MRs on AA from London
 

Hi!
I'm an American living in London.
I only need about 55k to get to EXP this year. Any ideas for what might work in my case?

It's really hard to do MRs living overseas. We used to live in Tokyo and it wasn't feasible.
What about here in London?
Thank you!

Fares ex London on OW airlines in general are rarely, if ever, mileage run worthy (at least by my definition) unless a genuine mistake fare comes up. If you are an US citizen based in London, I'm guessing that there a couple of trips a year across the Atlantic that you will need to make in any event.

If you only need 55k miles to make EXP at this stage in the year, that will take you from your current 45k to around 65k miles leaving only 35k to go. Question - why the panic about mileage running so early in the year?

If you do really feel a need to put in a couple of MRs, I'd keep an eye on the MR deals page and perhaps look for some suitable US domestic MRs that you can combine with one of your TATL trips. (or, once you have dates for a TATL trip, do your own research using the tools mentioned in these threads to look for MR worthy deals in the US that match your dates).

You'll be struggling to get the 3cpm flights which seems to be the target for US based MRers, but flights below 3(GBpence)pm are certainly possible, and that is my expectation when I need an MR.

Forget doing an MR before winter when TATL rates drop and then try multicty (within US) and a return to mainland Europe. e.g LHR-DFW-STL-LAX-MIA-BOS-LHR-BUD was available for under £300 last month.

in jan, you could have taken aadvantage of the 2x eqm promo.....keep an eye out for another....

you think you will have to run for 55k?

I'm willing to bet that OP means he will need 55k after he factors in his usual trans-Atlantic trips for the year...some of which have probably not occurred yet.

You should be able to fly just about anywhere on BA and code everything back to your AA FF number. Also, flying out from London is a good deal for you since you have lots of connections on other own world partners that will get 100% miliage contribution back to AA (ie. IB on flights to the US).

55k seems like a heck of a long way to MR, especially if any of the already covered 45k included any DEQM promos. Are you sure it's worth it MR'ing for 55k out of LHR?

If so, I think the best options are to book plenty of time and position from LHR to US when you find a good US based MR. Then do it back to back as many times as needed before returning to LHR. Probably not cheap, and may be a bit much doing it all back to back unless you have some other distractions in the US between MRs (and can afford the time off from work), but it is an option to consider in order to save money over MR'ing from LHR.

[I had a job offer for a LHR position 2 years ago. I turned it down due to their lack of vision for the position and the limitations they placed on the position. But 2 other things were also on my mind if I accepted it: 1 - the high cost of LHR living and 2 - the high cost of AA travel out of London. ]

Thanks so much, guys! Yes, I haven't done all my travel yet, but still.... I like to plan ahead and also everyone has some ideas to contribute since most of you guys are experts. I would like to get Ex plat asap to enjoy it longer. you know?

I completely understand. EXP status is great once you have it. Just seems like a lot of MR'ing to get you there in your case. Are you flying enough to get the value out of the benefits (no one else can answer this but you)? 55k miles is a lot to MR for just for EXP status. That said, if you're doing mini-vacations and/or getting other value out of your trips then it's easier to explain the MRs (both to yourself and friends/others). I was just commenting that if you're at 45k for the year, doubling that in MRs is a long way to go. May be better to stay at PLAT and use the money (and time) that you would have put towards MRs to other use.

Hi Clacko,

What do you mean "Keep an eye out for another".... ?

I completely missed the System-Wide DEQM Promotion in Jan :( and am now stuck to trying to get the current LAX/SFO-ORD/DFW DEQM Promo which I found out about completely by accident.