Can it really be this easy?
 

Long-time traveler here, mostly for leisure. I'm no road warrior, and I don't seem to have the mileage-hound gene of the wizards on this board. But with at least a couple of conferences and several longish flights coming up this year it looks like I could make low tier status with smart planning. I'm posting here because I'm still waffling about the alliances. UA has E+, but AA appears to treat its low-tier elites better and it looks like I could fast-track to Gold with a Challenge. (Continental and Delta don't seem to get high marks)

I'm based in NYC. Coming up at the end of Feb. is a trip to Oslo, with possible hop to Stockholm. Nothing scheduled till summer, which brings trips to DEN, MSN, SEA (the last two lumped together, but possibly not). Probably another trip to Europe in the fall. Another domestic trip or two (SBA, TUS) possible but not definitively planned.

So, if I throw in my lot with AA it looks like a challenge begun on Feb 16 could ring up the 5000 points for Gold right off the bat -- the L fares quoted earn 1 pt/mile, and it's close to 8000 miles RT. Is it really that easy? Is AA Gold worth the effort? Is it worth the discomfort of flying through (gulp) LHR? Or would I be better off buying E+ access now as I start a year with UA?

Reading and searching Flyertalk is making my head spin so I appeal to the collective wisdom. I have always loved travel but today's conditions have me dreading each trip more and more. I am hoping that status can provide a little more ease and comfort. Thoughts?

Thanks, all.

It would be helpful if you mentioned the type of elite staus "treatment" you would value, such as early boarding, bonus miles, space available upgrades on domestic flights, etc. It's easy to lookup a list of the nominal benefits, but advice needs to take into account your own preferences.

Those 'L' fares will earn you 1/2 of a point per mile flown. So your roundtrip will earn you 4000 points and 8000 miles (only the points counting towards the challenge). The secret to the AA challenge, when booking cheap fares, is to pad in short flights since there is a minimum of 500 points per flight.

The website is currently showing H, K, M, L, W, and V fares as earning 1.0 points, with G, N, S, and some O and Q fares earning only half a point. Do you have newer information?

Good to know about the short flight advantage.

Well, all of the above, but ultimately the goal is more physical comfort. Access to the more comfortable seats in coach. Upgrades, especially on longer flights, would be nice. If I get onto the treadmill of maintaining status I'd probably use bonus miles for upgrades, esp. if I can use them on TATL or longer domestic flights. Though I'm almost afraid to develop a taste for the sweet perks.

As I'm usually in the back of the plane early boarding hasn't been an issue (I move fast when my zone is called and don't need extra storage space). If elites have shorter security lines that would be great. But I'd really like to sit further forward, away from large noisy families, where beverages and "food" are served relatively quickly. Nothing like waiting forever for a tray of slop and then being pinned behind it for two hours.

Being self-employed I'm on my own dime for business as well as pleasure, so economy is important, but after 40 years of flying (scary thought!) I really can't travel like a kid anymore--my body just won't take it.

[Come to think of it, I'm having similar issues in opera house and concert hall--among other things I review classical music. When not on assignment I need to stay current, so I buy the best value seats (usually not the cheapest). But the experience can be seriously degraded in the cheaper seats. While acknowledging that you get what you pay for, I also see some people getting more for their money than others. I'd like to be in the first group.]

Is that any more informative? I'm really trying not to whine too much!

Much of what program you join depends on what airline you like. I like NW/CO so the NW program is a very good fit for me. As a Platinum, I get 125% bonus miles, free upgrades in North America, and a lot of good promotions.

You won't get free upgrades on AA, only 4 500 mile upgrade e-certs once you fly 10k miles. As a Platinum on AA, I found their phone agents unhelpful when mechanicals occurred. They do have good award availability, but their Gold level only gives you 25% bonus miles, not 50% of NW/CO/DL and others.

I'd research the various threads before you jump in. If you do go for the AA program, I'd go for the Platinum challenge (Or register for both Gold and Platinum if that's still possible). Make sure you read the current thread, as there have been changes about what flights qualify.

Question for Jaimito-
 

Jaimito -
I'm in a similar boat. Do you find that being elite (gold/plat) on NW gets you upgrades on CO? I was plat on KLM and used to get upgrades frequently on NW, but never on CO. As a CO Plat I get them on NW, but don't find that CO seems to return the favor to other skyteams parters- hey it's rare enough that I get an upgrade on CO as a platinum. Would appreciate your advice - I too value battlefield upgrades - domestic and intl - on skyteam partners - the highest. Similarly, it's a royal pain to get only half Q miles on partner flights, so the ideal ff program would be a) one where upgrades are given on the airline and partner airlines and b) one where they actually allow you to fly and earn. Thanks!

If you ever travel on BA send in a complaint about their seats or in flight entertainment. They are getting so many complaints they don't even bother to check if there was a problem. As long as you flew with them they'll add miles to your account just to get rid of you.

I just competed the gold challange on AA, flew 8800 mile MIA-EZE
Wish I now went for the Plat and I would have taken a weekend flight somewhere just for the 1200 miles. It is well worth the extra to get more 72 hours notice on your upgrades instead of 24

Ba
 

You are right on BA...big time problems on the IFE.

Fairly naive question: how do "automatic" (i.e. not using 500-mile vouchers) upgrades work on AA? Do OW partners get any such privileges?

thanks,

tb

AA Gold and AA Platinum: Full Fare tickets (Y or B), cleared at 24 and 72 hour windows

AA EXP: All fares, cleared at 100 hour window

Thanks THE soni: I don't suppose OW sapphire or emerald get any of these privileges?

thanks,

tb

Well, CO is a mixed bag. I do very well on upgrades to Central and northern South America. (IAH-SJO, EWR-LIM, etc) For domestic itineraries, I am at about 40%. However, if you choose your routes carefully, and avoid the very busy times, you might get it up to 50-60%. If you fly traditionally busy days (Friday/Monday), especially transcons, you may only be at 20% upgrades.

Does the 500 EQP minimum/flight include the non-TATL Q fares on the NetSAAver offers? E.g. this week's JFK-YHZ (a purely hypothetical example). If I understand the rules correctly 598 miles with .5 EQP.mi in Q would be 299 EQP, but if the minimum EQP is 500...? It's not entirely clear from the website.

That's the soonest they MIGHT clear. No guarantees. See the AA forum.

This is not accurate. You are confusing "complimentary" upgrades with sticker upgrades and suggesting that that upgrades are guaranteed. This is how it actually works on AA:

EXP: all fares eligible for complementary upgrades, beginning at 100 hour window but will be actually processed based on availability

PLT: Y or B fares eligible for complementary upgrades, all others fares eligible for "sticker" upgrades, all upgrades for this category (regardless of fare) beginning at 72 hour window, but will be actually processed based on availability

GLD:Y or B fares eligible for complementary upgrades, all others fares eligible for "sticker" upgrades, all upgrades for this category (regardless of fare) beginning at 24 hour window but will be actually processed based on availability

No, OW doesn't make any difference in this situation.

You can purchase certain full fare coach tickets that book into F or J. Usually called Y-up or K-up fares, these will automatically upgrade at the time of booking.

Officially CO and NW have full reciprocity for elite upgrades, so you should get it going either way. As for the 50% EQM credit bit, that is mostly a CO thing.

To the OP, your best option for non-stops from NYC would be flying on CO, so you should consider CO/NW status. That being said, upgrades internationally are hard to come by and require either high fare class purchase (NW) or copay (CO) in addition to the miles. And if you're flying on low fare CO flights and crediting to NW you may end up only with 50% EQMs.

S.

Here's the wiki site on inventory class mgmt. Hope it helps!

Mike

http://flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php...ligibility_(AA)

The wiki link says:

There is no page titled "Inventory_Classes_and_Mileage_Eligibility_(AA ".

^ for researching programs. Once you get hooked on one it is difficult to switch.

My carrier of choice is UA, and there is a thread on the United Mileage Plus forum page 10 called "Why are you flying United" that you might find interesting.

Sorry, I corrected it.

http://flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php...ligibility_(AA)

Mike

Hi brock01 from Bothel,

I somehow bet you may just have a solution to BA's IFE problem.:rolleyes:

Thanks, Mikeef. The link worked fine both times, there's just no text on the page.

And thanks, GreenFireFlyer. Seems like UA E+ would be the biggest draw for me. But MP members seem to seem to be numerous and dissatisfied.

After more studying it seems like no carrier meets my needs 100%, but I'm throwing in my lot with AA with a challenge. If it ends up not working out, oh well...

* Yes, status is worth it.
* 2nd tier status is really worth it. (double miles add up to TATL Biz awards twice as fast)
* If you're going the challenge route, I'd say suck it up, do some running and go for PLAT... there are lots of relatively cheap fares out there now with multiple segs for big accQmulation. A better value than buying E+.
* AA serves NYC a whole lot better than UA.
* AA has "soft landings" from plat - you'll drop to Gold if you don't re-qual. UA drops you into the sheep pen.

L fares will actually earn 1 point/mile. I'm not sure the secret is actually lots of short flights...long-haul travel at 1 point/mile makes it pretty easy to do a challenge.

[QUOTE=PDW5000;9211563]L fares will actually earn 1 point/mile. I'm not sure the secret is actually lots of short flights...long-haul travel at 1 point/mile makes it pretty easy to do a challenge.[/QUOTE

Correct, I am doing the plat challenge, RT FLL to BER via ORD and BRU all in L class and will net just over 11,000 points and instant Plat status all for $423.00 Not a bad deal thank you AA :D

SAM

Most FTers tend to have a little more integrity than using that kind of tactic; you will find this to be true if you stick around here long enough. Don't want to sound like I'm flaming you, but at the end of the day they can take everything away from you, but only you can GIVE away your integrity. If you need miles that bad then maximize your LEGITIMATE activities to run up the mileage totals.

I would like to say 'Welcome To FT' but I'm not getting a warm fuzzy here, yet.

baaaaaaaa...LMAO:D

sheeple of the world unite!