Courtesy of www.gcmap.com
I think most folks know by now, there are super cheap flights to Brazil, as low as $450. That’s a pretty good deal, especially if you already have a visa (which if you don’t, is another ~$160).
For those folks looking for mileage runs, it can be as low as 3.8 cents per mile. Pretty impressive, right?
So why am I passing on Brazil this time
As I laid out in my status update earlier this week I’m trying to requalify for American AAdvantage Executive Platinum status via Elite Qualifying Points. Through this strategy, I thought I’d be able to fly comfortably (or, as @Saianel says: as a Diva), and achieve a better balance of vacation runs (as opposed to mileage runs), with vacation awards (like my recent flight on the Etihad A380 in the Apartments).
To jump on this kind of ticket, it would ultimately increase my average cost per Elite Qualifying Point (EQP), because I’d only be earning .5 or at most 1 EQP per mile flown, whereas if I can find a cheap business class flight, I would earn a minimum of 2 Elite Qualifying Points flown. Add to it, that I’ve got nearly 50,000 EQPs but only ~32k Elite Qualifying Miles.
Wrapping up
While I decided pretty quickly that I would pass this opportunity up, someone who has decided to dive in head first, is Kat who writes Will Run for Miles. Definitely offer her any suggestions you have for Iguazu Falls, Brazil!
Interesting analysis.
@Charles – Don’t get me wrong, It’d be nice to go back to Brazil, but, sometimes, when you commit to a re-qualification strategy, you need to stick to it, and Brazil wasn’t in the plans. Did you grab one?