Long Train Runnin

Uh, DL has a 25k co brand spend to drop the waiver all the way up to PM (The AA Plat Pro equivalent). If you spend 250k+ you can even get an MQD Waiver up to DM.

AA is not leading the pack with that idea.

freeagent

DL actually waives the MQD for the first 3 elite tiers like AA does with $25K spend on their cards, and will actually waive the MQDs for Diamond if you spend $250k on their Amex card.

cmtlatitudes

If they do, hopefully all 2021 flights will qualify. Last year, wasn't rollover limited to Q4 travel, even though status was extended for all?

dvs7310

The DL accelerator is only good for people in the US (DL flights only), so AA doing something like that does zip for their overseas elites. DL has always been quite generous to their overseas elites, and UA as well up until changing to PQP. AA less so but long haul flyers can still make it work.

I'm actually a bit disappointed with the DL accelerator, in status challenges, both AA and DL include their JV partners, so why not allow the JV partners in the accelerator too. Glad to see AC at least leading the pack in a blanket extension, hopefully that pressures UA to do the same, which of course nearly forces AA and DL to follow. I'm certainly not overly keen to have to status match to DL in December as Skyteam is useless in Japan domestic.

SEA737

I'm pretty confident AA will have to significantly change their reqs for the year and probably outright extend status, or at least do targeted extensions.

I used to do lots of long-haul J biz travel. In '19 I was at over 40K EQD. In '20 I even managed over 15K EQD in the first 3 months. This year I know for a fact international biz travel at my company and other similar ones won't return until at least the last month of the year or two.

In short, there's no way I hit the lowered EQD requirement this year, nor the EQM one since I used to hit that thanks to long-haul J EQM multipliers. AA would be crazy to make people in this situation free agents.

Personally, I conveniently have AS 75K status, and will easily keep it since they rolled over lots of elite miles from last year so really no incentive for me to do mileage runs on AA to keep EXP now that AS is in oneworld.

I'm in wait and see mode and my bet is AA will extend my status anyway, so I'm not putting any dollars I wouldn't spend otherwise on getting status. But we'll see.

355F1

I don't care whether they extend my EXP; I just don't want my 5 SWUs to expire in July like they are set to.

BarrenLucidity

Hell, if anything this is prime AA. Spend more for arguably less overall.

LovePrunes

have thought about doing some MR's for the EQM's since I could get PPro with the citibank spend waiver of EQDs.
Have concluded its not worth the time and money with first class tix priced the way they are. I'll save the $1500-2000 of chasing "possible free upgrades" as PPRO and just use $ saved to purchase guaranteed upgrades for the ones I want
even the MIA-LAX $35 one-ways and the JFK-ANC $100 one ways are too much hassle and so much uncertainty how much biz trip flying will happen in 2022.
personal trips I'm using miles bc the redemption prices are insanely cheap right now.

IADCAflyer

Glad you can get them; cheap fares to LAX are now history ex-Washington. More typically in the $225 to $300 range now with high summer fares in the $400 range.

bryanb

I'm specifically holding off booking a few flights for a couple more weeks, in the hopes that AA will provide some hint of what they're going to do. As it looks right now, I have a chance for a fresh start as a free agent. Even with the reduced requirements as they stand now, I don't think I can make Platinum Pro this year. Might be a clean chance to switch.

Herb687

The part I bolded is ALWAYS the correct strategy.

lunchtime

I don't think most airlines are going to extended status again. The real reason is that the business traveler of 2019 will not reflect the business traveler of 2022. People who spent a ton on leisure travel will earn it again or essential business travel that never stopped will earn it again anyway. I think some people on here want it to get extended again, because they know they wont requalify, but that doesn't mean much.

If anything some requirements might get easier, but i don't see them just gifting it again not a straight match, maybe Gold status. The entire business travel industry is getting changed and this allows the airlines to see who is really valuable now and root out the old valuable people. . They are moving to more of a leisure dominated system where those super valuable last minute full fares and people paying a huge premium for a N/S or timing will be much lower. The airlines will need to make money in other ways to compensate like more upsell to F and less upgrades potentially. IE they cant have as many elite flyers.

Business travel is not going to just return because of vaccines. Companies have saved too much money to just have things return to normal. There will be alot of people no longer worthy of such high elite status in 2022 and it hurts the people who will actually fly if you just gift it back for a whole year. Especially with so many planes retired 2022 is set to be very crowded out there.

Booking.com CEO says business travel will be "forever lower" post pandemic. Forbes had another article. We can all see this, companies have flat out saved way too much money to go back to the old way business was done. There will be lots of elite flyers in 2019 who no longer really deserve or need it. There will be lots of people who used to travel for work who just wont now. Gifting status will give alot of people who haven't touched a plane in 2021 benefits for their own leisure flying in 2022 as alot wont be travelling much for work.

SEA737

Status has value though, and the incremental cost paying extra to "be loyal" and attain status can be worth it as long as it's less than the value of status for a given flyer

SEA737

I'm really curious to see what happens with business travel, but I can't imagine any US3 airline would in their right mind go for a reset in expectation of it being entirely different until things settle down by 2022 (hopefully...). Experts are all over the place on predictions as to what'll happen. My personal bet is it'll be closer to the middle between what it was before and what you're saying.

But as long as business travel *could* come back, at least to some significant extent, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see AA and others to give at a minimum targeted extensions to EXPs they think it's worth taking a gamble on, in case they fall into the bucket of flyers that return with business travel. There won't be too many flyers attaining top status otherwise anyways (not like too many leisure travelers will be casually spending 12k on a year with low fares and pandemic concerns). Tbh I'm not sure for levels below EXP though.

If 2022 rolls around and business travel turns out to be radically different, airlines will be able to rethink their programs then, and rethink them radically, so status as we know it may not even be the right model in that world.

MiamiAirport Formerly NY George

From the consultant world travel is going to be changed forever, and less of it. While "being there in person" WILL ALWAYS (and I don't give a hoot what the FB/Instagram/Zoom/MS Teams crowd claims) beat the virtual/video experience there's a huge cost benefit analysis. People will be told to "make Zoom meetings work". I already see it now personally, and it sucks. But this is the future. NO DOUBT ABOUT IT.

My guess is that after awhile some of that business travel will come back because of the disaster that's going to occur in industry after industry with this mentality that anything done in person can be accomplished on a Zoom call. But it's not all going to come back, particular expensive long haul.

The legacy airlines will need to adjust and they already are. Look at how AA (and others) have begun to competitively price premium cabins to attract the high end traveler that doesn't want to be squeezed into 32E. And just like what happened with the transformation of the coach product years ago to align with revenues so will the premium cabin. Less meals, more simpler meals, no pre departure beverage, no pillows and blankets, etc.

At some point if not this year but next year airlines are going to cut bait. The fact that one was EXP for 20 years straight and now finds themselves a "Zoom warrior" is going to translate into status forever. Unless they replace their business flying with personal flying. Some higher elites with the time and money are doing just that. Me for one.