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American Airlines Elite Status challenges are back! After taking a short break while changes to the AAdvantage programme were announced, AA frequent flyers can once again earn Gold or Platinum status with a 3 month AA status fast track challenge.
To benefit, you will need to call American Airlines. Beyond that, the requirements are simple:
- Gold Challenge – earn 7,000 elite qualifying miles in 90 days ($100 to register)
- Platinum Challenge – earn 12,000 elite qualifying miles in 90 days ($200 to register)
If you are just returning from a trip, it’s worth knowing that American backdated my challenge by 2 weeks. I flew GLA-LHR-MIA-BNA 10 days ago, so this made all the difference. The agent took a few minutes to key in the segments and I’m now just 1,000 miles short.
Here’s our January & February itinerary:
Some codeshare flights are accepted – in our case, over half of our travel is on BA metal but counts all the same. If you are unsure, just ask the agent when you call and they will check each segment for you.
Gold or Platinum status will be granted upon completion of the challenge and is valid through February 2016. Until then, Platinum passengers can enjoy benefits including lounge access on international trips, 2 free bags, a 100% mileage bonus, priority boarding, better access to upgrades and a good deal more.
How to check if your travel will qualify
- Go to www.gcmap.com. Here, you can key in your itinerary and it will display the miles you are expected to fly.
- Then go to AA’s website and check how many Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) you will earn per mile flown based on your fare class. Select which airline you are flying and it will show the EQM chart. Here is the chart for flights on AA, notice how EQMs range from 3x to 1x based on the fare class. On some partners, EQMs per mile can be lower, at 0.5x. Again, if you are unsure, just call and ask!
EQM chart for flights on AA
So, if you are going to be travelling 7,000 or 12,000 miles over the next 3 months it’s time to get on the phone!
This post was produced in association with Pete’s blog Miles Ahead – give us a like and come along for the ride!
Heading to SFO soon with a ticket booked via AA and I’ll earn 12000-13000EQM’s. Very tempted to go for AAdvantage platinum since it’s a fantastic offer, although not sure where it’s worth the £140 price tag as I tend to stick to Star Alliance. Decisions decisions decisions!
@Alex Thanks for reading! Do you have status with United/Star Alliance? If not then this is definitely a good opportunity to ‘buy’ mid level status for around the next 12 months. I’m figuring on eating & drinking my £140’s worth in the lounge. Plus the 100% mileage bonus once qualified. But money’s still money – especially if you won’t fly OneWorld much after this trip then might be hard to justify.
I’m currently SAS Eurobonus Silver, since I’m based up in ABZ the only OW option here is British Airways and I hate them with passion 😉 If it lasted for 2 years I’d be tempted but since it’s only a year I think I might pass. If only you could access OneWorld lounges without travelling on OneWorld!