The calendar year aspect can be dealt with given that the OP's travel patterns would indicate that he may well have 2 trips to perth within a 3 month period. 2 trips to Perth can complete the platinum challenge

Enrol in the challenge with a start date on or after 16 june, then status will count for rest of 2013 plus 2014 , so no need to worry about getting 50k points/miles in the 6.5 months remaining of 2013

I would recommend switching now and getting a challenge underway after mid june

Of course, doing the challenge will also reduce the number of trips where there are no bonuses/minimum mile guarantees

Hi guys, thanks for all your great advice. Sounds like I should definitely commit to AA, and that if I sign up for the platinum challenge when I know I have Perth flights coming up then I should safely hit platinum before the end of the year.

Just to confirm:
- I want to use the points to redeem in business or first on OW int'l flights, not necessarily on QF or AA metal
- My fares to ADL, SYD and BNE are usually B class (sorry I'm not sure which classes earn points and at what rates - would be great if someone could clarify)
- I'm interested in whether status with AA gets you access to domestic QF lounges (surely they must give you access to int'l QF lounges)

Thanks guys! I signed up already and have flown once - still waiting for the points to show up in the account - will let you guys know how I go over the coming weeks.

B is the second highest economy class, so earns full miles on AA and QF.

AA Plat/ExP does get you domestic QF lounge access. Basically any OW lounge except domestic USA.

from AA.com:

Note: Members must fly at least four segments on American Airlines, American Eagle or the AmericanConnection carrier to qualify for AAdvantage Executive Platinum, AAdvantage Platinum or AAdvantage Gold status within the qualifying year.

I don't know how this actually plays out, but the OP would need to get 4 AA segments in the year in order to qualify for any top tier status. Milage accrual would still be OK on QF flights, but status wouldn't come until after those 4 sectors.

AA doesn't enforce this rule

Make sure to start challenge on a date after 16 june so that it will count for renewal for next year. If you start the challenge on 1 May, 16 May or 1 June, the status will only count for this year and you will need to ensure to mee the requalification criteria to avoid dropping to gold


If you want to redeem for international awards, AA is going to be streets ahead of Qantas in value.