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Does anyone know why some flights offer RDM and others have an EQM option as well? I just checked two itineraries and both only offered the RDMs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vulcan (Post 14557072)

OK. I figured it out by going to a reservation I have booked.

I am on the every-other-year plan with 3 trips to China booked for Jan-Feb 2011.
On trip # 1, TPA-EWR-HKG-EWR-TPA, I paid $1608 all in for a B fare. Based on this fare, the EQMs I will receive are 9078 (TPA-HKG),X2, X1.5(B fare) or 27,200. So I needed 3 trips to get myself and wife (I am a MM) back to Plat status thru 2/2013. This assumes that Plat stays at 75K, not guaranteed.

I was offered an additional 30,000 RDM ($810) and 30,000 EQM for $1,200. I don't need the RDM, but it does not appear you can get the EQM alone. I would like to be able to buy only the EQM and I would

So for $2010 additional (only $400 more than the airfare), I don't have to make the backbreaking trip twice, along with the associated expenses (hotels, misc, etc.) and I don't lose the 5 days of travel. I also don't have to pay 60,000 miles for upgrades I don't need and I don't need to use SPG points for hotels on a trip I now would not need to make. While I am semi-retired, not having to take vacation time for someone who has limited amout available and/or family obligations may be a big deal.

Bottom line, I would take advantage of this as a quick, though not cheap (but reasonable) way to get back to Plat relatively painlessly.

The more I think about this, the better this gets.

Suppose I have 4 trips booked (I actually do, to protect against CO saying it will take 100K to get to Plat or 1K).

If I cancel 2 trips, I get back:
$2700 ((1600 X 2=3200-Two trips) Less 250 x 2 cancel fee))
120,000 RDM for Upgrades I don't have to spend them on.
30,000 X2 = 60,000 SPG points for hotels in China I don't need

Then
I need to spend $4020 (2010 x 2) to take advanatage of the program (This is offset by the 2700 Refund, so net out of pocket is $1,300.

I receive 60,000 EQM. So with the EQMs for the B fare- 54,000 (27,000 X 2 trips I will take), I will be at 114,000 EQM. THIS GETS ME 4 SWU (If I value these at 30,000 RDM each, that is 120,000 RDM equivalent additional in my account.)
I also receive 30,000 X 2 (60,000) RDM as part of the program for my net $1300.

SO, for my $1300,
Net RDMs into my account:
60,000-From this progrram
120,000- From Upgrades I don't need on 2 cancelled trips
120,000- value of 4 SWUs
-----------------------
300,000

EQMs in my account (TPA_EWR-HKG-EWR-TPA) X 2
60,000 from this program
54,000 from the B fare 150% EQM earning
-------------------------------
114,000

AND I don't need to make two grueling trips, even if in BusinessFirst
Can anyone say where I am making a big mistake????

Quote:

Originally Posted by EWRFlyerAL (Post 14557402)

Does anyone know why some flights offer RDM and others have an EQM option as well? I just checked two itineraries and both only offered the RDMs.

You have to select the RDM offer (click the checkbox) for the EQM offer to appear. It appears you can do RDMs or RDMs and EQMs, but not EQMs without RDMs.

Even when I check it, the EQM option does not appear.

I'm trying to look at this, and get an error attempting to log in to the preview site:

! The preview.continental.com Web site is limited to invited customers.

I'll admit I just read the new posts in this thread. Is there something I missed in earlier posts ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by skj (Post 14557682)

Send a PM to CO Insider with your OnePass number and he can get you on the invite list. It won't be instant, but that's the process.

EQMs without actually traveling?

So, it appears as if you could actually book a fully refundable ticket, purchase the RDMs and EQMs, get both, and then cancel/refund the ticket.

Since the RDMs and EQMs are not refundable, presumably they let you keep them?

A whole new sort of mileage run to keep status!

OR am I missing something?

Quote:

Originally Posted by timbre (Post 14557768)

I would imagine that you still have to travel to get the credits. It is multiplying the base credit so if your base credit is zero, well.... That said, I do wonder how they'd treat refundable tickets in this situation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbm12 (Post 14557815)

So, that would seem grossly unfair if you end up not taking that trip for whatever reason and you pay the fee.

On AA when you buy RDMs they post immediately to your account. If you cancel the trip later it does not matter ... you still keep the miles.

This is an accounting nightmare to do it any other way -- especially without refunds.

I have a trip that straddles the new year, and am offered an additional 2x EQMs on the entire trip, which, if I understand the offer correctly, will post within 24 hours. I wonder if all the EQMs would post to 2010?

I bought the RDMs for an upcoming EWR-PBI-EWR trip. For $123 it offered 4,096 RDMs. There was no offer for EQMs. The miles posted to my account within a few moments. Well, they are listed under Most Recent Account Activity but do not yet show up in my Mileage Balance on the left side of the screen.

One wonders how long it will take for the loophole to disappear...

Otherwise it'll be possible to buy your way to platinum elite without ever stepping foot on a 'plane.

Some things in life really are "too good to be true."

Quote:

Originally Posted by tanlines (Post 14557894)

From a pure business perspective, I dont think it really matters to an airline or any business. 75K of EQM represents on average some dollar amount of revenue. If I can sell that amount of revenue and offer "status" in return but have virtually no costs (ok, there are some costs) -- wow, now that is a GREAT business -- sign me up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EWRFlyerAL (Post 14557879)

WHOAAAAAAA...................

This is a BIG problem. I need EQMs in 2011, not now. Does anyone know if EQMs post right away and to the currnt year or the year the flight will take place in?

BIG ISSUE.

Flying out of SJO, MR's are seldom very cheap. I almost never can find anything for under 5.0 cpm. Most of our travel is closer to 10 cpm. On one of my upcoming itins, they are offering RDM at 2.7 cpm and EQM an additional 4.0 cpm. The original price on that trip was about 10.5 cpm! So yeah, the closer we get to the end of the year, depending on what I need to requalify as Plat, I can see this as valuable to me.

The upside of flying out of SJO is that the EUA's to IAH and EWR as Plat is pretty close to 100%, so the extra cost per mile I incur is worth it to me.