Oct 21, 2017, 12:00 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
2018 Program Year Elite Status Buyback / Renew / Boost (as of EOY 2017)
"Grace" for those close to completing status requirements has not been offered since AA began the buyback / renew / boost program.
In previous years, AA (and US) have offered those who failed to requalify for elite status the opportunity to buy back or "boost" status for the following status year. That offer was extended for the 2017 programme year, and the 2018 offering is be discussed here. E-mails have gone out to many members (16 Nov) with tailored offers. To see if you are eligible and to see what your offers are, go to https://elite.americanairlines.com/e...ewal/login.cfm
NOTE: “Plus, your purchase price will count toward your Rolling Elite Qualifying Dollars, helping improve your upgrade priority.” - AA
List of members' offers for 2018 program year to be added below. See end for 2016 offers.
List current status, EQD & EQM / EQS, $ required for buyback or boost and status offered:
GOLD PLAT PPRO EXP
To read what each status tier offers, see:
What are AA Gold / GLD Benefits? Are they worth it? (Master thd) (link)
What are AA Platinum / PLT Benefits? Are they worth it? (Master thd) (link)
What are AA Platinum Pro Benefits? Are they worth it? (Master thd) (link)
What are AA Executive Platinum / EP / EXP Benefits? Are they worth it? (Master thd) (link)
For the thread discussing last year's programme, see this archived thread.
List of people's 2018 program year (1 Feb through 31 Jan) offers here. List is current up to post #147
Code:
Status EQM EQD GLD PLT PPR EXP
EXP 94k $17,960 ——————— ——————— ——————————— —————$1,895
PLT 24k $ 1,800 $ 699 $ 1,299 ——————— ———————
PLT 4k $ 1,000 $ 699 $ 1,999 ——————— ———————
EXP 86k $13,538 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 1,295
EXP 130k $11,940 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 345
PLT 12k $ 1,518 $ 699 $ 1,995 ——————— ———————
EXP 72k $16,000 ——————— ——————— $ 995 ———————
?(#16) 68k $ 9,315 ——————— ——————— $ 1,345 ———————
EXP 108k $11,855 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 225
EXP 101k $10,340 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 1,795
EXP 100k $10,000 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 2,995
None(#20)18k >$3,000 $ 495 ——————— ——————— ———————
GLD 46k $ 4,451 ——————— $ 1,865 ——————— ———————
PLT 34k $ 4,500 ——————— $ 1,299 ——————— ———————
???(#25) 66k $10,500 ——————— ——————— $ 1,345 ———————
PLT 26k $ 6,900 ——————— $ 1,299 ——————— ———————
PLT 46k $ 4,382 ——————— $ 1,299 ——————— ———————
EXP 10k $ 858 $ 699 $ 1,995 ——————— ———————
PLT 30k $ 2,264 $ 699 $ 1,299 ——————— ———————
PLT 58k $17,000 ——————— ——————— $ 1,945 ———————
PLT 19k $ 6,500 $ 500 $ 1,995 ——————— ———————
EXP 40k $ 5,383 ——————— $ 1,295 ——————— ———————
EXP 88k $ 8,000 ——————— ——————— $ 1,135 $ 4,155
EXP 102k $11,513 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 765
EXP 90k $14,361 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 1,795
PLT 45k $12,246 ——————— $ 695 ——————— ———————
GLD 19k $ 5,011 $ 495 ——————— ——————— ———————
???(#37)<80k $ 9,100 ——————— ——————— ——————— ———————
EXP 44.6k $ 2,230 $ 699 $ 1,299 ——————— ———————
EXP 93k $23,000 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 1,795
PPR 92k $13,000 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 1,795
EXP 45.5k $ 1,656 ——————— $ 1,479 ——————— ———————
PLT 63k $ 6,328 ——————— ——————— $ 2,885 ———————
None 14k $ 964 $ 2,215 ——————— ——————— ———————
PLT 65.7k $10,800 ——————— ——————— $ 1,345 ———————
PLT 42.4k $ 8,639 ——————— $ 1,075 ——————— ———————
PLT 44.9k $ 5,577 ——————— $ 995 ——————— ———————
EXP 57k $ 4,200 ——————— $ 1,299 ——————— ———————
PLT 40.6k $ 5,832 ——————— $ 995 ——————— ———————
PLT 40.5k $ 5,843 ——————— $ 895 ——————— ———————
EXP 84.6k $12,460 ——————— ——————— ——————— ———————
EXP 95.8k $11,679 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 1,395
PPR 81k $11,465 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 735
EXP 116k $11,870 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 225
EXP 90.6k $14,361 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 1,798
EXP 22k $ 1,100 $ 699 $ 1,299 ——————— ———————
EXP 92.5k $11,986 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 1,895
EXP 61k $ 8,800 ——————— ——————— $ 1,745 ———————
PPR 97k $20,000 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 1,295
EXP ~124k $11,296 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 935
EXP 94.8k $11,543 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 1,895
EXP 97.4k $14,228 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 1,295
PLT 73.6k $ 8,832 ——————— ——————— $ 995 ———————
EXP 98.4k $13,600 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 1,295
EXP 91.5k $11,660 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 1,895
PLT?(#80)62.6k $ 7,707 ——————— ——————— $ 1,645 ———————
EXP?(#81)99.9k $16,603 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 1,395
PLT 21k $ 1,500 $ 699 $ 1,299 ——————— ———————
PPR 93.3k $19,775 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 1,795
PLT 26.3k $ 4,172 ——————— $ 1,479 ——————— ———————
PLT 17k $ 2,221 $ 699 $ 1,299 ——————— ———————
EXP 88k $14,500 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 2,500
PLT 2k $ 230 ——————— $ 1,299 ——————— ———————
PLT 0 $ 0 $ 699 $ 1,299 ——————— ———————
GLD 72.3k $10,735 ——————— ——————— $ 995 ———————
PLT 75.9k $ 9,854 ——————— ——————— ——————— ———————
EXP 69.5k $ 9,950 ——————— ——————— $ 1,645 ———————
EXP 41.6k $ 8,077 ——————— $ 995 ——————— ———————
PLT 60.2k $ 8,200 ——————— ——————— $ 1,656 ———————
EXP 57.4k $ 6,067 ——————— $ 265 ——————— ———————
EXP 57k $ 6,000 ——————— ——————— $ 1,760 ———————
EXP 120k $10,500 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 1,850
EXP?(#100) 84.8k $13,025 ——————— ——————— ——————— ———————
EXP 99.9k $ 9,218 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 2,899
PPR 85k $ 9,200 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 2,985
PLT 36.2k $ 7,636 ——————— $ 1,295 ——————— ———————
GLD 44.7k $ 5,541 ——————— $ 895 ——————— ———————
PLT 46.5k $12,500 ——————— $ 650 ——————— ———————
PLT 43.1k $10,531 ——————— ——————— ——————— ———————
GLD 33.4k $ 4,966 ——————— $ 1,495 ——————— ———————
GLD 0 $ 0 $ 699 ——————— ——————— ———————
PPR 79.5k $19,295 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 3,575
GLD 39.6k $ 7,616 ——————— $ 1,195 ——————— ———————
None 35.1k $ 2,180 $ 995 ——————— ——————— ———————
PLT 25.2k $ 3,478 ——————— $ 1,479 ——————— ———————
EXP 99.5k $16,323 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 1,395
PLT 30k $ 4,988 ——————— $ 1,295 ——————— ———————
GLD 11k $ 1,652 $ 699 ——————— ——————— ———————
PLT 45.7k $12,250 ——————— $ 695 ——————— ———————
GLD 18.7k $ 5,000 $ 495 ——————— ——————— ———————
PLT 40.3k $ 3,050 ——————— $ 1,299 ——————— ———————
PLT 0 $ 0 ——————— ——————— $ 1,479 ———————
PPR 86k $21,500 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 2,495
EXP 92.3k $10,400 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 1,895
GLD ~9k ~$ 1,000 $ 699 ——————— ——————— ———————
EXP 99.4k >$14,000 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 1,299
EXP 95.5k $17,779 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 1,395
PLT 21k $ 2,200 $ 699 $ 1,299 ——————— ———————
EXP 115k $11,961 ——————— ——————— ——————— $ 225
EXP 53k $15,000 ——————— ——————— $ 1,765 ———————
EXP 30.5k $5,714 —————— $ 1,299 ——————— ———————
Program Year 2018 Elite Status Buy back / Buyback / Renew / Boost (master thd) .
Jan 2, 2018, 12:22 am
#451
Join Date: May 2008
Location: PHL (kinda, no airport is really close)
Programs: AA Exp, but not sure for how long. Enterprise Platinum woo-hoo!
Posts: 4,550
The offer says the buyup counts for "Rolling EQD's." Does it count for regular EQD's?
I bought up today (1/1) for $699.
I bought up today (1/1) for $699.
Jan 2, 2018, 4:06 am
#452
Join Date: May 2011
Location: NYC (LGA, JFK), CT
Programs: Delta Platinum, American Gold, JetBlue Mosaic 4, Marriott Platinum, Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond,
Posts: 4,895
Jan 2, 2018, 10:46 am
#453
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Madison WI
Programs: AA Lifetime PLT - 2.9MM, Lifetime AC, HHonors Gold, Marriott Gold, IHG Plat Amb, Hertz Precs Crcl
Posts: 2,213
Can't say for 100% certain, but I'd guess absolutely not. Be nice though, but if it did, it would be 'double-dipping' - paying for your missed 2018 status and also counting towards 2019 (as in regular EQD now that it is 2018) - not likely.
Jan 2, 2018, 3:08 pm
#454
Join Date: Dec 2004
Programs: Most....Four elite air/ Three hotel elites - UA MillionMiler - DL RWT alum
Posts: 1,257
Thanks to the new tax law blowing business / education expenses away, I will have to rely on charitable donations to cut my tax liability in 2018 most likely. Sooooo, instead of buying my tickets in 2017 for a charitable organization exchange program, I held off, and was below CC $ spend for the next bump in level. I should have done my spending on Discover or other cash-back card rather than AA's card. As above, if the only real difference in Plat Pro is not needing stickers, then I will pass, and be a "lowly" Platinum, instead of EXP in 2018. Having flown over 100K miles, I don't even get any SWUs as an insult to injury of the new $ spend rules for EXP and other levels. My travel appears to be switching to UA where I can close the gap to Million Miler and get the second-tier UA Gold-for-life in a year or two more of lots of long-haul international travel. AA is hurting the person who pays for their own tickets...and has to be cost-conscious - and does long-haul flying.
Jan 3, 2018, 8:42 am
#455
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: San Diego, Ca
Programs: AA 2MM LT PLT; AS MVP Gold75k; HHonors Diamond; IHG PLT
Posts: 3,502
Worth calling if you have a story to tell
Wife miscalculated EQMs, was less than 500 short of PLT when returning from a leisure trip over the holidays. Our late flight to SAN on Dec 28 was diverted to ONT, along with several other aircraft. AA ended up offering hotel rooms, created special flights the following day to ferry passengers, reposition aircraft, we instead participated in the Lyft / Uber / taxi brigade home instead. After speaking with several Aadvantage agents, ultimately transferred to a supervisor, she was able to obtain original mileage credit for the repositioning flight, claiming the delay prevented her from taking a mileage run to complete status.
So if you just missed a qualification threshold, have a story to tell, some spare time, I would a couple of attempts to find a compassionate Aadvantage supervisor before spending $500 to $750 to buy status, or giving up on the higher tier.
So if you just missed a qualification threshold, have a story to tell, some spare time, I would a couple of attempts to find a compassionate Aadvantage supervisor before spending $500 to $750 to buy status, or giving up on the higher tier.
Jan 4, 2018, 1:04 pm
#456
In Memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Durham, NC (RDU/GSO/CLT)
Programs: AA EXP/MM, DL GM, UA Platinum, HH DIA, Hyatt Explorist, IHG Platinum, Marriott Titanium, Hertz PC
Posts: 33,857
My final numbers for 2017 were 8,808 EQD, 70,391 EQM and 59 EQS. Annoyingly my Plat Pro offer is still $1,645 which I won't pay.
Jan 4, 2018, 5:28 pm
#457
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Madison WI
Programs: AA Lifetime PLT - 2.9MM, Lifetime AC, HHonors Gold, Marriott Gold, IHG Plat Amb, Hertz Precs Crcl
Posts: 2,213
Pricing Error?
Okay, as I posted a few posts ago, my offer updated the very same day my flights posted (next day.) The (rather expensive) offer had held until today (maybe yesterday) - and when I checked now, I was back to a PPRO offer even though I had clearly achieved that. Called an agent (AAdvantage - not EXP) told me it takes up to five days to update. When I mentioned again that I already had a EXP offer, she told me there had been a error in pricing and they were reloading. Said to check again in a few days. Sorta scared to see if the price will be even higher....
Jan 5, 2018, 9:45 am
#458
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Chicago, IL
Programs: AA EP; WN CP;UA SILVER; MARRIOTT TITANIUM; HH DIAMOND; IHG PLAT; RADISSON PLAT; HYATT GLOBAL
Posts: 1,938
Just curious, if there is any thread or article about the effects of EQD put in to qualify for this year and how it affected in the number of elites in each tier. Anecdotally, reading some threads, I read that high $ leisure travelers are free agents and buying premium on any airline.
Jan 8, 2018, 2:40 pm
#459
In Memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Durham, NC (RDU/GSO/CLT)
Programs: AA EXP/MM, DL GM, UA Platinum, HH DIA, Hyatt Explorist, IHG Platinum, Marriott Titanium, Hertz PC
Posts: 33,857
Jan 8, 2018, 6:04 pm
#460
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: AUS
Programs: BAEC Gold, AA PPro, Hyatt Globalist, Amex Plat
Posts: 7,041
Regards
Jan 8, 2018, 6:10 pm
#461
Join Date: May 2011
Location: NYC (LGA, JFK), CT
Programs: Delta Platinum, American Gold, JetBlue Mosaic 4, Marriott Platinum, Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond,
Posts: 4,895
Jan 8, 2018, 6:20 pm
#462
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: AUS
Programs: BAEC Gold, AA PPro, Hyatt Globalist, Amex Plat
Posts: 7,041
Jan 8, 2018, 6:42 pm
#463
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Madison WI
Programs: AA Lifetime PLT - 2.9MM, Lifetime AC, HHonors Gold, Marriott Gold, IHG Plat Amb, Hertz Precs Crcl
Posts: 2,213
It's what I expected really - the earliest posts seemed to indicate they were charging about the EQDs that you were sort of the 12k, and I ended up just over the 9K threshold. EQMs not an issue.
Jan 9, 2018, 4:41 pm
#465
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: PHX & AGP
Programs: AA Lifetime PLT, Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Gold
Posts: 11,453