What would it take to make me elite?
 

Coach on American Airlines is getting pretty bad. So, here are my stats:

I have 141,000 program to date miles

13,680 YTD Elite Qualifying Points

24,181 YTD Elite Qualfying Miles

19 YTD Elite Qualifying Segments

and 91,531 Total Available Award Miles

What would be my best strategy to get Elite Status? Your comments are appreciated.

Coach is bad everywhere. What do you want elite status for?

How many miles a year on AA or AA partners do you fly? If you got elite status, would you be able or willing to maintain it with enough ongoing flying?

Not trying to be combative here, Wally, but have a look at http://www.aa.com/content/AAdvantage...tus/main.jhtml and see how your travel patterns would support elite status once attained. Your qualification strategy will then be easier to identify.

All you need is 819 miles to achive Gold. You need to do that before 12/31. You will be Gold until 2/08.

It won't really get you in F, but at the very least you do get to pick exit row seats during res, special security lines at some major airports, 1.25 miles per every mile flown. You will get a chance to request an upgrade for domestic (Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, Bahamas and Caribbean included) upgrades using stickers. Each is good for 500 miles of flying. You will earn 4 free ones for every 10K miles flown or you can purchase 1 for $30(I think, it maybe $25). Unfortunately as a Gold your chances are slim to clear on most major routes.

Still the 1.25 miles per each mile flown is worth something.

Since AA gives a minimum of 500 miles for any flight under 500 miles why not do a quick 1 day turn around MIA-TPA. Have not checked prices but expect something around $100 and you'll be all set.

Next year, if you plan on flying 20K miles in a 3 month period then do a challenge for Plat, a real steup from Gold, but that's another story, another time.

Glad you like my little joke this morning :-D, although I'm sure the actual paxs don't find it too funny.

Thanks for your answers. Unfortunately, that creates more questions.

I am flying from Melbourne, Australia, to Hobart on December 25 on Qantas. I'm looking at the Electronic Ticket and it doesn't say what class ticket it is.

American Airlines is getting rather picky on the class of ticket for miles. If you have the wrong class--no miles, so I put the miles on my Continental airlines card. If I put the miles on my BA card I will get 25% of the miles. I hope I am assuming correctly that Continental will give me 100% of the miles--not that there is that many miles involved.

In short, do I have to call the airline to find out what class the ticket is? or am I not looking at the right spot on the electronic ticket?

From what I can comprehend from CO's website, you only earn Onepass miles on flights to/from the US and <b>connecting</b> domestic flights inside Australia. If you're not connecting, you won't get any OP miles.

I seriously think you'll be better off putting the miles on AA. Most fares should earn miles (50% or 100%), and 1 or 0.5 EQP.

Also, it's not AA or CO or BA that decides how many miles will be posted to your account by QF.

It's QF. They look at how much it will cost them to purchase the miles from their partners and make a decision as to how many you will get, depending on your fare.

You will probably have to call QF and find out what the fare code is.

First Class
A, F, P

100% + 50% bonus

1.50
Business Class
C, D, I, J

100% + 25% bonus

1.50
Full Fare Economy Class
B, Y

100%

1.50
Discount Economy Class
H, K, W^^

100%

1.00
Discount Economy Class
M, V, L, R^

50%

1.00
Discount Economy Class
G, O, S

50%

0.50

It doesn't matter. From aa.com -

<i>Earn a minimum of 500 AAdvantage&reg; miles each time you purchase and fly on Qantas, a member of oneworld. Qualifying mileage counts toward AAdvantage Executive Platinum&reg;, AAdvantage Platinum&reg;, and AAdvantage Gold&reg; status and bonuses.</i>

MEL-HBA is 383 miles, so you'll get 500 miles regardless of the booking class.

Gardyloo - I don't think that's correct. If the fare class is good for only 50% miles, then the minimum is 250, and so on.

No, aa.com makes a distinction in such cases. For example read the comparable language regarding BA -

<i>Earn a minimum of 500 AAdvantage&reg; miles each time you purchase and fly on a published eligible fare ticket on British Airways, <b>except for miles earned on eligible Discount Economy Class Fares, which will be 25% of the normal minimum (125 AAdvantage miles)</b>.</i>

missed that one, didn't I?

I just assumed he was flying US-Australia..

I called Qantas. It is an S class ticket. I guess that means 50% of the miles with American or 25% of the miles with BA. I'm still not sure about Continental.

One needs a law degree to figure this stuff out.

I'm pretty sure you won't get any miles on CO.

no Wally. If you put the miles into your AA account you will get the following:

<i>Earning AAdvantage Miles
Earn a <b>minimum of 500 AAdvantage&reg; miles</b> each time you purchase and fly on Qantas, a member of oneworld. Qualifying mileage counts toward AAdvantage Executive Platinum&reg;, AAdvantage Platinum&reg;, and AAdvantage Gold&reg; status and bonuses.</i>

So OP still needs 319 EQMs. Can they be earned by using an AAdvantage affiliated credit card or by redeeming miles?

<i>So OP still needs 319 EQMs. Can they be earned by using an AAdvantage affiliated credit card or by redeeming miles?</i>

Nope. Butt-in-seat (BIS) miles only. But one short hop will do the trick.

Flying from Hobart to Sydney on January 1st won't count? At 9:00 a.m. in Australia, it will still be 2006 in the United States.

BTW, when I flew from San Francisco to Vancouver on Qantas last summer, (one-way), I earned 200 miles with BA.

no Wally, it won't count. It's the date on your BP that counts, not the international time line....:-)

Nice try!

One last try. I booked this ticket on the BA website but will only be getting 25% of the miles I'm assuming. (Last year I earned 100% of the miles) When I get to London, can I go up to the Qantas counter and have them change the BA FF number to AA's FF number? Can I get BA miles from Miami to London and AA miles on Qantas from London to Sydney?

Yes!

Have a great trip!