Take a flight to SEA and come back the same day

The OP edited post shows they will drop to Lifetime Gold but they always buy F on domestic flights from SFO to JFK/ORD/DFW. If always buying F - then what does EXP buy you for only traveling on paid domestic flights. They indicated they will get it back by Oct/Nov. So what is the point. Paid F beats domestic upgrades.

2021 earning was only about $3K less than before. Only EXP got the bonus $3K - lower levels got less. I earned it without the lower levels.

Point is - someone dropping to Gold (and being Gold by lifetime status) and extended to EXP would beat out Plat Pros and Plat for upgrades with much more spend and LP.

None of that is relevant to your strident opposition to extending people who didn't travel during Covid.

2022 qualifying ended a month ago, and the OP's EQD promo ended on Dec. 31.

For the flights I have been traveling for the past 12 months - all flights have been packed - with AA offering big $ to switch your flight - so many people were traveling. Those EXPs not traveling - I guess - did not realize that the flights were full. Last summer - airline profits went positive. Even Delta has been giving employee bonuses for big profits.

Point is the OP - did not even qualify for Gold this past year (only getting Gold by lifetime). So that person be should extended to EXP? That is the relevance. I think AA was overly generous with 2021 promos.

Domestic flights were packed because Covid bottled up travel demand and because international flights were scarce, both of which you must know already.

The implication that people who normally flew internationally pre-Covid should have started flying domestically is silly.

Also, Delta extended everyone's status and kept 2023 qualifying at the reduced levels, as compared with AA, which not only did neither, but raised qualifying above 2019's numbers.

How many times do we need to go through this? The people who made EXP in 2019 did so at higher spend and higher mileage than the entitled 2021 crowd, but then weren't able to use most of the best benefits. The 2019 EXPs would not, in any way, be getting a big undeserved freebie by being extended once more now that the world is starting to re-open.

We are beating this to death - but one more time (last time) - point - in 2019 I was close and wasn't even offered a buy up. I think at that time AA was trying to shift more people down to Plat Pro.

To be clear - I earned EXP in 2021 at the old qual levels - and even ended at 130K EQM - getting the tier reward. I started flying again in April 2021 after being full Vac'ed. I was never extended or needed to qual at the reduced levels. I had already earned Plat Pro in just the two months of Jan and Feb of 2020 (at the old qual levels). Had no flights for 13 months, but then earned EXP at old levels in 2021 starting April 2021.

AA was overly generous in extending EXPs with no travel for 2 years But in 2021 they required some promo - either CC only spend or $2K spend in the specified time. I don't fault the OP, I would do the same. I hope they get the extension. AA no longer does soft landings and many people have dropped status.

Situation is - the OP did mileage runs end of the year to requal but unfortunately miss calculated by $4. I can understand wanting EXP to requal at 11X per dollar spent on flights versus 7X as Gold. .

I really do hope the OP gets it (this is FT). AA is offering buy ups to some that did not qual or meet the promos. Although I doubt AA would offer a buy up to EXP for someone that did not qual even at the reduced gold levels (but LT Gold). Many have dropped to their LT status Plat or Gold.

Just my opinion - AA might have been flexible in the past if someone just missed the EQD or EQM requirement or at least offered a minimum buy up. However, just guessing they may be less flexible with a promo offer.

But let's see - hope the OP let's us know how this works out. No hard feeling - this is a discussion of different opinions.

I'm really curious how you arrived at or can defend this claim. The vast majority of the people who reached EXP with $15,000 EQD and 120,000 EQM in 2019 never got to use the best benefits of the status.

I assume some of them flew in Jan and Feb of 2020 (before Covid really hit). And then any adult could have been fully vac'ed by Spring 2021, and resumed travel. So with the free extension through 2021 (actually Feb 2022 )- you had almost 14 months to use it.

March 2022 - Feb 2023 required the promo or earn it.

Some places still aren't open

You sound like someone who never leaves the U.S.

I still have four SWUs earned in 2019 that I haven't been able to use.

I traveled to Europe in Jan 2020 and Australia in Feb 2020. I travel International a lot. But haven't since March 2020.
All travel since March 2020 has been domestic and I only resumed in April 2021(no flights for 13 months) - then lots of transcons. And some on paid F. Only way to meet the spend. Flew 67 segments. I attend lots of social events.

This is FT - some of us a few years back did 2 day trips to Hong Kong when fares were cheap and used SWUs. Even 3x in one year, almost enough to get the HKG speedy entry.

Have traveled to Australia 35 times, Europe - 80, Asia - 20, South America - 10. All travel is personal - no business travel.
My numbers may be low.
I have 7 SWUs earned in 2021 and haven't been able to use them. I expect to earn more next month with reaching the Plat Pro level in April. Planning to resume international this summer however.

Your position is more puzzling with each new post.

You acknowledge the massive drop-off in, or impossibility of, international travel, and yet you still believe AA was "overly generous" with its status extensions, which were the least generous among major U.S. airlines?

How were foreign-based AA elites supposed to re-qualify? Were U.S. elites whose travel was mostly international supposed to fly 10 or 20 unneeded transcons instead, in order to "meet the spend"?

The response was to (you are someone that doesn't travel international).

But point is - there are people out there traveling domestically - earning EXP by the old rules. For someone that only flew international on business trips - then I agree they can't use benefits and can't really earn status anymore without an extension. But then they may not be as valuable to AA anymore.

But are these business travelers going to resume? Covid and variants are going to remain with us like the flu for a long time.

For foreign travelers - that is a issue - but I am surprise that a foreign traveler doesn't use the FF program of the country they are from. Maybe better benefits on AA. But if I lived in the UK for example - BA would likely be my airline. You can't fly AA within Europe. That is why they have alliances.

There are still CK's so AA is still giving out CK status. A few CKs board now when pre-boarding is called.

But the game has changed. The ones on top are going to be those that spend big at businesses on CC. Say someone that runs a small/mid size company and charges business items on a CC and earns points. AA already has tier levels up to 750,000 LP. Those earning at that level are the new important Elites.

Do those of you that used to fly internationally for business - plan or assume you will resume when things open? Europe is open, Australia has reopened. Main place closed is in Asia, but I think Singapore and Thailand have opened.