pdac1975

So a friend of mine was recently offered Plat Pro for free. I'm assuming it is some kind of challenge but don't have all the details. Has anyone else seen this? As someone with 88 segments this year, I was not amused.
Especially since I've been the first one on the upgrade list NOT to get upgraded more times than I'd like to count.
Anyway, I was just curious.

PHL

Come back to us with more details from your friend like..

Did he provide proof of any other status with another airline and annual spending with them?

What are his other flying and spend habits on AA?

Does he currently have any AA status? Was his spend:miles ratio high where he surpassed a spending threshold but didn't achieve all the miles for Plat Pro?

anabolism

AA does on occasion run targeted promotions in which selected people are offered a temporary status, with an offer to maintain the status for the rest of the status year by meeting a significantly reduced threshold. I, myself, benefited from such a targeted promotion last century. (I was unexpectedly seated in the J section of a three-class plane that was substituted for our scheduled two-class aircraft on a business trip; a coworker told me it was because I had status, which I tried to insist I didn't, but he pointed to the "Gold" printed on my BP. On arriving home I discovered paper mail from AA informing me I'd been granted Gold status for 90 days, and if I flew a modest amount on AA (not partners), I'd keep it through February of the following year, and if I flew a bit more, I'd earn Platinum. That year I did my first ever status run.)

MathMusic

I have a similar story, I received Plat this year as a gimme match while having no status to speak of. I asked our corporate travel rep about any status challenge offers in Sept. and she got them to comp it until the end of this year. No challenge attached. I was expecting to get a challenge and be able to earn Plat through 2018, but they comped me through the end of the 2017 year.

I'll only be gold next year though, but I earned that the hard way with 30 flights. At least the last 12 flights where I've been Plat I have been batting 50% on the FC upgrades, mostly on smaller under 500 mi routes on the east coast.

pdac1975

No proof of any other status.
Infrequent flyer. Not loyal to AA.
No AA status
No spend to speak of.

skunker

Just a cold call out of the blue? There is more to this. Was it from his/her work? A recent high dollar ticket purchased? Anything???

bse118

Are you Plat Pro yourself?

If so: If your concern is someone who earned PP status by way of a challenge coming ahead of you on the upgrade lists, I wouldn't be that concerned.

Upgrade lists are sorted by 12 month rolling EQD totals within status level - someone earning PP by challenge will in all likelihood have EQD levels below the PP threshold (low spend) and thus should be behind people on the upgrade lists who earned status the published way - by hitting the EQD threshold.

Once that challenge person earns the actual EQD threshold he/she is no different than any other person who earned status.

Am I missing something?

skunker

Maybe, just maybe, he was just venting about the fact that he has had to suffer through 88 segments on AA to get his status and his friend got it for nothing.

Why set requirements if AA isn't going to hold people to them?

(Yes, I understand the idea that AA did this for a specific reason that we will never know in an attempt to lure his friend's business to AA.)

bse118

That's a different issue. OP specifically mentioned upgrades:

And I hope that OP "suffered" through 88 segments because he/she had reasons that required flying - and not just to get status.

enviroian

Is he a Parker relative?

jacobguo

Hmm... maybe I should use my work email on my AA profile?

Not that a lowly grad student/teaching assistant has any shot at free status anyways...

pdac1975

I will achieve plat pro at 90 segments. So not plat pro yet. This is my first year with AA having come over from DL. This person does not fly much so I hardly feel I'm competing with them for upgrades. I just thought it was funny.
I thought the rolling EQD was the last tie breaker for upgrades and status (obviously) and fare class came first.
To be fair, I did get offered to expedite my Plat Pro Status for "just" $915.00. So if I really wanted it two days sooner I could have had it.

boerne

The PPro offer your friend got is hearsay until you see a hard copy of the offer.

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/hearsay

pdac1975

Thanks for the lesson! Always wondered what that word meant. Did you look that up for me or for you?
I have no reason to doubt my friend and know for a fact that they received Plat Pro Status. If this somehow bothers you then move along. Was curious is all and thought others might be as well.

skunker

Actually, he said "As someone with 88 segments this year, I was not amused." The part about upgrades is evidence to his point about why he was not amused.