AA/One World: 2016 Consolidated Mileage/Status/Challenge Runs help needed

Reply Subscribe

Thread Tools

Search this Thread

Oct 18, 2016, 8:13 pm

#226

zoqfotpik

Join Date: Nov 2014

Location: Somewhere

Posts: 1,178

Quote:

Originally Posted by vhrum

To clarify, I haven't bought anything yet; this is my provisional plan. I want to go to Asia and return mid-December or so, and also want to come back for 10-14 days around the week of Thanksgiving. And then come back (or go anywhere from Asia or the US) as needed. I'll definitely give AAdvantage customer service a call and see if they can offer a challenge or soft landing or something similar.

I would like to book Y to keep cost down, but am not opposed to buying a cheap J ticket and then upgrading to F

: Would be more efficient timewise as well. Looking at QR for that reason, plus I can get RDMs at the old rate.

As far as routing goes, to go to/from HKG I would definitely prefer to route through LAX instead of DFW for SWU purposes. It looks like going through LAX is sometimes $50 more and sometimes $250 more than going through DFW. $50 extra is fine for a (relatively) easy upgrade, but $250...

We have limited options, even fewer dates available, but I think it can be done. First I want to share with you the current cheap fares to/from ORD on AA:

ORD-HKG r/t in Y for $800, outbound available in Nov, prices to $900 in Dec
HKG-ORD r/t in Y for $659, outbound available through year end
ORD-ICN r/t in J for $2,400, available last two weeks in Nov and Dec
ORD-CDG r/t in Y for $625, (short distance doesn't really make it a deal)
ORD-PEK r/t in Y for $500, requires a visa
and others that I may have missed...

With these examples, I would say the first three would be the most useful for your run. You can nest the first two together and earn ~36,000EQM's (with connections in LAX). To earn the remaining miles, you can do ORD-DFW-ICN in J which earns 30k EQM's. This part is tricky though as dates are limited, you can probably do it towards the end in Dec as you would be busy nesting the first two in November. In all ~66k EQM's for $3850.

Edit: I missed #7. HKG-ORD r/t in J for $2,000
Also be sure to signup for bonus offers: https://www.aa.com/i18n/plan-travel/earn-extra-miles.jsp?anchorEvent=false&from=Nav. It doesn't count towards EQM's but you get extra redeemable miles which is always nice.

Last edited by zoqfotpik; Oct 18, 2016 at 8:26 pm Reason: added notes

Oct 18, 2016, 8:46 pm

#227

jbeckett

Join Date: Mar 2009

Programs: Hilton credit card Diamond, Hyatt Globalist

Posts: 2,653

Quote:

Originally Posted by vhrum

Departure Airport: Flexible, currently out of ORD and will position with Avios if necessary.
Miles Needed: 62K
Required Spend or Budget: As low as possible
Available Travel Dates: Any, after November 9th.
Required Metal or Codeshares okay: Prefer AA metal on longhauls to use SWUs

ORD-HKG-ORD is about $900, for around 18000 miles.
HKG-MIA-HKG is $515, for around 19000 miles. Do that twice and you've got 56000 miles. Find dates that meet your requirements. Try to stretch out the routings to maximize the mileage. Figure out your remaining mileage needs exactly; if it is less than 5500 it should be possible to find a U.S. transcontinental flight from MIA or FLL for under $300. Total cost of flights, best case, is around $2250.

Oct 18, 2016, 10:03 pm

#228

Odidoko

Join Date: Aug 2016

Programs: JAL Sapphire, Cathay Pacific Silver, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Diamond,

Posts: 23

AA/JL A little help for reaching status?

Hello all,

A very newbie for mileage run here. Hope some of you expert flyers can lend me a hand here.

I am trying to reach Jal Sapphire so I can get invited to JAL Global Club membership (it is almost like a lifetime membership for OW Sapphire). The requirement of this status is to fly 50 times in a calendar year and I am 12 flights short.

I was wondering if anyone could help me find something reasonable out of San Diego. My schedule is quite flexible.

Any help will be much appreciated!

Oct 19, 2016, 3:29 am

#229

jbeckett

Join Date: Mar 2009

Programs: Hilton credit card Diamond, Hyatt Globalist

Posts: 2,653

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReiWong

I am trying to reach Jal Sapphire so I can get invited to JAL Global Club membership (it is almost like a lifetime membership for OW Sapphire). The requirement of this status is to fly 50 times in a calendar year and I am 12 flights short.

I was wondering if anyone could help me find something reasonable out of San Diego. My schedule is quite flexible.

SAN-LAX-FAT-LAX-SAN is $194 on 11/5
SAN-PHX-SJC-PHX-SAN is $148 on 12/13.
SAN-PHX-ELP-PHX-SAN is $178 on 12/7, 8, 10, and 13.

Oct 19, 2016, 9:22 am

#230

macguitar

Join Date: May 2008

Location: New York

Programs: AA Platinum Pro/4MM Lifetime Platinum, Hyatt Lifetime Globalist

Posts: 136

Need help finding the lowest priced F class (for American Airlines flight number, so I get 3X EQMs) going from any airport in the NYC area to SEA. Longer routes for more miles appreciated.

I can leave on October 24 or October 25th. Thanks very much in advance!

Last edited by macguitar; Oct 19, 2016 at 9:28 am

Oct 19, 2016, 9:55 am

#231

zoqfotpik

Join Date: Nov 2014

Location: Somewhere

Posts: 1,178

Quote:

Originally Posted by macguitar

Need help finding the lowest priced F class (for American Airlines flight number, so I get 3X EQMs) going from any airport in the NYC area to SEA. Longer routes for more miles appreciated.

I can leave on October 24 or October 25th. Thanks very much in advance!

Both F and J earns 3x EQMs, but it doesn't come cheap. These are full fares with flexible rules, so you might find it cheaper to get a discounted F/J instead (although with a few restrictions). Looking at ITA, the cheapest I found on a full fare is EWR-SEA r/t for $1,840 which earns 14,300 EQM's. On a discounted fare, EWR-DFW-SEA-PHX-EWR (departure 10/26, with same day turn) only costs $1,040 and earns ~12,500 EQM's - https://goo.gl/flights/XG9Y.

Last edited by zoqfotpik; Oct 19, 2016 at 10:01 am Reason: edited

Oct 19, 2016, 9:57 am

#232

macguitar

Join Date: May 2008

Location: New York

Programs: AA Platinum Pro/4MM Lifetime Platinum, Hyatt Lifetime Globalist

Posts: 136

Quote:

Originally Posted by zoqfotpik

Both F and J earns 3x EQMs, but it doesn't come cheap. These are full fares with flexible rules, so you might find it cheaper to get a discounted F/J instead (although with a few restrictions). Looking at ITA, the cheapest I found on a full fare is $1,840 which earns 14,300 EQM's - EWR-SEA r/t, while EWR-DFW-SEA-PHX-EWR (departure 10/26, with same day turn) costs $1,040 and earns ~12,500 EQM's - https://goo.gl/flights/XG9Y.

Thanks a lot! I should have mentioned, I'd like to stay a few days and return on 10/29 or 10/30. Any other tips?

Oct 19, 2016, 10:04 am

#233

zoqfotpik

Join Date: Nov 2014

Location: Somewhere

Posts: 1,178

Quote:

Originally Posted by macguitar

Thanks a lot! I should have mentioned, I'd like to stay a few days and return on 10/29 or 10/30. Any other tips?

Similar price, but you get more options (connections, schedule, etc) with discounted fares. You can search this on GF by selecting either First or Business class cabin.

Oct 19, 2016, 10:09 am

#234

macguitar

Join Date: May 2008

Location: New York

Programs: AA Platinum Pro/4MM Lifetime Platinum, Hyatt Lifetime Globalist

Posts: 136

Quote:

Originally Posted by zoqfotpik

Similar price, but you get more options (connections, schedule, etc) with discounted fares. You can search this on GF by selecting either First or Business class cabin.

Thanks again! Unfortunately, it's hard to search for F fares on GF. I know F fares are more, but I'm looking for a routing that can give me the most miles and the 3X multiplier. Guess there isn't an easy way to only search for F fares, huh?

Oct 19, 2016, 10:32 am

#235

zoqfotpik

Join Date: Nov 2014

Location: Somewhere

Posts: 1,178

Quote:

Originally Posted by macguitar

You can search it on ITA, and feed it on AA website to purchase. But like I said full F/J fares are more expensive than discounted F/J - it's basically the same product. Although you get more EQM's on full fares, it is offset by the high price.

Oct 19, 2016, 10:33 am

#236

Odidoko

Join Date: Aug 2016

Programs: JAL Sapphire, Cathay Pacific Silver, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Diamond,

Posts: 23

Thank you very much!

Oct 19, 2016, 11:47 am

#237

macguitar

Join Date: May 2008

Location: New York

Programs: AA Platinum Pro/4MM Lifetime Platinum, Hyatt Lifetime Globalist

Posts: 136

Quote:

Originally Posted by zoqfotpik

Got it. Thanks very much!

Oct 19, 2016, 11:49 am

#238

twave

Join Date: Apr 2016

Programs: AA, UA

Posts: 4

Hello, I need a little help finding the right MR for renewing Exec. Plat. Please see my info below.

Departure Airport: JFK/LGA/EWR
Miles Needed: 40,000
Required Spend or Budget: As low as possible
Available Travel Dates: Any
Required Metal or Codeshares: Either, though I understand codeshares to have lower EQM

I'm happy to use award miles for positioning. It looks like BOS - DFW - PEK - ORD - BOS can yield .0309 CPM at $493 on 15973 miles, but this wouldn't put me at 40k after two trips.

Thanks in advance!

Last edited by twave; Oct 19, 2016 at 11:50 am Reason: Incomplete info

Oct 19, 2016, 11:58 am

#239

jbeckett

Join Date: Mar 2009

Programs: Hilton credit card Diamond, Hyatt Globalist

Posts: 2,653

Quote:

Originally Posted by twave

Two trips to CGK should do it, sample attached. Make sure all flights have AA flight numbers for full credit.
https://www.google.com/flights/?f=0#...LGA1AA365;a=AA

Oct 19, 2016, 12:19 pm

#240

western

Join Date: Dec 2014

Location: Denver

Programs: UA: 1k, AA: PL, Bonvoy: Plat, HHonors: Gold, Hertz: Pres

Posts: 23

Departure Airport: SFO on 11/2 (I'm there for business and this date would save me personal cash on MR)
Miles Needed: 25000
Required Spend or Budget: <1000
Available Travel Dates: for this option the date is 11/2. Otherwise pretty flexible out of DEN or positioning as needed on any dates through end of year.
Required Metal or Codeshares okay: AA metal (hopefully use systemwide upgrades) codeshares ok too