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.

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

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.