American offering ridiculously generous elite fast track to non-elites (apparently not targeted)

Do you think AA will also give the new EXPs the same 8 SWUs? That would definitely make things even better...

@ Palmtenor -- Yeah, my guess is that they would, though it's no guarantee.

Where do you have to register, if you are already an AA member?

Got it, sorry...

Now to find some cheap dom/intl mileage runs!

Lucky, would you be publishing any mileage run deals on AA now that you have published this promotion 🙂 ?

@ Apu -- If I see any good ones I'll certainly post them here. Always makes sense to monitor theflightdeal.com (or @theflightdeal on Twitter) for the latest fare sales.

Damn. I'm gold because of the last soft landing and have to pay for a plat challenge to get to plat when the same flying would get me that for free if i weren't.

Joyous...

Lets be honest here, most people who are lifetime Gold or PLT got it via credit card spending, not by hitting the road 100K miles a year. I fly AA more often than my LT PLT parents.

I agree it's a kick in the face to actual BIS elites, though.

But with Delta's major devaluation today (8/14, in case there's another devaluation this week which is par for the course nowadays), I'd be stupid to let this opportunity pass. I was eyeing AA anyway before opting for a UA challenge that I'll finish in Septmeber.

Unfortunately they just don't have as good coverage on the domestic routes I fly.

This is madness. I'm spending thousands of dollars, and wasting weeks of my life in the air, on mileage runs to re-qualify for EXP. But I can't take advantage of this because I'm a loyal customer? Upgrades are already harder to clear, and now even more freeloaders will be choking up line. If I had a more common surname, I'd sign up for a new account and pretend to be a different person. This is just not the way to run a loyalty program. Madness. Genuinely loyal road warriors should be pissed - and should write to AA and say so. [cue: predictable snarky follow-up comments from freeloaders saying it's a great deal...]

Damn.

Really wish I hadn't challenged this spring. If I'd known they were gonna pull this promo I would have booked my trips for the 2nd half of the year!

Can't help but think AA knew the DOJ announcement was coming and had this ready to deploy. Too coincidental to be offering this the day after the announcement.

So Elite qualifying miles can be any mile you fly in the sky regardless of the fare correct?

I'm not an AA flyer, but this promotion just might change that. This is tempting as hell...

@ Duc -- Well it has to be revenue fares, but yes. As opposed to elite qualifying points, where you earn anywhere from 0.5 to 1.5 points per mile flown.

We also get a bunch of 10% off codes from the plane promotion, then we can use for this mileage run too?
It would be so cool

Wow. LT Plat here. Signed up for new account and will do some mileage runs. Too good to pass up!!!!

@ Duc -- Yep, sure can!

will AA ever give Executive Platinum for spend points?

over 1m points over they years, but stuck at Executive

@ mikey -- No, status is based on year to year elite qualifying activity and not redeemable miles, sorry.

OK, so what I am hearing is that even though I am already Executive Platinum and have flown roughly 55,000 miles already this year, I will have to fly about 50% more miles through the end of the year in order to qualify for EXP. Someone who gets an account today, need only fly 30,000 miles. Bitter? Just a bit...

Could also use the gift cards to offset the cost (purchased & reimbursed with AMEX Plat)?

I'm a frequent business traveler and I'm trying to figure out if I could do this. I travel about once a week, and a lot of my flight has have been from the southeast to the northeast. Roughly how many miles is that? WIsh segments counted 🙁

Lucky, do know if you have to book on aa.com? Or can you book on ba.com? Would love to use the BA Chase Visa 10% discount on revenue tickets booked on ba.com. The fine print in the promotion doesn't say that you have to book on aa.com. Thanks

As of now I will be qualifying for 1k sometime in November. All of my miles are on United and I really like using UA miles...I know little about AA.

However, I could probably swing getting UA Plat AND AA Exec. Plat by the end of the year and not hitting 1k. The big factor keeping me away from this is the lack of UA miles I would earn by doing this and the lack of enough AA miles to use them for something significant.

What would you do in this situation?

This offer means: “Screw you loyal customers!!!! We will make it easier for tons of people that never flew AA to become elite and compete with you that has being a loyal customer for year to upgrades, seat assignments, etc…”. It is like my AAdvantage Citi card that I have for over 10 years. I get nothing from them for being a loyal customer and 10 years ago the promotions were not even close to what they are today. Too bad for being loyal!!!!

so i guess we can stop wishing for DEQM this year...

@ Simon -- Sure, doesn't matter how you pay for the tickets, so gift cards are totally fine.

@ Rachel -- Depends on where you're flying and if you're connecting. I'd suggest using gcmap.com to map out how many miles each of your segments is, and then you should be able to do the math pretty easily.

@ Marc -- It doesn't matter where you book, just that you credit your miles to American.

If you enroll but fail to satisfy the criteria are you barred from doing another challenge for 5 years?

@ Mitch B -- That's a toughie, I'd decide based on what your travel plans look like for next year. Earning status is great, but not worth all that much unless you can take advantage of the benefits. If United serves the routes you fly the most then I probably wouldn't switch unless you think you'd be able to qualify with both programs next year.

You can thank the DOJ for this...

I followed the link to the offer on the AA website. The blue "Register Today" button does not work. Just called AAdvantage desk. Gave him the H3TLI code. SR looked at my file. I do not have elite status. SR said appearantly I am not eligible for this offer. Said if I was eligible it would be listed in my file. He asked if I received the email with the offer and I said no. He said if I don't have the offer in my file then there is no way for him to register me for the offer. Any suggestions?

@ Sean -- Don't think so, have never heard of such a restriction.

If I already have a flight during the qualification period that I purchased last month... will it count?

@ Lantean -- Yes it would, there's nothing in the T&Cs saying it wouldn't.

FWIW, Plat here and it still let me register. I know that doesn't mean I'll actually get it, but worth a shot! Will make the fact that I won't be getting a soft landing next yeah much better 🙂

my boyfriend and I fly at least 100k BIS mi/yr in part to maintain our exec platinum status (in fact, I think he's going to hit around 130k BIS mi this year). this is extremely frustrating. 🙁

Switched from Firefox to Safari and was able to register successfully using H3TLI.

I had 2 UA flights on a hold until 2pm today. I just cxld them and am rebooking on AA. Now, if there were only some decent international MRs on AA in the next 4 months....

If I sign up for the 40,000 credit card AA bonus miles thru city bnk, do those miles count towards this offer? Or do I have to fly this?

@ Tory -- You have to fly. The credit card gets you redeemable miles, while you need elite qualifying miles.

Question for AA flyers. How soon once a mileage threshold is reached is status granted? Does AA recognize a status change during a MR or weekend flight (inbound to outbound)? Thanks....

@ Jay -- It takes a little while for miles to post, and in my experience status is then updated within a couple of days, though I don't believe it's instant.

Lucky, in your experience do you think people will qualify for the Elite Rewards as they pass through the various levels? It would appear that one could earn 124,500 redeemable miles if you flew 30k, qualified for EXP and chose miles for each of the rewards.

I've never done a MR yet. Just wondering if you fly a partner such as AS and credit to AA, are those EQM or do you actually have to fly AA?

Challenged to Plat this year, expiring 2014, yet the site still allowed me to register for the promo...

@ Vik -- Elite Rewards are based on EQMs and not status level, so you wouldn't.

Is there a EQM class of service bonus for AA, like 150% for flying business class vs. 100% for coach? And would this count toward the mileage requirement?

@ Ryan K -- Yep, those would count as EQMs.

[...] sick deal from American for anyone who flies more than a few times... http://boardingarea.com/onemileatati...-not-targeted/ Click on the links and you can register to fly between Sept and end of the year to obtain their [...]

@ elwoodbud -- Nope, class of service bonuses only apply towards elite qualifying points and not elite qualifying miles, unfortunately. So whether you're flying the cheapest coach fare or full fare first class you're only earning 100% miles.

Agree with your statement...it's a slap in the face to us lifetime individuals. I would love the chance to do the Executive Platinum challenge.

@Lucky

hmmmm... so I am looking at JFK-LHR rt over thanksgiving (11/27-30) and the biz fare on AA is $1,600... and that's on 77W both ways... and it yields almost 7k miles... is it worth it? 77W seems pretty awesome... but it is a lot of money considering i don't know how much AA i'll fly next year.

what do you say?

@ Lantean -- That's definitely a great price for business class, but without knowing your financial situation or mileage goals it's tough to say. Would you be doing it with the purpose of trying to qualify for the Executive Platinum challenge, and if so, what's the alternative routing you'd do?

Would you still receive the four 500-mile upgrades awarded at the 10,000 and 20,000 mile thresholds? If so, it will make the rides easier until EXP.

@ rph310 -- If you're going for Executive Platinum status I don't believe so, since you'll never actually be Gold or Platinum till you otherwise reach those thresholds, the earliest of which is 25,000 miles.

If you already have status, would it be possible to make a new account to get in on this promotion and then merge the accounts together later on?

@Lucky

my finances are fine...I guess i would be doing it to visit a friend in London and to try the new AA planes... but I don't have enough vacay left for this year so in my case ony for platinum... sadly no exec platimun for me.

the alternative would be not to take the trip... i just sort of made it up now when i saw the promo. 😉

@ Frequent Flyer University -- That's a great question. Generally speaking you can, though not sure if they'd "catch on" in this case or not.

@ Lantean -- Hah, but that's what weekends are for!

@Lucky

you mean to mileage run every weekend to make it to exec plat? hmmm... no thanks... i have other plans for my weekends.

so what do you think? is this worth it for just platinum level? 😉

@ Lantean -- Sure, if you plan to do a good bit of travel on American next year I'd say that's a pretty good idea then. But status isn't worth a whole lot unless you plan on using it!

Very tempting... but it's a tough one to compare when I only have to fly 60-70k BIS miles to requal. as DL DM each year...

Sounds like something United would do!!

I just sent an email to AA comparing this to the types of promos run by DISH and DirecTV. What a slap in the face to BIS status earners.

I'm booked on a malaysia airlines flight next month (MH93 LAX-NRT)and was gonna credit the miles to BA Exec. If I were to credit the flight to AA would this flight get any EQM's toward the promo?

I can see where this would be frustrating for current AA elites, but from an outsider's perspective, I'm calculating whether I have enough time off/spare cash to make EXP happen.

I wonder if the number of new elites from this promo will be greater than that from last year's double EQM promotion.

Hey Lucky,

I know you stated above Alaska Airlines earned EQM do count, but it's not clear to me that's the case:

**Eligible airlines include American Airlines, American Eagle®, American Connection® carrier, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines and Qantas flights, as well as eligible codeshare flights.

I am not typically concerned with EQM at all so what do you suppose is meant by "eligible" in eligible codeshare flights?

Ugh, this definitely upset me to no end.. I already flew 51k so far this yr, have 20k miles planned already up to October and planning on a Hawaii trip in December which gonna make it 30k for sure.. Yet i cant qualify for EXP while newbies can.. I already wrote how I feel about this promo to AA twitter and facebook account.. I probably will write a direct email to them as well.. They better listen and make this right for the loyal customers..!!

Flying to HKG in Nov. will the Cathay codeshare flights apply to this offer?

I hope the merger does not go through, I am US Airways CP and I hate to miss the 100% upgrades i have been getting .

No love. Deal dead.

The other group this stinks for is us US CPs who earn it by flying and crediting to US. Presumably, our flying this year will eventually get us some sort of status with the combined airline, but in a much much larger pool.

No longer available. 🙁

I got registered for myself and the wife, doyou think they will pull back the registrations now that the deal seem to be dead

[...] will have the pro­mo­tion rescinded. I’d fol­low the active com­ments on Lucky’s post in case this is [...]

Well, that was weird. They were pretty clear that the promo would run for two weeks. I'm delighted it's gone, but I wonder what happened...

@The Miles Professor --

Eligible codeshare flight presumably means that if you buy a flight operated by Alaska with an AA flight number (or operated by any other airline but with an AA flight number, or a flight number of one of the other valid airlines), it will still be eligible for counting toward this promotion. That's how AA runs virtually all promotions.

Looks to be dead

@ Chris -- You can see a list of eligible Malaysia Airlines fare classes for the purposes of crediting to American here:
http://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/earnMiles/travel/airlines/malaysiaairlines.jsp

You can indeed earn EQMs that way.

Yeah, seems to be dead. My guess is that it either wasn't meant to be published or they published it too soon.

San Diego to Dallas or ORD/JFK to Narita on a couple RT dumped fare = $800 for +30K EQM

Hi Lucky,

I have an upcoming longhaul Etihad flight. Do you think the miles from that will count if I credit to AA?

Lucky,

I managed to sign up and I seem to meet the publicly listed criteria. What is AAs record with honoring fast track status offers in the past?

Anyone know anything since the promotion code is dead? It says call AAdvantage Customer Service.

@ Dax -- I don't have a clue, to be perfectly honest. In the past if you registered for a targeted promotion you still wouldn't qualify since you weren't targeted, but in this case there was nothing in the T&Cs stating the promotion is targeted.

Didn't April Fools happen a while ago? 😉

Something tells me they didn't really think this one through and just posted it.

I'm kind of hoping that they decide to null this entire thing.

I registered this afternoon. Haven't heard anything from AA so far.

I hope the US Airways GLAND SLAM is started again this year !!

I'm glad to hear it's dead and hope they will not go ahead with those who already signed up. I'm AA PLT with ~60K flown miles YTD. I'm sure I can get up to 80 but flying another 40K is a stretch that I'm trying to make ExPLT. And then I see that someone who hasn't spent a dime with AA can get the same status in just 30K? I was so pissed off I was planning to e-mail AA and also consider switching to UA where I can get to Chairman in 30K.

but the link doesn't exist anymore...is this deal dead?

@ Shannon -- Yes it is.

Even though the deal is dead, I'd still be pissed off! Who gives a promo, even if it is target, to the AA top tier? That tells me that it is not valued all that much by AA......

Do you think they'll honor it for non-targeted, non-elite members who signed up in time?

I signed up but i can feel the anger of all those who would worked through the year for status on AA. I have a feeling AA is going to cancel this thing but have yet to hear anything from them. Wonder when i'm going to get that cancellation email...

i found the link broke. it seems AA stops the registration. pls help post the link i you ave. thanks!