Mar 21, 2013, 3:13 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
HELP DESK: AAdvantage Elite Status Challenge (Gold and Platinum)
Challenges may no longer be enrolled in as of 6 Oct; hard end date 23 Dec 2015 -
but some reporting success 6 Oct backdating to 23 Sep by supervisors
This is the archived thread about the now defunct AAdvantage elite Gold and Platinum status challenge. The current thread can be read here.
Challenges may no longer be enrolled in as of 6 Oct; hard end date 23 Dec 2015 -
but some reporting success 6 Oct backdating to 23 Sep by supervisors
This is the archived thread about the now defunct AAdvantage elite Gold and Platinum status challenge. The current thread can be read here.
NOTE: Challenges were closed off September 23 2015, at least for the remainder of 2015 - some have succeeded in enrolling and backdating to 23 Sep.
It is possible a new, remodeled challenge will be announced in or for 2016. That discussion is here: Original Gold / Platinum Challenge Ended 23 Sep '15. New program to come?
This thread is now dedicated to requests for assistance and responses to clarify challenge requirements for those members currently engaged in challenges and related issues. To discuss the potential and form of any future challenge, please use the link provided above.
NOTE: The rules for the Challenge at the time of closure are preserved below. The date by which the last person would have completed this challenge would be 23 December 2015.
It is possible a new, remodeled challenge will be announced in or for 2016. That discussion is here: Original Gold / Platinum Challenge Ended 23 Sep '15. New program to come?
This thread is now dedicated to requests for assistance and responses to clarify challenge requirements for those members currently engaged in challenges and related issues. To discuss the potential and form of any future challenge, please use the link provided above.
NOTE: The rules for the Challenge at the time of closure are preserved below. The date by which the last person would have completed this challenge would be 23 December 2015.
Note: The four AA segment minimum required for regular status qualification does not apply to completing the challenge.
Class of service, status or other bonus miles are redeemable miles and thus do not count for the challenge. Class of service is the reigning factor in calculating the points earned per mile flown: the base points per mile charts for the various fare buckets on qualifying airlines are here.
Note: The "Reach elite status faster" promotion awarding 2 or even 3 EQ Points per mile for flying premium fares through 2015 does not apply to the challenge; challenge flyers will only have a maximum of 1.5 base EQP per base EQ Mile considered for challenge-earned status. The extra points are considered bonus points and are only applicable for earning "normal", non-challenge status.
Though one earned status bonus miles on the qualifying flight at one time, that is no longer possible. Status bonus miles will accrue on the next eligible flight after your status qualifying flight.
Also see (FT) Help Understanding Status, Points / Miles & Segments: EQM vs EQP (merged thread) for further assistance with the miles-EQMiles-points issue.
For miles calculations, many use the Great Circle Mapper tool
*for Platinum, Jan-Jun $200, Jul - Dec $240 - presumably for the max nine months of status vs. the max of 20 months $240 of status. Occasionally, there are "sales" reductions; they seem to be about 10%.
Challenges begun before June 16 of a given year earn status for the remainder of that year and the first two months of the following year (8-14 months total); challenges begun on or after June 16 grant status for the remainder of that year, the following year, and the first two months of the year after (14-20 months total). Challenges can begin anytime (not previously the case) and can even be backdated up to two weeks as far as we know (as of Nov 2013).
To sign up for a challenge, call AAdvantage Customer Service at +1-800-882-8880.
Link to cyclingpilot post about being granted a back-dated challenge (2 weeks)
You cannot use a challenge to requalify for status. There is no longer a "soft landing" to the next lower level of status. The flight on which the challenge is completed no longer earns the redeemable miles bonus for the new status level.
Some have been granted Gold status whilst flying a Platinum challenge, particularly those with current elite status (any level) on an airline of a competing alliance, but this is not a given.
Based on multiple reports from FT members, as of mid-2015 AA is only allowing one status challenge over a five year period.
August 2014 e-mail received by a Challenger, shared by ashill:
Thank you for registering for an AAdvantage® challenge.
To enjoy AAdvantage PLATINUM status through February 2016, please earn 10,000 elite qualifying points between now and [redacted]. Qualifying flights on American Airlines, American Eagle, AmericanConnection®, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Qantas, US Airways and their eligible codeshare flights count toward your challenge.
Since the number of elite qualifying points you earn is based on the fare you purchase and the miles you earn, you can view these details for each airline:We wish you every success in attaining the elite status level you desire.
Sincerely,
Janet L F[redacted]
Director
AAdvantage Customer Service
Thank you for registering for an AAdvantage® challenge.
To enjoy AAdvantage PLATINUM status through February 2016, please earn 10,000 elite qualifying points between now and [redacted]. Qualifying flights on American Airlines, American Eagle, AmericanConnection®, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Qantas, US Airways and their eligible codeshare flights count toward your challenge.
Since the number of elite qualifying points you earn is based on the fare you purchase and the miles you earn, you can view these details for each airline:We wish you every success in attaining the elite status level you desire.
Sincerely,
Janet L F[redacted]
Director
AAdvantage Customer Service
ARCHIVE: HELP DESK: AA Elite Status Challenge (CLOSED: "hard end" 23 Dec 2015)
Mar 20, 2014, 6:01 pm
#181
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: CUR
Posts: 2,170
Hi all,
My partner made platinum through the challenge about 1.5 weeks ago, it was confirmed on her account 7 days ago. She has a booking for about 4 weeks for now on BA, but BA is not showing as Platinum (not able to reserve a seat without paying).
I have been to the Finnair site and removed the FF number, then added it back but it still does not allow selection of seats.
Does anyone know how she can go about getting a seat selected on this and to ensure that BA recoginse the platinum status. She has a long trip back from EDI to MEL and wants to use the lounges along the way.....
Thanks.
My partner made platinum through the challenge about 1.5 weeks ago, it was confirmed on her account 7 days ago. She has a booking for about 4 weeks for now on BA, but BA is not showing as Platinum (not able to reserve a seat without paying).
I have been to the Finnair site and removed the FF number, then added it back but it still does not allow selection of seats.
Does anyone know how she can go about getting a seat selected on this and to ensure that BA recoginse the platinum status. She has a long trip back from EDI to MEL and wants to use the lounges along the way.....
Thanks.
(Just to confirm, when you did the Finnair trick, did you add the number back using the BA site?)
Mar 20, 2014, 6:06 pm
#182
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Edinburgh
Programs: AA Plat, QF Silver
Posts: 288
I had something fairly similar. I waited a couple of more days and eventually, it allowed me to select seats. So just wait a couple of days and if nothing's changed, give BA a call.
(Just to confirm, when you did the Finnair trick, did you add the number back using the BA site?)
(Just to confirm, when you did the Finnair trick, did you add the number back using the BA site?)
Its been a week now since platinum was confirmed on the AA site for her account but BA still shows that she needs to pay for the seat selection. I did remove the number from the Finnair site and then add it back in the BA sight (I figured that would be the best way to do it).
Interestingly, when I bring up the booking on the Qantas site (as two flights are with Qantas metal) it allows selection of seats for the Qantas flights (therefore Qantas see that she is Platinum) but it skips the BA flights...strange....
We will give it the weekend then she will call on Monday if it has not updated....
Thanks....
Mar 20, 2014, 7:19 pm
#183
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: NYC
Programs: AA EXP / LT PLT / 3MM, Marriott LT Gold
Posts: 35,399
Not true. The VPs all have Admin Assistants or Executive Assistants who monitor their emails, but its not like Andrew Nocella, Suzanne Rubin, Scott Kirby, or Doug Parker have secret "internal only" email addresses or high tech filters that strip everything to a spam folder. The likelihood of them responding would be slim for most, but it doesn't mean they (or their assistant) wont forward it on for someone to "deal with". I've been on the end of more than my fair share of those.
Mar 21, 2014, 6:28 am
#184
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: SNA
Posts: 410
To add a data point: Last night I flew the flight that gave me the final points I needed for the challenge. When I woke up this morning, less than 12 hours after that flight landed, my new status was already reflected on my account online and in the app. However, I did NOT receive Platinum bonus miles for the flight on which I crossed the threshold (I received Gold bonus miles, based on my temporary Gold status).
Mar 21, 2014, 8:22 am
#185
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: CUR
Posts: 2,170
To add a data point: Last night I flew the flight that gave me the final points I needed for the challenge. When I woke up this morning, less than 12 hours after that flight landed, my new status was already reflected on my account online and in the app. However, I did NOT receive Platinum bonus miles for the flight on which I crossed the threshold (I received Gold bonus miles, based on my temporary Gold status).
Mar 22, 2014, 3:41 pm
#187
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 41
If you are offered an upgrade at OLCI and pay the fee, should you earn 1.5x EQP for the flight? I was booked into a 0.5x fare class but taking the upgrade during OLCI moved my ticket into an A fare class, so I am wondering what to expect when my flight posts because it makes a big difference for platinum challenge purposes.
Mar 22, 2014, 4:12 pm
#188
Join Date: May 2013
Programs: AA PLT, HH Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 282
If you are offered an upgrade at OLCI and pay the fee, should you earn 1.5x EQP for the flight? I was booked into a 0.5x fare class but taking the upgrade during OLCI moved my ticket into an A fare class, so I am wondering what to expect when my flight posts because it makes a big difference for platinum challenge purposes.
Mar 25, 2014, 11:16 am
#189
Join Date: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,152
Is there a look back period for the 3 mo.s or only after sign up?
Mar 26, 2014, 7:32 pm
#190
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,546
You can backdate the start. In the past it was up to 15 days depending on the date. Recent reports are that there have been some changes to the allowable start dates, so if you call and ask, please report back here with the result.
Mar 27, 2014, 9:10 am
#191
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Marin County, CA
Programs: Marriott LT-TE, United Gold
Posts: 467
Gold Challenge Woes
Warning: wall of text coming
After being an EXP for many years, I had to stop flying AA due to routing issues with my projects. I finally ended up on a prime AA route (SFO-DFW) only to have my last bit of gold status drop after my first week. Even though VX also flies this route, I'm an AAL stockholder and wanted to see how things were going and what improvements had been made (which is a topic for another thread...). I called AAdvantage CS to see what they could do and found out they were only status matching to United 1K right now (I didn't fly much last year so am only UA Gold right now) but they were happy to offer me a gold challenge for $120.
Question - is AA the only major carrier that charges for a challenge? I'm all for challenges to discourage people getting a quick bump for one big flight but charging for this seems strange, especially after the next issue:
The CSR made it sound like I would get the Gold benefits right away and just needed to meet the 5k points in 90 days to retain them for the rest of the program year. This plus the fact that he said he would backdate to challenge a few days to include a prior flight made the cost make sense to me so I bought in. Once my card was charged I immediately got a nice email from AAdvantage CS stating:
"Enjoy the privileges of AAdvantage Gold® status during the Challenge period while you work on extending your elite status for the full membership year!"
Great I thought, I'll be back at Gold for my flight home that day and can get some extra legroom (I'm 6'7" so legroom is the primary reason for me wanting to do this). I didn't see my status update online so called AAdvantage CS again, brought up the CSR's comments when I bought the challenge and the email I just got. After being on hold for sometime while the CSR talked with a supervisor I was told that the person who sold me the challenge was mistaken and the email I got was a mistake and I wouldn't get the Gold benefits until I completed the challenge. I pointed out I had confirmed, paid reservations putting me well over the needed number of points but nope, nothing they can do. Awesome, so I paid $120 to wait for status.
Ok - so a few weeks have passed and this Monday (3/24) I take the flight that puts me over the points threshold. Awesome, I get online and it hasn't posted that evening. No problem, I'm used to seeing it take a bit for flights/stays to post to my accounts. Tuesday nothing, Wednesday nothing. I'm getting nervous since I'd like to have the status in there for my flight today (Thursday) so I call in. Turns out because it was booked as a US Air codeshare on AA metal (due to being much cheaper for the same flight) it could take up to a week to post since the systems aren't fully integrated. The CSR confirmed they could see I took the flight but couldn't do anything about it. Again, stuck waiting.
Thursday morning I check and sweet baby jesus, the flight has posted. I see I'm over 5k points but still don't see the status reflected online. No problem, yet another call to AAdvantage CS at exactly 9am CT. Rep tells me she only sees ~3k points and needs to look into it. After being on hold for awhile again she tells me the original CSR never credited me for the flight he said he would so it's going to be a bit for her to do it. I'm a little angry now because that's two issues from that first CSR but ok, she can fix it and make the world right. Finally she comes back and says yes, the flight is in, I'm over the 5k points and her system now shows me as Gold. Huzzah! Except she adds... the reservations system only syncs up with the AAdvantage system once a day in the evenings so my reservation for my flight today won't reflect this and the gate agents won't be able to see it. She can add a note to my reservation but it won't actually do anything. But I should have Gold for my flights next week, assuming there aren't further issues.
Has anyone else experienced such headaches after paying AA money for the privilege of a challenge with no immediate benefits? I'm shocked that this is how it's handled and wouldn't be surprised if it's driving FFs to other airlines that are embracing their business with open arms and gifts of immediate status. I've written several emails to AAdvantage, most of which come back with the boilerplate "sorry for the miscommunication but thanks for the money and we hope you complete your challenge!".
tl/dr: Paid for a gold challenge, no immediate gold benefits despite an email saying that, issues with getting the status to post after meeting the goal, not able to get the status for a flight due to sync issues with the reservations system all for the low price of $120.
edit: I forgot the icing on the cake. This isn't related to the challenge but really chapped my hide after everything else. As mentioned above, my flights this week were booked as US Air codeshares on AA metal. I accidentally booked a later flight and called to see what options I had to switch to an earlier flight. The AA CSR said because it's US Air's reservation I'd have to speak to them and connected me. The US Air rep told me that because the systems aren't fully integrated it was impossible for me to standby on an earlier AA flight because I have a US Air reservation. She did offer to change my reservation for a $200 change fee and ~$300 fare difference. I confirmed that this wouldn't be possible at the gate (even though I'm 95% sure I did exactly this a few weeks ago). Just fuel to the fire I guess.
Edit: So after all that and finally being able to book main cabin extra seats I got a nice letter in the mail from AAdvantage Customer Service saying while I didn't meet the challenge requirements, they'd happily sell me gold status for an additional $649:
http://imgur.com/hvmEXte
Except I did meet the requirements already and had until 6/2/14 to do it... Not even surprised at this point
After being an EXP for many years, I had to stop flying AA due to routing issues with my projects. I finally ended up on a prime AA route (SFO-DFW) only to have my last bit of gold status drop after my first week. Even though VX also flies this route, I'm an AAL stockholder and wanted to see how things were going and what improvements had been made (which is a topic for another thread...). I called AAdvantage CS to see what they could do and found out they were only status matching to United 1K right now (I didn't fly much last year so am only UA Gold right now) but they were happy to offer me a gold challenge for $120.
Question - is AA the only major carrier that charges for a challenge? I'm all for challenges to discourage people getting a quick bump for one big flight but charging for this seems strange, especially after the next issue:
The CSR made it sound like I would get the Gold benefits right away and just needed to meet the 5k points in 90 days to retain them for the rest of the program year. This plus the fact that he said he would backdate to challenge a few days to include a prior flight made the cost make sense to me so I bought in. Once my card was charged I immediately got a nice email from AAdvantage CS stating:
"Enjoy the privileges of AAdvantage Gold® status during the Challenge period while you work on extending your elite status for the full membership year!"
Great I thought, I'll be back at Gold for my flight home that day and can get some extra legroom (I'm 6'7" so legroom is the primary reason for me wanting to do this). I didn't see my status update online so called AAdvantage CS again, brought up the CSR's comments when I bought the challenge and the email I just got. After being on hold for sometime while the CSR talked with a supervisor I was told that the person who sold me the challenge was mistaken and the email I got was a mistake and I wouldn't get the Gold benefits until I completed the challenge. I pointed out I had confirmed, paid reservations putting me well over the needed number of points but nope, nothing they can do. Awesome, so I paid $120 to wait for status.
Ok - so a few weeks have passed and this Monday (3/24) I take the flight that puts me over the points threshold. Awesome, I get online and it hasn't posted that evening. No problem, I'm used to seeing it take a bit for flights/stays to post to my accounts. Tuesday nothing, Wednesday nothing. I'm getting nervous since I'd like to have the status in there for my flight today (Thursday) so I call in. Turns out because it was booked as a US Air codeshare on AA metal (due to being much cheaper for the same flight) it could take up to a week to post since the systems aren't fully integrated. The CSR confirmed they could see I took the flight but couldn't do anything about it. Again, stuck waiting.
Thursday morning I check and sweet baby jesus, the flight has posted. I see I'm over 5k points but still don't see the status reflected online. No problem, yet another call to AAdvantage CS at exactly 9am CT. Rep tells me she only sees ~3k points and needs to look into it. After being on hold for awhile again she tells me the original CSR never credited me for the flight he said he would so it's going to be a bit for her to do it. I'm a little angry now because that's two issues from that first CSR but ok, she can fix it and make the world right. Finally she comes back and says yes, the flight is in, I'm over the 5k points and her system now shows me as Gold. Huzzah! Except she adds... the reservations system only syncs up with the AAdvantage system once a day in the evenings so my reservation for my flight today won't reflect this and the gate agents won't be able to see it. She can add a note to my reservation but it won't actually do anything. But I should have Gold for my flights next week, assuming there aren't further issues.
Has anyone else experienced such headaches after paying AA money for the privilege of a challenge with no immediate benefits? I'm shocked that this is how it's handled and wouldn't be surprised if it's driving FFs to other airlines that are embracing their business with open arms and gifts of immediate status. I've written several emails to AAdvantage, most of which come back with the boilerplate "sorry for the miscommunication but thanks for the money and we hope you complete your challenge!".
tl/dr: Paid for a gold challenge, no immediate gold benefits despite an email saying that, issues with getting the status to post after meeting the goal, not able to get the status for a flight due to sync issues with the reservations system all for the low price of $120.
edit: I forgot the icing on the cake. This isn't related to the challenge but really chapped my hide after everything else. As mentioned above, my flights this week were booked as US Air codeshares on AA metal. I accidentally booked a later flight and called to see what options I had to switch to an earlier flight. The AA CSR said because it's US Air's reservation I'd have to speak to them and connected me. The US Air rep told me that because the systems aren't fully integrated it was impossible for me to standby on an earlier AA flight because I have a US Air reservation. She did offer to change my reservation for a $200 change fee and ~$300 fare difference. I confirmed that this wouldn't be possible at the gate (even though I'm 95% sure I did exactly this a few weeks ago). Just fuel to the fire I guess.
Edit: So after all that and finally being able to book main cabin extra seats I got a nice letter in the mail from AAdvantage Customer Service saying while I didn't meet the challenge requirements, they'd happily sell me gold status for an additional $649:
http://imgur.com/hvmEXte
Except I did meet the requirements already and had until 6/2/14 to do it... Not even surprised at this point
Last edited by chrisdeaner; Apr 4, 2014 at 8:59 am
Mar 27, 2014, 9:29 am
#192
Moderator: American AAdvantage, Signatures
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: London, England
Programs: UA 1K, Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond Ambassador, National Exec, AA EXP Emeritus
Posts: 9,765
After being an EXP for many years, I had to stop flying AA due to routing issues with my projects. I finally ended up on a prime AA route (SFO-DFW) only to have my last bit of gold status drop after my first week. Even though VX also flies this route, I'm an AAL stockholder and wanted to see how things were going and what improvements had been made (which is a topic for another thread...). I called AAdvantage CS to see what they could do and found out they were only status matching to United 1K right now (I didn't fly much last year so am only UA Gold right now) but they were happy to offer me a gold challenge for $120.
Question - is AA the only major carrier that charges for a challenge?
Question - is AA the only major carrier that charges for a challenge?
Please note the sticky at the top of the consolidated thread which is titled Welcome to the New American Airlines Forum! PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING. With all of the changes about, it is important to know where to post, and reading that thread before posting (as the title suggests
) will help get you in the right place.~Moderator
Mar 27, 2014, 9:52 am
#193
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: CUR
Posts: 2,170
You need to prove you fly a fair amount on other airlines to qualify for and AA/UA challenge. On AA, anyone can sign up for a challenge. It would be unwise for AA to just give anyone status for free, just because they flew 5000EQP.
AA simply chose to do their's in a different way.
Has anyone else experienced such headaches after paying AA money for the privilege of a challenge with no immediate benefits? I'm shocked that this is how it's handled and wouldn't be surprised if it's driving FFs to other airlines that are embracing their business with open arms and gifts of immediate status. I've written several emails to AAdvantage, most of which come back with the boilerplate "sorry for the miscommunication but thanks for the money and we hope you complete your challenge!".
Regarding flights not posting immediately, that has been an issue, but we learn to deal with it.
Though I do think AA could've handled your situation better.
Mar 27, 2014, 9:59 am
#194
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Marin County, CA
Programs: Marriott LT-TE, United Gold
Posts: 467
Yes, AA is the only major I know of that charges for a challenge. However, there is one major difference between AA and the others, in that that it is solely a challenge. UA and DL offer Status Match + challenge.
You need to prove you fly a fair amount on other airlines to qualify for and AA/UA challenge. On AA, anyone can sign up for a challenge. It would be unwise for AA to just give anyone status for free, just because they flew 5000EQP.
AA simply chose to do their's in a different way.
You need to prove you fly a fair amount on other airlines to qualify for and AA/UA challenge. On AA, anyone can sign up for a challenge. It would be unwise for AA to just give anyone status for free, just because they flew 5000EQP.
AA simply chose to do their's in a different way.
I did not experience any of these headaches, no. I would imagine most of those on this forum haven't, since they've done their research beforehand (mostly through this thread and the Wiki) and know exactly what they're getting into.
Regarding flights not posting immediately, that has been an issue, but we learn to deal with it.
Though I do think AA could've handled your situation better.
Regarding flights not posting immediately, that has been an issue, but we learn to deal with it.
Though I do think AA could've handled your situation better.
Anyway, in the scheme of things it's not a big deal but my anger/frustration is mostly centered around the fact that I paid for this. Had it been a free challenge/match there wouldn't be a whole lot to complain about but when I pay for something I hope there's a better level of service associated with it.
Mar 27, 2014, 11:17 am
#195
Join Date: May 2006
Location: SAN
Programs: Lots of faux metal
Posts: 6,425
So here is my issue with this. AA requires you to pay for the challenge. They also sell status upgrades. So if I'm paying for the challenge (versus other airlines that give it away for free) shouldn't I also be paying for the status during the challenge? Also, I would hope that having UA Gold (and would happily provide a snapshot of my account showing miles flown last year) would be adequate "proof" to AA that I do fly quite a bit in order to get the status with the challenge.
From the AA Elite Status offer: https://elite2014.aa.com/
You must be a member in good standing of American's AAdvantage program ("Member") and hold AAdvantage elite status, valid through February 28, 2014, and/or meet the published requirement for elite qualifying activity for 2013 in order to qualify for this offer. Customers receiving temporary elite status as part of a special challenge offer must first meet the qualification requirements to retain that elite status level beyond the temporary period to be eligible to participate in this offer.