Question about AA Plat benefits...

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Keith009

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Hi all,

I am doing the AA Plat challenge soon, which doesn't require any AA segments to achieve Platinum.

However I don't see myself going to the USA anytime soon which means my Plat status will only last until whatever time it expires as according to the rules I must get 4 AA segments in a year to re-qualify.

Hence I am intending to put any QF miles I earn after getting AA Plat onto my QF FFP account instead of the AAdvantage account. My booking references and BPs on those flights will hence reflect my lowly QF Silver status, but do I still get ow sapphire benefits, such as entering lounges and priority check in, by just flashing my AA Plat card in that situation?

I know it sounds really basic to most of you but I only started flying a lot recently and want to make sure everything is in order.

I am thinking of defecting to *A after a while though as it seems their airlines offer cheaper fares to wherever I want to go and more destinations. I can achieve *G by just flying 35k miles (via AC Aeroplan, without even flying AC), which is much easier/more affordable than trying to get QF gold which is practically impossible for me going by my current amount of flying. But I'm only intending to work on *G when my ow sapphire status is about to expire to ensure I continue to enjoy elite benefits. Does this sound like a good plan? Comments?

Cheers,
Keith
 
As far as I have heard, BA is the only OneWorld airline that actually enforces the 4-flights-per-year rule. I have never heard of AA enforcing it.

Yes, if you hold a valid AA Plat card, you get the full OneWorld Sapphire benefits even if your flight is being accrued to a different FF program.
 
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Welcome to AFF QF009.

QF009 said:
...according to the rules I must get 4 AA segments in a year to re-qualify.

I've never heard of AA enforcing it either. Have a look at
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=445
and if you can't confirm either way post a new thread asking the question. I'm sure the AA experts there can help you.

QF009 said:
I can achieve *G by just flying 35k miles (via AC Aeroplan, without even flying AC), which is much easier/more affordable than trying to get QF gold ...

True, though I believe AC Aeroplan has/ will be sold off to a third party. If so, not sure what changes would occur to the FF program. Also AC may be a good idea if you only want lounge access, but if you're not ever flying AC then it's a waste of other elite benefits (upgrades, priority, bonuses...) :(
 
Don't I get all the *G benefits like priority waitlisting, priority check in, seat selection etc?

I could go for one of the *A programs I would travel on like SQ or TG but it seems AC is more lax and I think 35k a year is a more realistic target to achieve. I hit 50k occassionally and at other times about 45k++.

On the other hand I could just see myself doing a few trans-tasman mileage runs to hit 50k. :p
 
QF009 said:
Don't I get all the *G benefits like priority waitlisting, priority check in, seat selection etc?

Yes check-in and lounge is good, though waitlisting, seat selection, ugrades etc will see you put behind host airline members. For eg, on QF metal, then priority would be Chairman's Club, Lifetime QF Platinum, QF Platinum, Other OneWorld Platinum, Lifetime QF Gold, QF Gold, Other ONE Gold...

Also % bonus for elites varies across airlines e.g. Top tier * alliance gold elites on NH get an extra 125% for flying on NH metal, United elites get 100% on UA metal, TH gets 100%, AC gets 0-100% on AC metal (varies on routes) and NZ airpoints get 0% bonus on NZ metal (i think).

Also COS (class of service) bonuses varies across airlines.

QF009 said:
I could go for one of the *A programs I would travel on like SQ or TG but it seems AC is more lax and I think 35k a year is a more realistic target to achieve. I hit 50k occassionally and at other times about 45k++.

On the other hand I could just see myself doing a few trans-tasman mileage runs to hit 50k. :p

Randy Peterson gives some excellent advice on how to choose a *Alliance FFP here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2876476&postcount=3

Good luck.
 
BlacKnox said:
QF009 said:
Don't I get all the *G benefits like priority waitlisting, priority check in, seat selection etc?

Yes check-in and lounge is good, though waitlisting, seat selection, ugrades etc will see you put behind host airline members. For eg, on QF metal, then priority would be Chairman's Club, Lifetime QF Platinum, QF Platinum, Other OneWorld Platinum, Lifetime QF Gold, QF Gold, Other ONE Gold...

Also % bonus for elites varies across airlines e.g. Top tier * alliance gold elites on NH get an extra 125% for flying on NH metal, United elites get 100% on UA metal, TH gets 100%, AC gets 0-100% on AC metal (varies on routes) and NZ airpoints get 0% bonus on NZ metal (i think).

Also COS (class of service) bonuses varies across airlines.

QF009 said:
I could go for one of the *A programs I would travel on like SQ or TG but it seems AC is more lax and I think 35k a year is a more realistic target to achieve. I hit 50k occassionally and at other times about 45k++.

On the other hand I could just see myself doing a few trans-tasman mileage runs to hit 50k. :p

Randy Peterson gives some excellent advice on how to choose a *Alliance FFP here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2876476&postcount=3

Good luck.

All airpoints members, elite or not, earn significantly more on NZ metal only itineraries than on partners (or mixed itineraries).

For those travelling frequently long haul in business or first, the best *A programs are (in no particular order) BMI, Lufthansa, United (if flying UA), NZ - these have much better class of service bonus than the other programs (in UAs case this isnt true but the bonus for UA metal offsets).

The common *G benefits are priority waitlisting, priority standby, priority check-in, priority baggage tags, extra luggage allowance (20kg or 1 piece), priority boarding, lounge access.
 
The LH program does seem attractive, but it's practically impossible for mere mortals like me to gain 100k miles in a yr. :(

I only fly business class at a maximum of twice a year. Hey I'm a poor student :p
 
One often overlooked advantage of LH is that you qualify in one calendar year and status lasts for 2 years.

Eg earn 100k status miles in 2006 gets Senator (*G status) until Feb 2009!

As business class earns 2x miles, that is 50k flown miles - or roughly 2 round trips to europe plus a bit. (Once have FTL *S status there is also a 25% bonus when flying on LH, LO, OS, UA, US or AC. FTL status kicks in at 35k status miles.)

Also on LH, full economy earns 1.5x miles which is more than most other FFPs that I know of.
 
Oh actually I just had a closer look...its 150k miles to gain Senator :S
Oh well, will consider it when I finish uni and get into that big multinational corp :p.
 
QF009 said:
Oh actually I just had a closer look...its 150k miles to gain Senator

No its not. 150k is only for German residents. Everywhere else its 100k.
 
BlacKnox said:
QF009 said:
I can achieve *G by just flying 35k miles (via AC Aeroplan, without even flying AC), which is much easier/more affordable than trying to get QF gold ...

True, though I believe AC Aeroplan has/ will be sold off to a third party. If so, not sure what changes would occur to the FF program.

12.5% of Aeroplan was sold on Wednesday, with the market valueing the FFP at C$2 billion. I think we'll see a lot of other airlines following in their footsteps soon...
 
BlacKnox said:
BlacKnox said:
QF009 said:
I can achieve *G by just flying 35k miles (via AC Aeroplan, without even flying AC), which is much easier/more affordable than trying to get QF gold ...

True, though I believe AC Aeroplan has/ will be sold off to a third party. If so, not sure what changes would occur to the FF program.

12.5% of Aeroplan was sold on Wednesday, with the market valueing the FFP at C$2 billion. I think we'll see a lot of other airlines following in their footsteps soon...

Sorry, for the article go here:
http://www.reuters.ca/locales/c_new...=businessNews&localeKey=en_CA&storyID=8864178
 
I recently did 'the challenge' over 4 CX sectors (thanks to Lindsay Wilson for doing the calculations) and have achieved AA Plat status.

Haven't received the card or any info yet but I have only been back a month.

Even if I only get benefits for a short while, its more than I would have gotten with the rat.

Cheers
 
Why thank you, MetroAir for the compliment. Helping people understand the AA Plat Challenge is a hobby of mine - it's known as the "AA Lack of Challenge" by a small group of like-minded people because once you've got your head around all the quirks, it really is simple to get quick status and useful for automatic entry into Qantas Clubs around the world...and much, much easier than achieving QF Gold (which has only one requirement - the frequent bum-on-seat approach).

Hope you get use from it - don't forget that if you are not going to use the 4 US domestic upgrades (at 500 mile each), then ring AA and get them "cashed in" for 2,000 points (total).
 
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