AlphaTango

Is anyone else currently on a "loyalty pause"?

What I mean is: I largely get to the points threshold of my desired status with CC spend and partner spend (hotels, shopping portal, dining). I made Platinum by mid December 2023 and already know that I'm not going to get the required additional 50K LPs for PPro by 2/29/2024 unless I start taking trips/mattress runs/buying stuff/signing up for stuff that I don't need.

So, personally, I can't see any point in spending on my Citi cards or crediting purchases to AA in portals ... I might as well build Bilt points or AmEx rewards until 3/1/2024 rolls around.

Am I missing something? Loyalty for me is currently being disincentivized because I know that the next goal isn't achievable. Rollover LPs would be a solution to this for me, however.

JJeffrey

You're not missing anything.

ksucats

Depends on how often you have a chance to get upgraded. Those extra points will rank you ahead of other platinums for upgrades.

As far as me, I am one that needs every point I can get to get to 200k. I will make it again this year, but only by a couple thousand. With that being said, I am holding off on a fairly large purchase until March so that those points give me a jump start for next year.

mikeFT

In my case, I just hit 250k LPs (my first time ever making EP in fact). So yeah, at this point there's nothing to reach for until March. I'm not going to make 400k, and there aren't any further spend targets I can reach on specific AA cards, so you bet, I could easily put that spend elsewhere, until we reset in March and off we go again.

The only thing to consider for me, is whether AA redeemable miles (at say 1.5cpm) are worth more than what I would earn elsewhere, or what other targets are out there. I have other cards with better rewards for specific things (gas, groceries, dining, streaming, ridesharing, etc) but for my catchall, it basically comes down to 1.5cpm with AA miles, or 1.5% cash back, so I usually just keep it simple and use the AA card even when not chasing LPs.

CMTinPHL

I am “paused” until March 1. I hit EXP back in October and had enough travel scheduled for November and December to hit the 250k reward level. Since then I’ve credited travel to BA to earn Tier Points and Avios (though I have no more travel scheduled before March other than award trips). I’m putting my CC spend on my Amex and Chase cards now. Come March 1 I think I will start crediting travel to AA again - though I may decide to chase BAEC Gold instead. Still weighing the pros and cons.

dw

I find it to be the most freeing time of year. If you find a good premium fare on another airline (or even better-- a good premium award redemption), you can actually book it without regret that you're not contributing to your status for next year.

steamboatdevil

About 15 K away from EXP I would make it with no additional spend, but I have several outstanding purchases that Cartera can’t get the vendor to credit. It’s super frustrating, so I really don’t feel like spending the additional money necessary on other items, since I may not fly until after March.

I can’t imagine how many miles never get credited to peoples account and they don’t even know to follow through. Folks here are pretty savvy, but I bet there’s a lot folks who miss out on points and have no clue. Seems like borderline fraud to me.

USFlyerUS

I guess I'm sort of paused, too. I pushed all non-essential business travel to March 1 onward and am holding several large purchases until March 1. However, I'm still traveling if needed.

flyrsphl27

Yup. Back to Citi double cash for a month now that wife is EP and 250k and I'm a lowly PP with no chance of EP (or worth it for that matter.). As MikeFT noted though, not really a huge difference as we get close to $.02 value anyway with the redeemable miles..

jtav559

I'm 70K or so away from the 550K LP "reward" threshold, and I am trying like heck to make it before we start the new qual year.

I have use for the loyalty reward options @ that level, so gravy to me if I make it.
Mostly eShopping spend and CC spend to close the gap, 1 flight before now and the new qual year.

If I don't make it, which is a possibility, I guess my opportunity cost is a little bit of spend on a 2% cash back card versus spend on AA cards and the miles that come with.... I am not going to lose sleep over it, as I have use for the RDM that I earn along the way.

Have some 2024 flights where a strong 12-mo rolling LP average would be beneficial, will see how I stack up at that time.

ZenFlyer

I'm currently hovering around 220K, and debating about whether to make a push to reach the 250K reward level through shopping and credit spend. I wouldn't buy anything I don't need, it's a question of whether to make certain purchases now vs after March 1. We'll see.

Gaucho100K

Ive hit the 250K LP level and have now "retired" my personal AA Cards until March 1st. Only exception is for AA business travel. Will be having the family use the AmEx cards in our portfolio and I will split my spend between AmEx and my Chase Business Cards. Only exception is gas, where I will still use my AA business cards because of the 2X payout and Shell Fuel Rewards.

travelingdrsuz

I hit PPro today, much more easily than expected. I have three flights left at least, two rounds of Hyatt points to credit, and another 1.5 credit card statements if I want it. We won't even address Cartera's craptastic dumpster fire. I haven't calculated if I can earn the SWUs with minimal effort. I just completed a RT SWU trip which included one of the best flights of my life, no exaggeration, so now I have a strange affection for them.
Since I just hit PP today, I have some thinking to do. I have never hit higher than PP since it's just me and personal spend, but I may this next year due to flying more.

dc10forlife

I'm sitting at 269,000 LP due in part to some unexpected shopping portal spend. I've never had trouble using my AA miles at 2 cents per mile or better, but I have still shifted spending to other credit cards.

It won't happen for this year, but rollover LPs would be a great addition to the program and would incentivize continued spending on credit cards.

One thing I never understood was shifting travel to other airlines after reaching 250,000 LP even if flying others in business/first. The elite benefits are more than just the upgrades. I would rather be on AA when IRROPS hit versus other carriers where I have no status.

fly747first

In theory that's true, but other than B6 and UA being awful during IRROPS, DL is fairly good even if you have no status on them.