Back in 2009 the movie Up In The Air shed light on the odd world of frequent flyer programs. The movie provided a rare glimpse into the world of points and miles that few had seen before. In the movie, I’ll never forget the scene when Ryan (George Clooney) and Alex (Vera Farmiga) sat down…
By now, almost everyone knows airlines, hotels, rental car companies, and even fast food chains have loyalty programs. Airlines, in particular, design those loyalty programs to reward frequent flyers through award miles, upgrades, waived fees, and lounge access. United has the MileagePlus program, Delta has the SkyMiles program, and American Airlines has the AAdvantage program.…
Congratulations! You’ve made it! After spending countless hours on airplanes flying all over the world you’ve finally reached top-tier elite status with American Airlines. It’s no easy feat. To do so, you have to earn at least $15,000 Elite Qualifying Dollars and either 100,000 Elite Qualifying Miles or 120 Elite Qualifying Segments. To the layman, you basically…
A few weeks ago I completed (potentially) my final major trip of the year. With that quick trip to Japan I earned my 100,000th Elite Qualifying Mile and $15,000th Elite Qualifying Dollar. As a result, I unlocked another year of American Airlines AAdvantage Executive Platinum elite status. About a week after completing my trip I…
For some, myself included, it’s a big deal when they finally earn elite status with an airline. To earn elite status with any domestic airline you basically have to fly over 25,000 miles. On top of that, most require you spend more than $3,000 doing so. Over the past several years I’ve become numb to…
Just a few years ago earning elite status on American Airlines was incredibly easy to understand. At that time there were only three levels, Gold, Platinum, and Executive Platinum. You earned each at 25,000 miles, 50,000 miles and 100,000 miles, respectively. Also, back then you earned 1 mile per mile flown no matter how much…
One of the main reasons I started flying with American Airlines years ago was the AAdvantage program. At the time in order to qualify for elite status all I needed to do was fly a certain number of miles or segments. It didn’t matter how much money I spent with the airline, if I flew…
For many, the first time they ever heard about American Airlines’ Concierge Key program was in 2009 with the release of “Up In The Air.” In the movie, Ryan Bingham shows his Concierge Key card to Alex Goran as seen below. Up until that point many didn’t even know such a program existed. It wasn’t…
I’ve written a few times now about American Airlines Special Fares. Essentially, Special Fares are fare codes in which you accrue AAdvantage Elite Qualifying activity based on mileage flown rather than price paid. I particularly love Special Fares because they allow you to earn a decent amount of EQD on deeply discounted long haul fares. Buying…
Cathay Pacific Airways is a Hong Kong based airline and which is also a founding member of the OneWorld Alliance. Since American Airlines is also a member of the OneWorld Alliance you can actually earn AAdvantage miles while flying on Cathay Pacific anywhere in the world. Even more appealing, you can also accrue AAdvantage Elite…
