wrfrhiannon

I just requalified for the 7th consecutive year for EP. I totally agree. Time to chose another village.

Antipode

Yup, there's a rule that you have to meet 12,000 EQD to qualify for EXP, and there's a second rule that you can get 6,000 EQD for spending on a CC. Sounds like they're following the rules they published to me.

makfan

I don't know why this thread annoys me, but the airline programs have always had strange combinations that can seem in conflict with one another. I think many are finding the elite game no longer worth the trouble. Even at the 11x multiplier, most of my trips are paying me fewer miles under the new points scheme than the old one, sometimes drastically so. Even the P fares I buy when I can.

If you are buying premium fares for your personal or business travel, then you get most of the perks already, so what difference does it make?

AA100k

I've had years when I've spent over $9K and not made PLT while others have made EXP (reportedly) on less than $2K. If AA wanted status to be just about $ spent they would eliminate all other criteria. Come to think about it, it could easily end up that way - stranger things have happened in FF programs lately.....

gajs

Yes, following"" the rules"". However, rule #2 was just recently made a new 'rule' - and I might add a 'rule' to which, and for which, many of your fellow AA flyers can't gain access to as of now, as it becomes available only in airports or on flights as of 1-1-2017, so I've read.

jay_dubya

Rule #1 is a pretty recent addition too. In fact, both rules go into effect on the same exact day.
Your second point is somewhat true but irrelevant. The product is unavailable until January 1st, but the EQD requirements and waiver don't apply until then either. While barclaycard will only be advertising the card through aa on flights and in airports, there's no reason to think that online sign-up won't be available.

gajs

Yes agreed. for Sh-its and giggles did some dummy bookings to help me decide how the new system works for/against. IF I book BOS-Europe, coach, on AA metal or code shares, the bonus miles are 1/3 of what they were before. I see a $500RT. It breaks down as $100 fare, $200 fees, and $200 taxes approx. SO taking BOS-VIE as example: approx. 9,x00EQM, and ONLY -- $350EQD as an EXP, and 3,500ish Bonus miles. Before 100% match. and flying PE or J on BA gets me almost nothing better. [Did AA just ask [nudge] me to jump ship... to be a BA ff?]

With Boston as my home base, I have no AA metal options for international European travel. ALL BA or IB, and I don't necessarily want to fly west to JFK/PHL/ or ORD to then fly back over what I just crossed over to fly east to Europe! Asia has better options for me on AA. But again, as Ive stated: for the first time in many years have booked 2 international trips outside AA/oneworld to test the waters -- and have encouraged others with whom I have sone sway to do the same. Cheers!

JD - you realize, that in theory, a person can buy a RT BIZ seat to say Europe for $3-5+K first week of January, and then be pretty much guaranteed to be at or near the top spot for future upgrades through, I'd guess... most of the 1st half of the year? there are people who have seasonal travel, and if that occurs after Sept..they are pretty much SOOL.

arollins

I'm lost here, read the thread, but what do you mean by rule #1?

jay_dubya

Rule # 1 - EQD requirement
Rule # 2 - EQD offset from barclaycard

jay_dubya

On that point - I totally agree with you. Switching to rolling EQDs to determine upgrade priority takes away any predictability and strategy when booking flights. While people argue that basing priority by request date is unfair to last minute expensive fares, I'm not convinced. Full Y fares were already given priority, so the advantage was booking early on a cheap fare vs late on a cheap fare. Now an EXP with generally high spend will be able to buy an O fare a week out and jump to the top of the list. Also, if I spend 25k a year with AA, am I less valuable to them because there happens to be someone else on the flight who spends 26k?

gajs

Lets face it: this [flying] is just the greyhound bus... of the new millennium. and as to your question: yes, less valuable than the person who spent $25,000.01 all the corporate office sees are methods to make the stock look better to investors, and to increase their own net worth [as is our/everyone's goal] maybe they should incognito fly their own airline sometime and see what its really like. Often quite good, sometimes remarkably so, and other times down right horrible. IMO the US people hoodwinked AA, and clearly outplayed them at the game.

I've been nearly 25 years enrolled. many of them were 85-95K years, some were flights taken in EMPTY planes after 9-11 [and which for the grace of G, I wan't on #25], 2 flights were partially spent on the floor in 1st tending to fellow passenger with health issues [don't do that anymore], some where near 200-250K [don't do those anymore either]. I sound like my father did 20 years ago. Its a different world out there, and its not looking all that good, I'm sorry to say.

arollins

Thanks.
Me and +1 we both have the Barclaycard since 2014, and upgraded to the silver one last month when we both received the offer. I'm holding on to CITI to see what happens on that one.

Robertsonland

The problem I have with the "date of request' system is that stuff gets reset and you are SOL. Especially with long haul flights and you make a change or the system just does something behind the scenes and it looks like you requested it that day vs months ago.

makfan

Can't argue much. I joined AA in 1990 and I forget how many consecutive years I've been EXP. Just seems like there is now nothing special about it. My lifetime level is getting devalued to third tier in the same year I'll finally hit 3MM.

Thank you for helping those distressed passengers.

bse118

All I can say is that on my last 4 SWU requests, on the overwater segments, everyone on the list cleared. A couple flights went out with empty J seats. These were on LHR and HKG flights - not backwater destinations. I can't remember the waitlists/clearance on my SWU requested flights before those 4, or I would have included them.

So result would have been the same under the priority by dollars system. Strategy and predictability will still very much be part of the game.

The wailing in this thread is overblown.

YMMV