Halfway through December of 2016 I received an email from American Airlines. The email politely informed me that it appeared I would not qualify for AAdvantage Platinum status in 2016. As I continued reading I found the email also contained a limited time offer to purchase an American Airlines Elite Status Boost.
Sure enough American was right. I was falling short in 2016 because work travel had slowed significantly last year. I also had not taken a single transoceanic flight last year. Because I was falling short American proposed I pay $1,299 for a status boost to AAdvantage Platinum Status. By paying for the boost I would retain platinum status through 1/31/18!
The original email from 12/12/16 read:
You’re on track to no longer hold American Airlines AAdvantage® elite status when your AAdvantage Platinum benefits expire on February 28, 2017.
Here’s a limited-time opportunity to secure Gold status for $399 or Platinum status for $1,299.
“Limited-Time” Opportunity
I am very curious to see what American classifies as “limited-time.” Based on the original email, I believed this offer was set to expire sometime in the very near future. Since the email came in December of 2016, I imagined the offer expired at the end of the year. When I first saw the email I thought, “hmm, I guess I have 20 days to decide if Platinum Status is worth $1,299!”
After a few days of debating whether the price made sense or not I decided “No Deal!” I was not going to pay American directly for elite status. Honestly for me, half of the fun of earning status is actually flying the miles. On top of that, there was not clear indication for what my 2017 travel plans would be. If I traveled as much in 2017 as I did in 2016 paying for status would be a complete waste of money.
The Limited-Time Offer Continues
Well, shortly after 2016 and I had only reach AAdvantage Gold status I received another email from American. This time the email was a congratulations email for earning AAdvantage Gold status for 2017. Very shortly thereafter I received another email from American, this time I was again “invited” to extend my Platinum Elite status for $1,299. Roughly a month after that email yet another ‘limited time’ offer to extend Platinum Elite status found its way into my inbox. Then again, just today, American sent me another email. This time the subject was more direct. American’s latest email simply said “Get Platinum Status Now.” Although the subject of the email changed, the body remained consistent with prior emails.
Today’s email read:
Here’s a limited-time opportunity to step up to American Airlines AAdvantage®Platinum status for $1,299.
When Does The Limited-Time Offer End?
I assumed the terms of the offer ended when Platinum status expired on March 1, 2017, but the emails continue to come. I looked through the emails and could not find an end date to the offer. Then I clicked through the offer page and found the “terms & conditions” page of the offer. Well, it turns out this limited-time offer is not as limited as American first made it seem. The terms and conditions read:
You must pay the renewal fee, in addition to any applicable taxes and credit card processing fees, in full by July 31, 2017,
JULY 31, 3017! The limited-time offer to extend American Airlines elite status does not end until well over halfway through the following year. I find this a little ridiculous. I can’t believe American leaves the window to extend status open this long, nor can I believe anyone would actually pay for 2017 elite status at that point in the year. By July 31 most frequent flies should have a good idea of what status they’ll be able to earn for 2018.
Final Thoughts
When I received the first email for an American Airlines Elite Status Boost I honestly considered it. At that point in the year I wasn’t sure that I was even going to qualify for AAdvantage Gold status. The price, $1,299, was much less than I would need to spend on tickets to fly the required 40,000 miles I had remaining. As time went on I found it harder and harder to justify the price. I figured I could get two very nice international round trips for that price. Besides I would rather spend money on flying anyway.
I was sad to lose my AAdvantage Platinum status and continue to plan adventures in 2017 to earn Platinum status and beyond this year. That being said, I find it funny that American continues to send me limited time offers to buy back AAdvantage Platinum status. At this point through in the year, I can’t imagine anyone considering the offer a good deal anymore. Even so I would be truly shocked in anyone decided to pay even later in July.
