MarJon

So, I am a bit bummed that I will be making EXP this year.

My wife is about to retire next year and we plan to do a lot of traveling together. Don't get me wrong, the SUP's will be great, however, domestically, I understand that while I'll receive complementary, read no 500 mile coupons needed, my wife's upgrade will cost the appropriate number of coupons. All this while I will no longer earn coupons.

So as I understand it, as long as I stay an EXP or PPro and once my coupons run out, then I will have to purchase her coupons, @ $50 a pop, versus as a PLT I earn enough for both of us. Delta appears to upgrade complementary.

Just not feeling as giddy as I thought I would earning the EXP....... Have others felt this way?

gizayabasu

To be fair, I feel like coupons are pretty useless unless you're taking unusual flights. Hardly had success with them, but I can see how they're useful with SO.

cpdc1030

I assume you are not DFW based - as it seems everyone and his/her dog is EXP there. Do you get many upgrades as a Plat currently? What routes do you typically fly?

Even excluding the 4x systemwide upgrades (which I have used on LAX-AKL, LAX-HKG, LAX-LHR so far this year, one more to go, likely LAX-LHR again), the value for me outweighs getting the stickers for upgrading your traveling partner(s).

Other than the "priority" you get on upgrades, the big difference makers for me are the free Same Day Flight Change and free mileage redeposit on AAdvantage awards. That gives me so much more flexibility, and I'd value these benefits at least at $1000 per year. So nice to get an earlier flight home when possible.

Often1

Your wife will enjoy sitting up front while you are in steerage !

rbAA

Well, the 500 mile e-certs (no longer "coupons" as they started out,) are $40 each online.

I had a similar problem when my GF started travelling with me, as I had been EXP for years and had few e-certs. Why not just start out flying international routes to use your SWU's until she can earn enough enough e-certs of her own, plus the domestic trips that she flies with you where your e-certs can be used.

Before making EXP in June of this year, my GF got 24 e-certs (after redeeming 5,) in her account, so if she loses EXP after 2/19 she will be set for some domestic flying. Of course, you can always do awards for her, but that doesn't always work due to limited availability of premium cabin awards on AA. Or, just buy what you need for your travels. That's basically what these programs are going to.

But, get her status as quickly as possible though the challenge or ???

Cheer up, though there is the new pyschologists phone in hotline for $32 per week if you need to discuss this issue to get it off your mind. How does that make you feel?

MarJon

Based in FL… Able to upgrade about 60% of the time…. We were both able to get upgraded CLT-PDX-CLT… No typical routes other than MIA-TLV several times a year….
I’ve actually offered it to her, but she never takes me up on it….. tells everyone while I would certainly swap FC seats with her MCE, however, I’d probably just whine too much afterwards to make it worth her while…
She’s actually going to lose her Gld this year….. Maybe we need to revisit this…..
Will they take an e-cert in lieu of the $32?

SNA_Flyer

Actually they started out as "stickers". Literally stickers that you applied to a paper ticket.

ashill

If you're getting two of you upgraded 60% of the time, how are you earning enough 500-mile upgrades so that you don't have to pay for them? Neglecting the (considerable) rounding errors introduced by the discreteness of the upgrades (which would make the numbers work out worse), you earn 2000 miles worth of upgrades for every 12500 miles you fly. So you can only upgrade 16% of your miles flown; you can upgrade the two of you for 8% of the miles you fly. If you're getting upgraded 60% of the miles you fly, you would have had to buy a lot of 500 mile upgrades as a Plat, for both yourself and your spouse. So you've gone from earning complimentary upgrades for about 8% of the miles the two of you fly to earning complimentary upgrades for about 50% of the miles the two of you fly (ie all of your flights but none of your partner's).

Now, if you have considerable non-upgradable flights (paid F/J, partner flights, long haul international, or on RJs without F, as well as <500 mile flights that don't use upgrades even for Gold/Plat/companions), then you can earn more upgrades as a Plat. I certainly earned far more upgrades than I could use even with a pretty-good upgrade rate, since most of my flying when I was Platinum was TATL, short-haul (<500 miles, often on 50-seaters), or on Alaska Airlines.

MarJon

ashill..... Correct....I earn most of my miles on non-upgradable flights, usually, BA and only fly 5 or so domestic RT flights a year... most of which are connections so there are approx 10 segments domestically of which I may be upgraded on 5 or 6 segments.

VickiSoCal

Then you'll be able to use SWU's on 4 of your wife's trips. Pick the longest ones.

teemuflyer

Yes, like int'l LH flights

carlosdca

No. you get 4 SWUs, lounge access on international flights, dedicated EXP line, no fee award changes, etc.

Use the SWU to upgrade your wife on the domestic flight, if it is that important to you.

As PLT you only earn enough upgrades (20 stickers) for 1 RT coast to coast flight for two, including yourself.

davidsc111

Odds are if your plat (still earning certs) you're not going to get upgraded anyways...especially now that EXP can upgrade award tickets...

apeortdz

I'm confused. You're bummed because you made EXP and you think not making it would have been better. This makes no sense.

boerne

I Bought a ton of 500 mile upgrades at $30 for both of us. Won't buy any again. Use miles and $ to upgrade. And look for alternate flights. AA is not what it used to be.