kb9522

Or use just that airline for a while instead of spreading your business.

nk15

With the introduction of the B fares, and the irrationally discrepant way AA is pricing them vs main cabin, there is basically no game left in chasing status with AA, it is almost foolish....At this point it is more rational/reasonable to switch to UA or DL, except I detest them both, lol, so, there....

metallo

I would have posted the same thing and couldn't agree more. If you have the cash to push for additional EQDs (and you don't really need to spend it on AA flights), then you should probably at least consider buying some extra paid F/J and worrying less about your upgrade chances. That way, you'll not only get the extra EQDs, but extra EQMs and RDMs, as well, all without having to play the upgrade lottery.

This is the type of post that must make AA management very happy (if they were to read it, anyway). People used to debate how to fly more miles for less (to get EQMs needed for status), and now they're actually debating how much more money they should give to AA for just a mere chance at better upgrade priority.

bse118

1. There's much more to the "value" of status than upgrades (especially domestic upgrades). Discussion of the "return" from elite status that focuses solely on domestic upgrades misses quite a lot.

2. "Just buy F" is nice in theory. But misses the point that a large segment of the elite population is travelling for business/work and may well be prevented by policy from buying F/J. [Not to mention that domestic F/J is simply not worth paying a premium for in most circumstances.]

3. "Chasing status" is a fool's errand. Always has been, always will be. Earning it "naturally" by concentrating the flying you are doing on one airline/alliance is a different matter.

metallo

True, but this thread happens to be about EQDs and upgrade chances.

No doubt about that, but this topic is discussing whether it's worth spending extra $$$ (presumably personal $$$) to get higher upgrade list priority by gaining additional (and possibly otherwise unnecessary) EQDs.

And, remember, the change fee is waived if you up-fare to paid F/J with an already-purchased ticket.

Totally agree.

Dave Noble

That is still more foolish than getting status by virtue of taking travel based on most appropriate carrier for trips

DFW DL

Easy answer...the point of diminishing returns is to earn enough EQD to qualify for CK. At that point you trump all EXP for upgrades (and get free AC access as well).

Now, if only AA would tell us what the threshold is for CK...

nk15

Except when there are two CKs and one seat left to the west coast, and you fly in coach...rough...

I don't think that's worth it either, if you have $30-35k eqd you would trump most everybody else anyway, and AC access is worth like $400 something, better to buy it outright, if you're spending and flying that much. Spending another $20k+ towards an uncertain goal doesn't seem worthy to me.

So I guess around 30-35k eqd would probably be the point of seriously diminishing returns...for most markets, except maybe for the toughest routes/flying times.

rjw242

Unless you have unlimited budget and 100% control over when/where you fly, there's no real point in gaming EQD. And if you do have unlimited budget, there's also no real point in gaming EQD.

bridge29

Time of day/week has such a huge influence on this. I'm a Gold with about 2.5k spend so far this year.

Case in point: PHL-BOS, Sunday evening, dead last on upgrade list, 20-something deep.
BOS-PHL, Saturday morning, was upgraded at check-in T-24.

869

when do they roll out the cumulative EQD requirements to achieve lifetime status?

PaulInTheSky

But I can tell you AA would be even happier when more people start buying AA premium fares.

I just tried a couple of new AA and UA domestic F. Seriously the new slimline seats are awful, F or Y or MCE/E+.

My take: Just minimize AA flying.

CloudCoder

The old game (a few years ago) allowed frequent flyer hobbyists to score upgrades. This forced deep-pocket corporations to pay premium fares if they wanted premium travel. As far as I can tell, it was a great system.

Nowadays the game has changed. Deep-pocket corporations can buy premium fares at a discount (via negotiated rates). If you work for a big corporation which doesn't allow premium fares, you get CK status where you get the upgrade even on cheap fares. Meanwhile, the frequent flyer hobbyists must compete against deep-pocket corporations by paying full list price for the same seat that the corporate traveler gets at a discount. Newfangled aircraft have few premium seats, thus making it even harder to score the upgrade.

Even though the game has changed a lot, there are still plenty of frequent flyer hobbyists who want to play. But keep in mind that even if you win the game, you can never get to the highest (CK) rung of the ladder. That rung is especially reserved for big corporations so that, in case of a tie, the big guys always win, and you sit in the back.

If AA can convince you to spend a lot of money to chase that empty dream, so much the better.

There's an old saying, "Las Vegas welcomes all gamblers. But if you have a "System", they'll send an airplane for you". The AAdvantage program has become the "System", and they send an airplane for you with every ticket you purchase.

Yes, it's a tough game nowadays.

rjw242

I didn't realize the criteria for achieving CK were public. Can you provide a link?

kb9522

Sounds like this was meant to be a rant against corporations rather than convey any meaningful (or factual) information?