Attempt to get AA platinum

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Austff

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Hi all , here are mine & mrs Austff's plans for upcoming trip. We are both QF bronze , both newbies .

have booked return Y flights for August , SYD - LAX -MCO -LAX - SYD , QF11 - QF3223 (AA) -QF3216 (AA) - QF12 . Fare classes O - N - S - O . These should all pay 0.5 pts x 9,680 miles x 2 = 9,680 pts . (a) are my figures correct ?

(b) should just 1 of us do the challenge for both of us to benifit , as we will be travelling together (haven't signed up for plat challenge yet) ?
At LAX we have a 10 hr layover !
(c) If I get 2 Qantas club passes can I use the T terminal lounge for showers dining etc ? . our next flight leaves T4

(d) if we can't do (c) can I buy 2 AAdmirals passes & use lounge at T4 ?

(e) which is the better lounge ?

(f) do we have to go landside to get from Tom Bradley to T4 ?

We plan to do a trip to Canada from MCO on AA but not booked yet , (g) will this be enough flights to complete the challenge ?
We are planing to do this trip every year ( with different flights from MCO ) as we
(h) will platinum status last till Feb 2015 ?
(i) does credit card spend credited to AA count to requalifying for plat , if not how much flying would I have to do ?
Many thanks in advance for help with this .
 
Hi all , here are mine & mrs Austff's plans for upcoming trip. We are both QF bronze , both newbies .

have booked return Y flights for August , SYD - LAX -MCO -LAX - SYD , QF11 - QF3223 (AA) -QF3216 (AA) - QF12 . Fare classes O - N - S - O . These should all pay 0.5 pts x 9,680 miles x 2 = 9,680 pts . (a) are my figures correct ?

(b) should just 1 of us do the challenge for both of us to benifit , as we will be travelling together (haven't signed up for plat challenge yet) ?
At LAX we have a 10 hr layover !
(c) If I get 2 Qantas club passes can I use the T terminal lounge for showers dining etc ? . our next flight leaves T4

(d) if we can't do (c) can I buy 2 AAdmirals passes & use lounge at T4 ?

(e) which is the better lounge ?

(f) do we have to go landside to get from Tom Bradley to T4 ?

We plan to do a trip to Canada from MCO on AA but not booked yet , (g) will this be enough flights to complete the challenge ?
We are planing to do this trip every year ( with different flights from MCO ) as we
(h) will platinum status last till Feb 2015 ?
(i) does credit card spend credited to AA count to requalifying for plat , if not how much flying would I have to do ?
Many thanks in advance for help with this .

All flights for the Plat Challenge need to be on AA flight numbers. It wasn't always like this but has been for some years now. Check here for some info on Plat challenges.

b) I think it would depend on how often myself and wife were going to travel separately in future. If a lot then yes, both, if not then maybe just one. All you'll be doing by having one do it is saving $150, or whatever the charge is these days.

c) Not sure if T4 AC counts as 'Qantas operated' for the purposes of this - probably not. You won't be able to access TBIT lounge if you are departing from T4. A

d) Yes. You might prefer to buy 30-day AC passes. You'd then AFAIK be able to use them to access QC's on your way from Oz, and ACs when in the US.

e) Moot point

f) yes, but it is a short walk, they are basically next to each other.

g) Really need to know if you can change to AA flight numbers, if not, then no.

h) I think if you start your challenge in the first half of the year it will last till Feb of the following year, and if starting in the second half of the year, will last till Feb 2 years hence.

i) Not sure, but I don't think so.

I did a Plat challenge but that was 6 or 7 years ago so I'm rusty on the rules. If you can/do change your flights to AA flight numbers then you may well be close but i would need to do more research. Can you change them?

Edit: Missed one of your points, have modified post.
 
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I think your figures (9680 EQPs) look about right. This would leave you a little short, hopefully your flights to/from Canada would take you past 10K EQPs.

Oh, and for point i) you need 50000 miles (flown, not CC earn) or 60 flight segments in a year to requalify platinum. It's a lot tougher than the challenge.

The challenge has o commence on the 1st or 16th of the month and must be complete within 3 months (or it might be 90 days, there is a small difference). And if you attempt it with flights that just get you over the 10K mark, ensure you are using AA's distance measurements, there seem to be small variations between the airlines and other measuring tools.
 
All flights for the Plat Challenge need to be on AA flight numbers. It wasn't always like this but has been for some years now. Check here for some info on Plat challenges. ...
That changed back in July (2012); QF flight number can again count toward a 'challenge' (for some reason CX fligt number do not).

See the dedicated thread: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....-platinum-challenge-mileage-earning-8595.html

..
d) Yes. You might prefer to buy 30-day AC passes. You'd then AFAIK be able to use them to access QC's on your way from Oz, and ACs when in the US.

....
To be clear it's a thirty day membership, bestowing much more than the available passes including Guest access.
 
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That changed back in July (2012); QF flight number can again count toward a 'challenge' (for some reason CX fligt number do not).

See the dedicated thread: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....-platinum-challenge-mileage-earning-8595.html

To be clear it's a thirty day membership, bestowing much more than the available passes including Guest access.

Well there you go. Apologies to the OP for misleading info. I actually read the wiki page I linked but only down to the part where it mentions that in 2007 only AA flight numbers counted. I missed the 'update' immediately below. :oops:
 
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have booked return Y flights for August , SYD - LAX -MCO -LAX - SYD , QF11 - QF3223 (AA) -QF3216 (AA) - QF12 . Fare classes O - N - S - O . These should all pay 0.5 pts x 9,680 miles x 2 = 9,680 pts . (a) are my figures correct ?

I think your figures (9680 EQPs) look about right. This would leave you a little short, hopefully your flights to/from Canada would take you past 10K EQPs.

Based on the few occasions I've flown an O-class fare on Qantas while earning on AA, I don't think those figures are correct, unfortunately! :(

Elite Qualifying Points (EQP) are calculated based on the Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM) earned for the segment. For an O- and S-class fare on Qantas, EQM is 50% of the actual miles flown, and EQP is 0.50 x EQM. In other words, those fares would earn 0.5 EQM and 0.25 EQP per mile flown. N-class fares on Qantas earn no EQM or EQP.

QF11 SYD-LAX (O) - 7490 miles, 3745 EQM, 1873 EQP
QF3223 LAX-MCO (N) - 2210 miles, 0 EQM, 0 EQP
QF3216 MCO-LAX (S) - 2210 miles, 1105 EQM, 553 EQP
QF12 LAX-SYD (O) - 7490 miles, 3745 EQM, 1873 EQP

So for those flights you would earn 8595 EQM but only 4299 EQP, which would leave you a fair bit short of the 10,000 EQP required for the Platinum Challenge.

My post count is too low to post links, but for reference check out the Miles and Points (AA) section of the FlyerGuide Wiki. If you haven't already, see also the (poorly worded) earning table for Qantas at aa.com.
 
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Austff, thanks for pointing me at this thread. Alas, you think I am something that I am no longer - an expert on the AA Challenge - so much so, I didn't realise that QF flight numbers were back being eligible (or that there was a fee now). My use of AA is now limited to a points repository for holiday long haul flights.

I would defer to others like serfty and the AA Challenge thread (and the Wiki).

Sorry to disappoint :eek:
 
Elite Qualifying Points (EQP) are calculated based on the Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM) earned for the segment. For an O- and S-class fare on Qantas, EQM is 50% of the actual miles flown, and EQP is 0.50 x EQM. In other words, those fares would earn 0.5 EQM and 0.25 EQP per mile flown.

Oh man, thanks so much for pointing that out - I completely overlooked the 25% earn (0.5 of 0.5) with regard to EQP earn on discount economy QF flights.
I was going to try for a PLT challenge next month but may not bother now :(
 
I had no idea it worked that way. Changes the dynamic quite a bit for "Main Cabin" flyers.
 
I had no idea it worked that way. Changes the dynamic quite a bit for "Main Cabin" flyers.

Tell me about it, I had a MEL-LAX return in O class on QF93/94 (50% base miles per mile flown and 0.5 EQP per base mile). I just found out to change it to a higher class (LMV, in this case V was the cheapest) that earns 1.0 EQP per base mile will cost $1326 or thereabouts.
Probably not worth it seeing as it was a $1400 fare and I used a $500 customer care voucher due to a flight delay.

MEL-LAX is 7923 miles flown (as per QFF) and one way would get me 1980.75 EQPs :(

The other option would be to book on the AA codeshare but QF can't do that and the only way to do it with AA would mean booking an entirely new ticket.
 
Tell me about it, I had a MEL-LAX return in O class on QF93/94 (50% base miles per mile flown and 0.5 EQP per base mile). I just found out to change it to a higher class (LMV, in this case V was the cheapest) that earns 1.0 EQP per base mile will cost $1326 or thereabouts.
Probably not worth it seeing as it was a $1400 fare and I used a $500 customer care voucher due to a flight delay.

MEL-LAX is 7923 miles flown (as per QFF) and one way would get me 1980.75 EQPs :(

or worse, I booked a SYD-LAX-YVR-JFK-SYD and realised that having paid a little more for the JFK-SYD leg (not by choice), this more expensive leg was Q class rather than O class so that's a total of zilch EQPs for that longest leg. One to watch for next time, Q class fares are not always the cheapest fares (the cheaper fare was O class)!!
 
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Thanks everyone for your info in this thread , has made me see things in a new light , will try to get the N class fare changed to O or S & will now do a trip to Europe from MCO ( which we were considering anyway ) so we can get to 10,000 EQPs , does anyone have some thoughts on my other questions ?
 
Ergh I typed a reply and the site crashed, here it goes again:

(b) should just 1 of us do the challenge for both of us to benifit , as we will be travelling together (haven't signed up for plat challenge yet) ?
At LAX we have a 10 hr layover !
(c) If I get 2 Qantas club passes can I use the T terminal lounge for showers dining etc ? . our next flight leaves T4

(d) if we can't do (c) can I buy 2 AAdmirals passes & use lounge at T4 ?

(e) which is the better lounge ?

(f) do we have to go landside to get from Tom Bradley to T4 ?
(b) Only you and your wife can determine if it is of benefit, however some factors that have not been mentioned is OWS which is of benefit when travelling internationally. Another is the minimum 500 mile earn for AA elites and a 100% status bonus for Platinum (25% for Gold). So essentially it is a 1000 mile minimum for PLT and 625 minimum for GLD. If you do short haul QF sectors (eg SYD-MEL), then you will earn 1000 per segment in any eligible class which is the same as the QFF minimum. Then again in most situations, 1000 AA miles is worth more than 1000 QFF points.

Another option to consider is a Gold challenge requiring 5,000 EQPs in a 3 month period.

See here: Miles and Points (AA) - FlyerGuide Wiki

(c,d,e,f) You won't be able to access any lounge in TBIT because your next flight does not depart from there and AFAIK there are no arrivals lounges in TBIT (well for QF/AA). T4 is a short walk to the right (landside) as you exit TBIT. You have to clear security again.
The T4 A/C is a joint QF and AA lounge (associated lounge). There are QF signs and staff in there. So if you have 2x QP passes I don't see why you wouldn't be given access - never tried this myself though.

Both the one-day pass and 30-day A/C membership will get you access into the T4 A/C.
If you go the one-day pass option, you need to buy two ($50 each, $100 total) as they don't allow guests.
Admirals Club Locations And Pass Information

The 30-day membership is $1 cheaper ($99), allows 2 guests and gives you access for a month prior to all QF/AA flights you take where there is an A/C or domestic QP - in case you come back to Australia and have some domestic QF flights in that 30 day period. If you end up going to Canada/Europe on AA in that time you can also use the A/C if there is one in your port of departure.
I think you may be able to ask for more drink chits (coupons for premium beverages) with the 30-day membership, but not the one-day pass. Never used either so I don't have any experience.
Admirals Club Passes

Alternatively, if you are an American Express Centurion and / or select Platinum** cardmember you also get complimentary access.

I think all of your questions have now been answered (see the links posted throughout) but if you have any specific ones just post here.

Hope this helps.

PS. If you end up enquiring about how much it would cost to change your N class fare to an O or S one, please let us know - will be interested in what they say.
 
Hi all , I have finally managed to get the N class fare changed to S , flight center emailed me today ,they will reissue the ticket & there will be no extra charge , so with a trip to Europe I should be able to get AAplat .
 
We have finished our trip & I did get aaplat using the following flights , LAX-MCO , MCO-JFK , JFK-LJU , LJU-JFK , JFK-MCO .
The 3rd & 4th flights were on Finnair & the rest on AA .
I did buy 30 day Admirals club membership & it was very useful .
I credited QF flights to QFF as it was a very poor rate if credited to AA , QF O class now has only a 12.5% earn for AA EQPs .
We were able to be upgraded to J on QF11 & found it fantastic .
I am now trying to work out how to make best use of aaplat , thanks for all the advise .
 
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