was under the impression that for EQM, you still only got that based on original purchased class with miles+copay. Am I wrong?

Cost: $240.

Reward: 30,488 RDM + 4 500-mile upgrades (and close to 4 more), and PLT through Feb 2013

Microwave

I think you may be getting a bit duped by your web search. aa.com does not show all fares, just a smattering of fares that they group into names like "economy flexible" and "super saver". These names don't really mean anything, but the booking class does (if you click the plus sign, next to your desired flight on the flight search result page, look at the line called "booking code"). The cheapest booking class that earns 1.0 EQP/EQM on that route is V. A V fare for your dates is $1233, whereas there is an N fare for $1033, and O fares even cheaper than that. If you place a hold on the "economy super saver" fare, you can then call AA to "upfare" your reservation to the V fare, which will get you you can get full EQP earn without having to buy a much higher fare class (like one that's labeled "economy flexible", which is very expensive) on the website. So while you say you're seeing $1600 as the cheapest fare that earns at full EQP, it most definitely isn't, and you can get those points much cheaper if you do a bit more searching and calling on the front end.

I urge you to read the Challenge page on the FlyerGuide wiki from top to bottom (although specifically the section titled Booking Flights for a Challenge), then check out and use the Inventory Classes and Mileage Eligibility page as a reference. Bottom line: save yourself some serious coin and fly in economy upfared to V.

Microwave

I'm really confused... I am assuming that the letters beteween the destinations and EQP numbers are booking classes? If not, my comments make no sense. First, only AA flight numbers count, so those European flights can't be booked under the BA code or they won't help. Second, flights booked into V earn at 1.0 EQP/EQM, not 0.5 as your math on the first four flights seems to indicate. Third, X and C are not revenue buckets on AA; they are buckets used for upgrades, and your original booking code determines earn rate. Third, there are no AA buckets that earn no EQPs... Some consolidator fares don't earn, are some of those flights listed as 0 EQP bought from a consolidator? I think the numbers above could be way off, so let's get to the bottom of it before you end up short.

Yes, the rep was wrong on two fronts. First, the original booking class determines earn rate for EQP. Second, all fares (except some consolidators) earn 1 EQM per mile spent, so it doesn't really matter what booking code is used. Cheap tickets and premium tickets alter the EQP/EQM earn rate, not the EQM earn rate.

mreed911

Yep, corrected (above) to read O, not V. They are deep-discount.

Yep, they're AA flight numbers.

Damn. I'm not sure how I hosed that up. The classes are A and T, not C and X(brain fart), and it's PURCHASED A not upgraded A.

T is award ticket, is it not, which earns nothing?

Yep. You're right.

Microwave

I see the updates, but still some mild corrections (shouldn't impact calculations though)... First, A bucket isn't offered between BOS and LHR as that flight has no first class cabin--it'd be a business class bucket, although business class fares also earn EQP at the same rate as paid A. Same problem with LHR-AMS: if you're flying on the AA codeshare, there's no A bucket on those flights either as there's no F on BA intra-European flights. You're right that award flights don't earn, so overall I think your numbers look good.

BrewerSEA

It may be a Y-UP/K-UP fare. Books into A for the domestic leg, probably books into I for international.

Microwave

Understood. It still wouldn't show up as A for that segment.

mreed911

Lo and behold you're right. I've been managing the booking via BA's site (passport info, etc.) for the LHR-AMS piece, so I wasn't looking at AA. It's I. Edited above.

WrLdTrvLnIndian

If someone does a PLT challenge next week for roundtrip JFK-ZRH in D earning 1.5 points, he would only be PLT till 2/2012 if i am not wrong. However, if later in the year, they hit the 50,000 mark with miles as well, will it get extended to 2/2013?

mreed911

Yes. It's as if they were PLT this year, and any earnings apply to next year. The question becomes "is it worth it" in terms of mileage earned.... and only your flying pattern can help determine that.

Nerfgirl

Thanks for the information. I really appreciate all the help. I'm having difficulty finding the fares you talked about. I placed a hold on the cheapest aa.com fare (an 'o') and called american to upfare. They could do it, but a 'v' fare still ran me $1694, which I confirmed with ITA. I'm probably missing something somewhere, since this is my first time using that particular software. I'd love to know how and where you found the cheaper fare.

Thank you again to FT for all the assistance.

aktchi

In early-mid August this fare is in 1600-1700 range. However, if you could wait about three weeks, the IAH-DEB fares drop to about 1300. Search for the booking codes H,K,L,M,W,V
(ITA syntax AA+ / f bc=H|bc=K|bc=L|bc=M|bc=W|bc=V).