Worth of Gold Status on AA now?
 

DH is approaching 1 million miles traveled (although his unused miles have gotten down pretty low - less business travel now and less time for leisure travel), which I believe will make him eligible for lifetime Gold status.

But how much, exactly, does that really get you? It is worth an unnecessary trip to put him over the mark?

Go to the AA website and click on the AAdvantage link for a complete list of the perks:
http://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/el...fits-chart.jsp

There's also a FAQ sections which gives even more information.

You'll have to decide for yourself if it's worth it - the answer is different for everybody.

I'm lifetime Platinum (over 2 million miles) and my spouse is lifetime Gold - for us it is definitely worth having.

FYI - you can get "lifetime" qualifying miles by using a Citibank AAdvantage Credit Card so you don't have to fly anywhere.

Sorry, meant to also tell you , you can "earn" up to 30,000 miles just by applying for the credit card and making $750 in purchases over the next 4 months (you'll also earn 1 mile for every dollar you charge to the card) plus another 10,000 miles if you charge more than $5,000 to the card in the first 6 months.

We "charge" everything we can (hardly ever use cash) and pay the balance in full each month - it's a great way to build up your mileage account.

Just did 2 AAdvantage cards over 80000 miles free flights
to Europe booked close cards.Would be worth it to put him
over.We get great deals on hotels free everywhere.aa.com
in chapter 11 so they will devalue miles quickly I use them
as quickly as I can.

Some corrections to the posts above:

As of Dec. 1, for the most part, it is only BIS ("butt in seat") miles that count toward the million miler lifetime status. The years of building up that total through credit card purchases, bonus miles, car rentals, hotel stays, floral purchases ... are no more. You have to fly and those are the only miles that count from now forward.

There's a temporary extension with the use of the Citi Executive AAdvantage World Elite Master Card. Miles earned through those purchases will count toward million miler status through the end of 2012. The catch is that you have to have applied for the card by Dec. 1, 2011.

Of course, you can still earn redeemable miles the same ways they've always allowed, namely through credit card purchases, but none of those count toward the lifetime status from now on.

Lifetime gold gets you:

a) free checked bags
b) priority boarding (and thus overhead bin space)

both of which I find very nice perquisites

It's a shame. Credit cards were the easiest way to build some miles and keep them valid.

You're still building miles with credit card purchases and all those other non-flying ways of earning them. They can be redeemed. They're still good that way. That part hasn't changed. They just won't count toward lifetime status any longer.

Any perqs re: seating choice?

Assume that AA is your airline of choice? Like others have said, should evaluate perks and decide if it's worthwhile for you.

During this past year (2011) I didn't have ANY 'status' (had been Gold in 2010) ...... aw, geez, it sucks being one of the masses. I missed not being able to choose emergency row exit seats when I purchased a ticket ..... and the priority boarding (always do carry on luggage & want to ensure access to overhead bin space). A friend of mine recently hit million-mark, becoming lifetime gold ...... I'm soooo envious! So for me, yes, it would be very much worthwhile.

<i>Any perqs re: seating choice?</i>

Yes, as clearly indicated in the chart linked in the first response.

I have found a few other perks of status on AA. First I was lifeime gold and now I am lifeime platinum. In case of bad weather, mechanical or other delays I have automatic priority in rebooking. I have the special phone number to get an agent to talk to more quickly too. And f when I have had any issues and stopped by a counter or phoned and very nicely asked "would you be able to help a 2 million mile customer with a little problem?" I have always received excellent customer service.

Gardyloo, no need to be snarky. Many of the perqs and advantages are in the process of change (viz., Jeff_Costa_Rica's post), so forgive me if I didn't entirely trust what's still on AA website. I was probably too subtle using the word "now" in the title without spelling out my concern about recent changes associated with reorganization.

Currently "Preferred Seating" means paying an extra fee if you're booking in Coach IF seats are available, while that chart says "complementary access" -- but it doesn't say out right "no extra fee." So I wasn't sure whether that might mean that Gold makes it possible for you to SEE the preferred seats that are still available when you book, which may not be visible to some coach PAX who will have to wait until they're at the gate to see if any are available for purchase.

Lifetime Gold would be fabulous and I'm envious -- I've been Plat for many years but wish I'd been able to get to 1,000,000 this year to make the mark more easily.

The use of priority lines at AA counters and (some) security lines will save you quite a bit of time, not to mention the exit row seating and free baggage. I don't check luggage but when I travel with people who do and I can't talk them out of it, I suppose that would come in handy as well.

Finally, aren't you able to fly standby as Gold, not to mention the capacity to keep earning and using upgrades? I think that's incredible to get all this for the lifetime of your flying with AA -- it's quite a fabulous perk and I know I would totally appreciate it when my business travel slows down and I'm flying around strictly for leisure -- in like 20 yrs. : )

JJ495, sorry for the tone. One thing I've found about AA is that when they make policy moves (like the revamp of the lifetime levels that took place on Dec. 1) they're usually pretty prompt at making sure their website agrees.

However AA has just announced that they're giving out double elite-qualifying mileage (only on AA or Eagle metal) for the rest of this year and through January. Don't know where your DH is on the annual total, but if he's within striking distance of an elite level, that might be an extra incentive to do a mileage run of some sort before the end of the year.

Aside from the free-baggage thing (which can be worth hundreds yearly to some travelers) the ability to use 500-mi upgrades on any coach fare class and not just the higher buckets required if one doesn't have status - can be very valuable, provided you use routes where Golds have a shot at upgrades (as opposed to Plats or EXPs which get higher preference.) Again, there's a real value to that IMO.

Thanks, Gardyloo -- a lot will depend on whether he can afford (WE can afford) to do much traveling after he's forced out of work next June -- he's trying to make that 1M mark before then, but it may mean paying money for a cross-country trip he/we really wouldn't otherwise spend our own money for, so in effect I guess I was asking if it would be worth the price of a current cross-country RT ticket. Thanks for the comments, everyone.