AA Mileage run needed out of ORD to get 12k elite miles before November
 

I have a targeted offer from AA to get plat elite this year and for plat next year IF I can do 12k elite qualifying miles before Nov this year.

Ideally same day trip or maximum over the weekend would be fantastic.

I looked at ORD-SFO-DFW-SJU-DFW-ORD but that goes from SAT-MON which is too long with a baby at home.

I also looked at MKE-ANC but that also takes 3 days.

So am I stuck with 3 trips of ORD-SFO ?

Any/All help would be greatly appreciated!

If you need exactly 12k miles, then just an FYI that ORD-SFO x 3 = 11,076.

Is inter'l out of the question?

You can do ORD-DFW-LAX for $340, 4074 mi, same day turn (7am to 9pm). it'll take exactly three trips instead of having to do a fourth if you go to SFO.

You can try out ORD-DFW-SEA or ORD-DFW-SFO. ORD-DFW-SEA is 4900 miles but still wont be able to get it down to two days. The SEA is redeye on the way back for $411. There's cheaper options but you have to spend the night there.

Theres a BOS-DFW-ANC MR that was recently posted. Could you make use of that? Flight leaves 11:55am out of boston and back in boston the following day at 1pm. Two sunday dates though, 9-22 or 9-29. so you come back on a Monday afternoon. $340 for just BOS-DFW_ANC so not sure how much more with a leg from/to ORD. There's also dates for Friday so you'll be back saturday afternoon. Total miles from ORD is 10944 miles so still about 1k short. You can then maybe tag on MKE or something to get to 12k.

One last option to check on HNL. You could get lucky. That's about 10 or 11k miles from Boston and its a whole weekend kind of thing.

To me, if you want to do two days you'll need to do it for two days straight.

INTL is not out of the question though I imagine it owuld be tricky to go on Friday and come back on Sat or Leave on Sat and come back on Sunday.

I actually see a ORD-BOS-DFW-ANC-DFW-LGA-ORD leaving on friday morning and coming back on saturday at 2pm for $546 all in for 10k miles.

If I am already a exec plat elite when I do this, would that put me over the 12k number ?

If not then I think I could do that and then do one more run for the last 2k miles before Nov end.

Are there good chances to get complimentary upgrades on these routes or should I use 500k certs for them ?

I don't think it'll put you over. Theres no additional EQMs you get for being an elite. I learned the hard way the first year i qualified for platinum.

Make sure its EQM and not EQP. Usually the challenges are EQP so just make sure. Too many people make the same mistake. In you're case, it seems to be a targeted offer so it could very well be miles.

According to milecalc.com, its 10637 miles (+/- 1 mi per segment in my experience). I would recommend routing through BOS on the way back for a few extra miles (10944). It still wont be above 11k so you can just do two quick short runs to make it to 12k.

ORD-BDL is 1500 miles roundtrip. Can you find same day turns for that? ORD-LGA, ORD-JFK would also work as well, assuming you're sticking with the routing through LGA instead of BOS. Could also try ORD-BOS for the last roundtrip to get to 12k.

1) Ah, thank you for confirming that I wont get additional EQM's.

2) The email states to earn 12,000 elite-qualifying miles or points so should be good there.

3) I actually will be going to BOS in October end so that's 1700 miles I can use. So have to make up roughly 300 miles somehow.

I had another question about the 500 mile upgrades - do you know if I have to use them or will get complimentary upgrades in the segments ? I guess will someone using 500 mile upgrades be prioritized me requesting a complimentary upgrade even if they are a lower elite level than exec plat ?

plt doesn't get comp ug's.....must use 500 milers.....

you say exp in 1 post....which is it?...

I also received the targeted offer thru AA, (However I only have until Aug 31 to complete & I need 10,279 miles). I'm also out of ORD.
I called about the promo & AA said it was actual miles & it was valid only on flights (AA,BA,Iberia, Japan, Qantas) No Alaska air. I can travel anytime 8/14-8/31 (excluding Sat 8/24) for up to 4 nts.

What is the best way (fastest travel + Lowest fare) to get the miles I need? Should I be looking at International flights? What is the best way to look for lowest fares for multi-city routing (ie ORD-BOS-DFW-ANC-DFW-LGA-ORD)? Do you just plug in various cities & change dates, or is there an easier way to do it?

I went and double checked. So its plat only. Not EXP.

So I have to use 500miles upgrades to attempt upgrades.

Use http://matrix.itasoftware.com/ to find routing. There are a lot of threads in flyertalk on how to use it. the ORD-ANC itinerary should work for you.

Before you book the ANC trip, theres a promo going on to get a 10% off your AA flight. There have been a few posts online about it but here is one of them:
http://boardingarea.com/pointstobema...aximum-effect/

Also, this trip ORD-BOS-DFW-ANC-DFW-LGA-ORD should be 10637, so you'll only need 1363 miles. ORD-BOS should cover it just fine. Double check my math but ORD-BOS should be enough.

It would depend on your status right now. Do you currently have PLT? If you do not, you may have a hard time clearing upgrades on some of the segments. Many would choose to use them on the redeye flights so it may be difficult without status. With PLT it will definitely help but I see ORD-DFW being a possible problem as i would predict that it may be elite heavy.

I would think at least upgrading the DFW-ANC segments are worth it since it will be longest flight. To me, anything shorter than BOS or JFK-LAX flight is not too bad in coach if you can get the Main Cabin Extra with the extra leg room.

To find the segments, use matrix ita and use the advanced routing codes, specifically calling out the connection airports. Look up how to do it. It should find the exact flight, but you still cant book it.
To book ORD-BOS-DFW-ANC-DFW-LGA-ORD on AA.com, you will need to play around with the multicity routing on AA.com. You can try sorting flights by price (thats all segments at once) or by choosing individual segments. It may be tricky as AA may try to put in a different connection point. You can try orbitz or kayak to see if they are easier to find these segments.

Thank you,

I am waiting to be changed to PLT as per the promo. As soon as it clears, I will book the flights.

I was able to put int he segments and price the flight on AA using multicity. I do hope that the DFW-ANC and ANC-DFW segments clear - I assume I will have to use multiple stickers to upgrade those segments ?

I would book the flights and upgrades now, and then get your reservation and upgrades updated with your new status. The only thing that would change on your reservation would be boarding class and seat selection as now you'll be able to choose Main Cabin Extra. Definitely book the flight now as you'll never know how long that fare will last. In terms of the upgrade, it matters when you book the flight and also when you request the upgrade.

You need 1 per 500 mi. DFW-ANC is 3043 miles so you'll need 6 per segment because of the 51 mile "grace period." You will pay for each segment separately as you may not clear for some segments. Whichever you don't clear for, it goes right back into your account. Its weird they take it out of your account before it clears. I guess its a cheap way of checking if you have enough certs and also accounts for multiple reservations with multiple upgrade requests.