jmappleby

Those that haven't done that much travel are usually jealous, but when a coworker occasionally joins me for a week, they take it all back.

The irony of course is that when I'm not traveling for business, all those miles are then used for long haul trips with the wife to e.g. Hong Kong.

jmappleby

That's one way of looking at it. Another is that in 2017, there will be many fewer SWUs issued, which should make it much easier to get an upgrade. So whilst you may only have 4, you may be able to use them better.

DevilDawg1960

I appreciate the optimism but do not share your hope.

I would prefer to get some "guaranteed" upgrades, similar to what is offered by BA for their top tier, than having many SWUs that have little value to me.

For BA members that qualify for Gold Guest List (GGL)' which is a an upper subset of Gold (their Emerald Tier), BA offers: A twice per membership year redemption for up to 5 people (i.e. member and up to 4 others) booked into revenue classes (A, D, T, B) rather than award classes. Such GGL redemptions are known in some quarters as Jokers. To qualify for GGL you have to earn over three times the requirement for Gold, but it is a clearly stated benefit that their best customers can strive for.

I have considered moving to the BA Avios program specifically for this benefit which would be of GREAT value to me.

They offer "upgrade certificates' similar to SWUs when you reach Gold.

jmappleby

I totally agree that AA (and other US airlines) could learn something from BA's treatment of very frequent flyers. @jonnyc has alluded to something coming for CY17 a few times.

Still, I maintain fewer SWUs in circulation should make them easier to redeem, with everything else being equal. AA are more generous with SWUs than BAEC is with the "upgrade certificate".

prw555

[QUOTE=jmappleby;27235292] I totally agree that AA (and other US airlines) could learn something from BA's treatment of very frequent flyers. @jonnyc has alluded to something coming for CY17 a few times.

Absolutely. A $55-60k spend EXP, 350k EQM flyer should not be treated the same as a $12k 100k mile flyer. There needs to be some differentiation, that is transparent. SWU's are not a reward for a J flyer. And, personally I prefer J to F anyway on the 77W.

oysterhead43

I hit 150k EQM and two additional SWUs were credited immediately, same night.

SkyTeam777

I am at 225k EQM for the year and have stopped flying AA/oneworld completely until early 2017 because of this limitation. I understand that some people are getting exceptions because they are big spenders, but the rest of us are pushed away. This is the kind of penny-wise, pound-foolish decision that is confusing.

DevilDawg1960

Very interesting. I have not heard that. Can you share where have you heard that some people are getting exceptions and what they are getting? Thanks

JonNYC

I'd be quite curious as well.

RogerD408

AA is not pushing you away as much as you are running away. Just because the brass ring shute is not working is not a good reason to get off the merry-go-round. If you're only flying AA for the future benefits you might be able to secure is not a reason to give up the benefits you've earned by flying AA.

Of course, everyone needs to decide for themselves what's important. Personally, not getting the extra SWUs is not an issue for me.

jordyn

Presumably people that hit 225K+ EQMs mid-year will have no problem getting status on another airline as well. Since EXP is not particularly more attractive than most other airline's top tier status at this point (and I think it's quite obviously worse than some of the competition), you're not really giving anything up by flying another airline that you also have top status on.

As for the notion that SWUs are somehow going to become easier to use, for me they're very low value if they can't be confirmed at booking time. So unless AA starts releasing a lot more C inventory in advance rather than waiting until the last minute as they seem to be mostly doing these days, the theoretically improved chance of a battlefield upgrade is hardly going to offset the fact that they've cut the benefit in half.

DevilDawg1960

I could not agree more.

I let 4 SWUs expire this February (I know I should have given them away).

I have 11 SWUs expiring Feb 28 2017 that I am giving away to friends and colleagues. I have only been able to use 3 this year to upgrade from J to F on TPAC flights. Looked at using 4 for a vacation trip for me and Mrs DevilDawg1960 and ended up giving up. Even with great flexibility (timing and location) could not get anything to work.

Since I won't gamble on a battlefield upgrade, I am only using them to go from J to F and there are not many opportunities for this. I will make sure that I give away what I cannot use so they do have value in that way.

You might ask "why is he fighting for more SWUs if he cannot use them?" and I would have to admit that I do not have a good answer. Maybe it is because I am competitive and more is better. I am also beginning to embrace the concept of giving them to others so they can have a better experience.

JDiver

I think you understand incorrectly. I know people with CK and lots of premium spend who have not received SWU beyond 200,000 EQM, 300,000 EQM and more.

Sometime next year, the challenges will be greater: not only will SWU clear by amount of EQD spend within each status tier, Premium Economy is quite possibly going to be the upgrade path from Main Cabin / MCE on ircraft that have it just as it is on other oneworld carriers currently, and one will have to purchase PEY to potentially upgrade to Business.

jmappleby

Update on this, I received 2 SWUs for hitting 250k, and 2 more for CK, bringing me to a total of 12 this year.

Interestingly... the system has expired 4 of them, which has brought the total back down to 8.

no2chem

So.. do we get 2 extra SWUs for hitting 250k EQM, or is this discretionary based on spend? Did you have to call in? Has anyone else had any experience? Deciding whether I should put my next 100k mi of flying for the rest of the year on UA to match and maintain 1K or to just stick with AA.