gegarrenton

I understand your view point. I guess just to me it's more about the practical application. I am coming over from DL as a DM. And I am pretty much the antithesis of a mileage runner. I earn on long haul paid J. Lets hope most coming over are more like my travel profile.

Fly2Where

I think OP was referrring to 300K "EQP/EQM" not $$.
Also SWU can be used for J-F upgrade, means OP was not neccessarily sitting at the "back", and therefore he was (unoffically) eligable and deserved more SWU for flying 300K EQP.

OlderGeek

Your math is half right and half wrong.

NOW:

1. To meet the challenge, if I fly in J class in April to Narita I get 1.5 time 13490, or 20,235. Add a few trips in the back of the bus, or with 500 mile upgrades, and I meet the challenge and get 8 SWUs.

2. To get 8 more SWUs I have to fly 75,000 more by the end of the year - way above a 100,000 a year pace.

AFTER June 15th:

Correct.

SWU's have more value on Delta then before. You can use them in lower fare classes on AF and NW.

AAExPlat

Try AUS-BKK and you can do it in one trip. East Coast BKK is even more padded. Only West Coast BKK might fall just short.

2. To get 8 more SWUs I have to fly 75,000 more by the end of the year - way above a 100,000 a year pace.

Correct, except it can be 75k EQPs...which could be three more r/ts to India, BKK, etc or ~ 5 TATL trips in J or 10 Transcons in paid J/F. Really not that difficult for high value fliers that pay for premium class and full fare economy.

But not to upgrade to J/F right? On discount Y, on AF one can only upgrade to premium economy, right?

Bow Rider

Hope you make 1K AAExPlat!

This isn't anything like DEQMs as far as eroding top tier benefits, IMO.

But it is a good opportunity to switch if one program looks better than the other for one's plans for the next two years.

OlderGeek

First, I said the Delta SWUs have more value than before, not that they are the same as AA's SWUs. For AF Business, you need to book Premium Economy fares S,A or W. That does have value to me. $1400 for a Business RT to Paris isn't bad.

Second, the person who takes three RT to India could maintain EP. Of course, that means they have to have the need to go to India for work, as that is way too long a trip for three weekend getaways. And, they have to be willing to fly 22 hours or so, instead of only 14 hours on Quatar going through Goa (which is how I do it - miles aren't everything).

So, to sum up, to take the challenge now and maintain takes a lot of travel unless you just so happen to have business in or around Thailand and India this year. I doubt there are many that meet the profile - so I think your concern is a little overblown.

Oh, and I think AA wants the traveler that meets that odd profile.

gegarrenton

I think that is the crux of it.

Rickrich

I am currently a top tier (MVP Gold 75K) customer with Alaska Airlines. The route I typically fly each week (RNO-LAX) is being discontinued by Alaska next month. Since American Eagle flies this route and they have the best ontime performance compared to other carriers (Southwest, United), I asked for a status match since I don't want to start from the very bottom all over again, despite flying every week.

I both called and e-mailed AAdvantage. The answer I got from them was an emphatic "NO!". They said they don't do status matches, and on that route, it doesn't even make sense to do a "challenge". The clear message I got from AAdvantage was, "Since you're flying short routes (albiet every week of the year), and you make your elite status by segments, we don't want your business". They made it clear my business wasn't important enough for them. That's sad!

Luckily, since I made the request, Alaska has decided to codeshare on the flights that I take on American. Although I don't get all of my elite perks on codeshares, at least I get some of them (like avoiding those ridiculous fees!). So I am staying with Alaska as my frequent flier program.

American doesn't seem to understand that you don't turn away steady business. Their loss.

aktchi

A friend contacted AAdvantage CS re EXP challenge. In response, they told him how much they value his loyalty and that the fastest way to EXP is by purchasing premium fares.

So, it looks like you do have to be top-tier elite at another carrier to be offered the challenge.

Cheerfulflyer

Thanks for reporting this. This confirms my suspicion that this match is generally for elites at US based competing airlines. AS is not a competition for AA. Now, someone wanna let brother greg watson know? although I suspect he might get a louder "NO!", since QF is not even a US based carrier and his intention seems to be to maximize status in AA without contributing premium income commensurate with the profile of customers they want to acquire.

AAExPlat

Question:

How would you have been able to complete the 25k EQPs for this challenge in 3 months? If you get 500 mile credit for each leg twice a week for 13 weeks on Fullfares, you are still at only 20k EQPs.

I can't see how you could have completed the challenge...

pdog02

Couple of things going on here.

1. Not Sure if the poster is referring to trying to get an EP challenge. If he is that's strike 1, as there is no AS equivalent of EP.
   
2. AS is not included in the status match exception program anyway. The eligible airlines are UA,CO,DL,US and AC.
   
3. AAdvantage was probably trying to do him a favor by not taking his money for a normal challenge as he could get GLD status anyway in about 15 weeks by segments alone.
   
4. Not sure what fees he thinks are waived on codeshare flights.
   
5. AA is getting him to fly on AA anyway by virtue of the partnership with AS.

Microwave

First, I will echo pdog02's suspicion that you aren't in line for any fee waivers flying as an AS elite on AA metal. If I were you I'd look into that closer.

As far as getting to status is concerned, if you are buying deep-discount fares and doing no other flying, the EXP challenge wouldn't work anyway. However, if you're at times flying higher fares that earn at least 1 EQP/EQM, it may make sense for you to sign up for the Platinum challenge, and ask the AAgent to give you Gold immediately. This request has been getting granted more regularly these days, and will get you the fee waivers and mileage minimums you'd need to get started comfortably on AA, while getting you up to Platinum pretty quickly. I will underscore that you would need to be buying some higher fares for the Platinum challenge to make sense, because at one round-trip per week between RNO and LAX, you're only looking at 6500 EQPs after 13 weeks, putting you well short (and even that assumes you get granted Gold at the start of the challenge, otherwise it'd be less). You will be much happier as an AA elite on AA metal than you will be as an AS elite on AA metal, so I'd really suggest going for it.

Explore

I'm tempted to call now in case the offer goes away, but definitely would not want to start the challenge until Feb. 2013 expiration is assured.

Is it OK to call now, tell them I won't start the challenge until late June, and get that assurance?

And does "start the challenge" mean take the first trip, or make the first booking?

Thanks......

pdog02

Excellent summary. In other words the poster did no research and or thought this through before posting the usual FT mean ol' airline they don't understand rant.