It seems like AA are working towards making EXP a level with higher spend pax in it. It's been a good ride where you can get EXP for $3-5k in spend.

That said, this is a system, and all systems can be gamed. Seems like longhaul partner PE or discount J is the new way to earn discount EQD.

Seems like if you can snag a few trips like this at say $2000 each, you will be able to make EXP for $4-5k. You'll see :-)

For most of my team this won't make much difference. $12k is not so much business travel, provided you focus your loyalty on one airline.

Your value to AA
 

Kind of off topic but maybe in the right thread, since it is about revenue contribution...

What is the measurement called that identifies how "valuable" you are to AA? I remember reading about it long ago (maybe on the US forum). And, is there any way to see what this value is for yourself?

You may be thinking of Helix score/Eagle ranking, but, actually, in this exact context, there's an even less discussed internal score that's an exact measure of individual member profitability.

No way to see any of this by the member.

I'm currently sitting at 160k EQM YTD, with 10k of that from the Citi Executive card, which I've spent $400k on in the past five years.

I've probably spent close to $20k this year on fares from AA, including a lot of P/A fares domestically. Last year I barely squeaked by as EXP with 101k EQM, including a Jakarta MR.

AA forgets that when my travel slows down/picks up I remember the overall experience not just the year I spent 'enough' to be treated well. The experience has gotten so poor this year, it is quite sad.

I think this is a VERY important aspect of loyalty/elite experience AA (and DL and UA) are leaving out of the equation with the new revenue-based incarnations of their FFPs.

This will probably be the last year I requalify for EP. The upgrade situation has become very bad, and going to spend-based upgrade priority will make it worse in January. In fact as someone who has no choice but to have lowest-fare economy through work, I have no chance of an upgrade after January 1st when competing with high-dollar international J spenders.

Given that, I have moved all of my leisure travel from AA to the cheapest first class on any airline, be it United, Delta, or Virgin. While I am now spending more to buy First Class, rather than upgrade, that money isn't going to AA all the time like it used to. On balance I'd say they are going to lose a a bit of net revenue by chasing away elites who used to give them their non-work discretionary spending.

Here's one for you. In 2012 I personally spent $42,000 on AA/OW and did not make EXP. That's right folks paid International F and only had like 85,000 EQP

right now I am at 233K , no idea how much I have spent, my wife dares to show me our CC charges, but I am too scared to look, since I work for myself.
not really sure about EXP next year, 12K might be a bit to much for me, since I have and always look for the cheapest fare I can find.
I in the past have qualified on EXP on less than $5000 spend, I already know that I am not the kind of EXP is looking for anymore.

Just made Exec Plat for the 5th year running (including US CP). Or maybe it's the 4th. One thing I am sure of: It will be the last.

It's not the little things, like one month less guaranteed (expires 31 Jan instead of 28 Feb).

It's not the decline from 8 SWUs to 4SWUs; heck, as a US CP, at best I was getting 4 SWUs. Anyhow, 4 or 8, it doesn't matter a heck of a lot if -- as seems to be the case nowadays -- there is no way to lock in any SWU use in advance. Does this matter to anyone else? I have mostly used SWUs to do fun trips with spouse. In these situations, a lot of the fun is knowing in advance that we'll be jetting off to Europe in a lie-flat sear. Heck, the longer we know in advance, the more it is worth to us! Or to put it differently, it's rare that I would want to upgrade last minute, on my dime (including SWU use). I just flew TATL in coach after doing half-a-dozen or so RTs in J, and it just wasn't that bad. (I mean, it was not great, but it's like the dentist -- you do it and at some point you forget about it.) Like I say, a lot of the value in these SWUs is the prospect, and that seems to be gone. To the point where, even though my wife is only about 10K miles short of hitting Exec Plat herself, we figure the primary benefit -- the 4 addition SWUs -- is unlikely to be worth it. I'm not all in a huff here -- maybe some plan-ahead SWUs will emerge and we'll re-think qualifying her. But until then ....

No, all that is not the big stuff. The big stuff is the 1-2 punch:

• The EQD requirement. Try keeping a plan-ahead spreadsheet on that! It's also a serious disincentive to modest price "getaway" trips. They will be empty EQMs, like empty calories.
• The coming of discount economy. Even if I were to feel shame (and I do!) from those posters here who tell me that if I want to be treated like an elite, I need to pay high prices, I will soon be in the position of having to pay high prices to stick around as an Exec Plat and then, having shown my mettle on the financial front, I won't even be able to use this status for weekend trips to FL or the like. Unless I want to pay more! (See point 1, above.)

So the business model for AA seems to be: You want to be an elite? Plan your flying to pay higher places. You want to use your elite status? Pay more higher prices.

This seems also to be a good model for Amtrak, DL F fares, and AARP J discounts to Europe ... which I think is where I will be as my Exec Plat status wears off in the 15 months ahead.

My wind-down plan includes:

• Deep-sixing my Silver Aviator card, since what good are the 10K EQMs in an EQD environment? (Done)
• Letting go of our Citi Prestige cards when they come up for renewal end of summer 2017. Using the TYPs at 1.6 cents per point for EQM-yielding tickets is no longer possible after late July 2017 (thanks Citi!); nor that important a strategy if I'm not all in with AA (thanks AA!) Also, without the EQM incentive on cheap domestic fares, we'll be waiting to board AA less often, so no real need to stay with Admirals Club. Already have Amex Plat for DL clubs.
• Booking Award tickets like a mad man, since this (no-cost cancellation) is one of the few remaining benefits of Exec Plat that has not (yet) been altered. Also, if this year I won't be maximizing paid trips for EQMs, I can finally "afford" to fly myself on Award tickets. With my wife well north of 400,000 EQMs, it is a bit tempting to see if we can get her to Exec Plat for this "burn off" year, but not enough of an incentive to push it.

As ever, I write all of this not to complain that life is unfair, or that AA owes me something... rather, to get some feedback from others of you in similar positions whether I am thinking about this the right way. Don't want to cut off my nose to spite my face!

To be honest, I cannot possibly thumb up your post enough.

I primarily use(d) my SWUs to confirm upgrades in advance for myself and family when going somewhere. Well, that's gone... (Maybe I'll get an upgrade at the gate now, but only for me, not for my wife because she has no status and they won't process the upgrade unless we split it.)

At least as EXP, I knew I would always have access to the best agent when I called. Well, that's gone too...

Used to be as an EXP, you could have a decent chance at getting a seat opened up for award travel to complete your itinerary (like DFW-ORD if you had ORD-XXX-YYY already). Yep, you guess it, that's gone too...

Well at least as an EXP, I can use my benefits when I travel with my family for a weekend trip in deep-discount economy. Well, thanks AA, not anymore. That's about to be gone...

Well at least I can get some good value for my miles, maybe even book an around the world flight and a have of a lifetime. What's that you say, massive AAward devAAluation and no more around the world award tickets? Guess good value awards are gone now too...

Ok fine, well AA agents will treat me well no matter who I am? Nope, the service is gone too...

What does that leave me? Loyalty has to be a two way street. Doesn't seem that way anymore. I've spent tens of thousands of dollars extra over the years to fly AA because of my loyalty. That's over. PE on Lufthansa same price as regular Y on AA, and with a better schedule? Better believe I'm flying Lufthansa. Two years ago, I'd have called you crazy if you told me that.

Are most here simply doing this for pleasure? Maximizing the EQMs per dollar by doing MRs like the PTY one? I fly for business and am at over $13k already with only CONUS travel in Y and I barely hit Platinum.

I can't speak for all of us, but personally, most of my travel is work related, with a few personal trips mixed in. Some years, I need a MR in there for the last 20k or so EQM.

My work trips tend to be booked last minute, so I spend a lot on those. My personal trips tend to be booked well in advance, so are not very expensive.

My feelings exactly. I've had years when I've gone over $10k and never made PLT. I've made EXP in the past few years only because AA has offered discounted international J fares which I can afford and for which give me 2x EQM per mile flown. I'm probably one of the few who are helped by the program and price changes.

I think I am actually helped by the program changes too. I should still make EXP with the spend requirement and with a culling of the herd maybe I will have improved chances for upgrades.

One thing I'm not happy about is the thought that the SWU may only get you from economy to premium economy.

Very close to where I'm at. If I can't guarantee at least PE/WT+ to Europe, I'm not buying the ticket, so the SWUs for me are now only useful domestic. And the upcoding recoding F->J and thus taking domestic SWUs out of A probably kills that as well.

For me, add in that I'm losing ORD-LAX/PHX/SEA/SFO work trips due to organizational and client changes, and picking up more time in RDU which is a DL hublet, and it became clear that either BA Silver/DL Plat or less likely BA Gold/DL Gold was where I need to be. I'll still have the EQD requirement with DL, but they also generally have better priced YUP fares (in their G code) for when I travel with my girlfriend. And I'll still fly AA as EXP in 2017, pretty much any flight where I don't buy a YUP. But any YUP and any only-ER4 flight will be credited to BA.

I've been through something similar before with AA - I was EXP 2000-2002 when Arpey decided not only to kill MRTC on my leisure routes, but also decided to that pretty much every route I was flying for work should go from MD80/F100 to ER4s. I didn't come back for about a decade. So for me, it's just business.