I apologize in advance for what's probably a question I already know the answer to, but I figure you all are the most knowledgeable, so before I give up, I'll ask the experts.

I've been a Gold elite member for a couple years now. Unfortunately, in 06 I missed Gold by 7000 miles because I missed the fine print, and flew to Asia on the wrong class Continental ticket, and got only 50% Elite qualifying mileage. I wrote a letter, didn't do any good.

Anyway, today I received a letter offering to upgrade me to Gold if I fly 5 qualifying roundtrip tickets in P F J C Z Y S X or B class before May 15. So I was fairly happy. I have two trips already booked for March, one of them is B, the other is K (roundtrip to Philly). I asked how much it would cost to upgrade from K to the cheapest class listed above, the agent said $530... the original ticket is only $290. She said that basically, I had to buy my way into Gold elite.

That's fair enough, I've got to give kudos to NWA for trying to help me out. But my question is, based on the above, can anyone suggest the least expensive way for me to achieve Gold Elite in '07? Is there some trick I'm maybe not aware of? Is there some other way that works on occasion, talking to supervisor's, etc? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

In my opinion, NW's challenges are great if you are rich or have an employer that will pay for high-$ tickets. In most cases, though, you can earn status the "normal" way (fly 25,000, 50,000 or 75,000 EQMs on 'regular' fares) for far less money than required to complete a challenge. Sorry, but the person you talked to was right...either tough it out on regular flying (and/or do some MRs) or shell out the big bucks to do the challenge.

Keep your eyes on the Mileage Run forum and snag any B class or higher fare mistake that comes along. No guarantee that there will be enough though! Good luck.

I am not sure what market you are flying out of, but look toward markets that feature Airtran and Spirit competition. NW often matches their business class fares with tickets in F fare bucket. Often you can book First class tickets for less than 500 all in from DTW to Florida, also you can do a same day return in F from IND-LGA for less than 400 bucks.

First class tickets are often cheaper than B class. I recieved the same letter, and I've since planned five trips to STL and BWI. I have family and friends in both areas, and from DTW F class is under $300 to both markets. B and Y classes are SIGNIFICANTLY higher.