Epinz300

Good Morning All!

My wife and I are wanting to travel a bit more then we are now for the next few years until we settle down and have kids. We want to get status with an airline as quick as possible. Currently live in south florida but will be moving up to the Washington DC area by the summer. Looks as if United and AA hold the market in that area. What is the quickest way to earn status with AA and any tips or tricks to earn it asap? Mileage runs? Would rather not open up another CC right now? Is AA better then United when it comes to perks/upgrades? How are the lounges?

dave_261

1. Status is only earned by flying (there's a couple opportunities to earn EQM/EQD via credit cards, but you stated that's of no interest).
2. Fastest way to status is to fly business or first class, which multiples your status miles.
3. In the DC area, United has more flights than AA (they basically own Dulles Airport). If Dulles is of no interest, AA has reasonable flight options from DCA (significantly more than UA).
4. Airline perks are subjective, so you'll need to look at some program comparisons and see what's important to you. Will also depend greatly on what status level you earn. That said, the airlines generally mirror each other, so you typically don't find too much difference in one program to the next.
5. AA is investing heavily in lounges and seem to move at a faster pace than UA.

This thread can provide some details on status 'challenges' which offer fast track to status under certain criteria:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amer...-2017-a-9.html

SeattleDavid

Note though that the cheapest fast way to status is finding and flying cheap Premium Economy fares on partner airlines (as flying on AA alone you will need to spend real dollars to earn your EQDs).

lds89

You can hit platinum (one world sapphire) pretty quickly doing a platinum challenge - can be earned in a few international flights in economy or three or 3.5 or so transcons in domestic first. Challenge is 90 days and if you do it after June will grant you the status until the end of Jan 2020 instead of Jan 2019. Then you can use that year (or 8-9 months if starting today) to go for something higher if you're truly flying alot.

Plat / OWS gets you business class checkin and lounge access when traveling internationally. If you get up to PPRO you get unlimited upgrades without using the certificates domestically and free same-day changes; need to get up to EXP to get the first class lounge/checkin benefits and SWUs

If you have no status today you won't be able to challenge for anything higher than Platinum

JDiver

Your fast start to status is the Status Challenge. Read the linked thread, particularly the Wikipost at the top of the page. It contains links to threads detailing the perks of each status tier achievable via the Challenge, Gold and Platinum. https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amer...ge-2017-a.html

econometrics

Yep. Status challenge, like JDiver noted.

I got Platinum through one many years ago and haven't looked back since.

boerne

econometrics

Probably one of the most underused benefits, with some of the best "free" perks in the airline loyalty industry.

I'm sitting on 4 free upgrades from Y to J internationally just from my regular flying last year. Pretty nice additional bonus for just adding my BE number to my reservations.

WiscAZ

Yeah I wish I would have known about FT because I found out that hard way that there was status challenges! I earned my status through good old fashion flying in the back. Certainly do appreciate status now.

WineCountryUA

For those new to the frequent flyer game, Which Frequent Flyer Program to Join? Help Is Here! is a good place to star t

QueenOfCoach

Any airline can get you from A to B safely.

There are 1001 details that may or may not mean anything to you, such as schedule, price, frequency, employee friendliness, comfy chairs in the lounge, distance to gates from TSA, etc. Only you can decide which of these mean more to you than others. For example, premium liquor availability means nothing to me as I don't drink alcohol. That might be a deal-breaker to someone else.

My best suggestion to you is to think about where you plan to fly on a regular basis. (Mom and Dad's house?) Then sign up for a frequent flyer program and stick with it.

Antarius

Why do you want status? That is the first question, IMO.

And related to that,
1. Where do you plan to travel?
2. How often do you plan to travel?
3. Do you plan on flying cheapest coach as possible, basic economy or J/F?

A lot of people chase status when in reality, they would be happier just buying the tickets as a free agent.

Jmichals39

With the EQD spend, I am better off buying first class on the few flights a year I do then to chase status.

Antarius

Exactly. I travel somewhat regularly for work and am one of those crazy people who flies to China for a weekend. for me, status makes sense. I also cannot book F for corporate travel domestically, so if going back and forth every week, status makes a world of difference. If you travel 5 times a year, just buy the F tickets. it will cost the same or a bit more than GLD (assuming domestic) and personally/IMO, Gold status is pretty useless with regards to getting MCE or upgrades.

I also know some people who chase status but don't enjoy flying that much. To which I ask, whats the point of the benefit?

Jmichals39

I use to be Platinum. Not that special. I still have stickers though.... Is there anything I can do with them or will they just sit in my account?