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Yesterday Joe wrote about how World of Hyatt is offering a status match to American Airlines AAdvantage elite members, with a status challenge to retain that status. One of the advantages of InsideFlyer UK is that each contributor has their own perspective. Joe was gifted AA elite status and could use that to obtain status with Hyatt. I, on the other hand, already have Hyatt status, and am therefore interested in the possibilities of leveraging my Hyatt status into status with Oneworld partner American Airlines…

To get started, you will need to link your AAdvantage account with your World of Hyatt account. You can do that by clicking here.

After a day or two, Globalist members that don’t already have status with AAdvantage should receive the following status challenge offer:

• $1,000 EQDs and either 7,000 EQMs or 8 EQSs for Gold
• $2,000 EQDs and either 12,500 EQMs or 16 EQSs for Platinum (Oneworld Sapphire – i.e. BA Silver)
• $3,000 EQDs and either 20,000 EQMs or 24 EQSs for Platinum Pro (Oneworld Sapphire – i.e. BA Silver)
• $5,000 EQDs and either 35,000 EQMs or 40 EQSs for Executive Platinum (Oneworld Emerald – i.e. BA Gold)

Globalists need to sign up for this offer by 30 September, 2019. You would then have three months to fulfill as much of the fast track as possible. i.e. it’s ok to aim for Executive Platinum but ultimately only qualify for Platinum.

Crucially… you would enjoy Platinum status during your challenge period. (this basically means you can get into Oneworld lounges (outside of the US) and will earn more redeemable miles along the way…)

The flights eligible for the fast track must be operated by American Airlines or marketed by AA and the following JV partners: British Airways, Finnair, Iberia and Japan Airlines.

Whatever status you qualify for will be valid through 31 January, 2021.

EQD, EQM, EQS? I’m Confused

Me too…  I suppose that our American cousins find BA Executive Club’s Tier Point system to be equally as confusing.  But in a future post I’ll analyse the differences, which essentially are a result of North American airlines not appreciating travel hackers who mileage run their way to elite status.

I’ve Already Got BA Status, So Who Cares…

The partnership between Hyatt and American Airlines is aimed at frequent travellers – so you must have elite status with either Hyatt or AAdvantage to be allowed to link accounts.

An interesting element of the partnership is:

• Hyatt elite members can earn 1 point per US dollar spent on American Airlines flights, but only those credited to an AAdvantage account
• AA elite members can earn 1 mile per US dollar spent at Hyatt hotels

Perhaps neither of these bonuses will move the needle at all when it comes to deciding which airline programme to choose, but it is certainly worth considering. Once you have Oneworld Sapphire or Emerald status, your benefits will be almost exactly the same… regardless of whether you card is issued by AA, BA, Iberia, Finnair or some other Oneworld alliance partner…

Conclusion

I’m not sure whether this status challenge is relevant for most readers. But any opportunity to fast track your way to status is worth analysing.

What do you think? Is an AA status challenge attractive?