Last year I had this hairbrained idea that I would requalify for American AAdvantage Executive Platinum status via Elite Qualifying Points (EQPs), rather than the traditional Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs). I set out on this strategy with a trip to Cairo, and then followed it up with my most ambitious mileage run ever, which was probably the most fun I’ve had in 44 hours of straight travel, ever.
That said, here’s where I am, nearly halfway through the year:
The real question now, is how do I get the remaining 50k+ Elite Qualifying Points? With American AAdvantage’s promo this year that gets 2x and 3x Elite Qualifying Points, my biggest focus is finding “affordable” business fares, to chase that 2x. I had originally found some pretty good $1700 fares ex-Brazil, however I couldn’t make the dates work out with award travel to reposition, so I’m still hunting flights.
How far are you in your quest for status, and what are your plans to requalify?
Hi Trevor,
I am kind of in the same situation as you’re. I am going to leverage the AA EQM from Citi and Barclays but still coming up ~20000 miles short. I think I can boost buy ExP if I have at least 85K. Can you tell me if the $1700 fares are still available? Or where I can keep an eye out for it? Missed out on the AARP deal because I was traveling in Asia.
@Hank – seems like they come and go, I saw today, GRU-DFW-WAS for ~24k EQPs (mileage is only ~12k) in business for $1721. Depending on where you’re based, it might be best to keep an eye out for fares to Asia, that should get you 15-17k miles right there.
Trevor, not to be negative, but why chase EXP if almost halfway through the year you’ve only flown 8 segments? I’ve had EXP in the past and now am just lifetime platinum, but I found the push for EXP was worth it because I was on a plane every few weeks or more. Or is it just for the worldwide upgrades for the more occasional flights?
Tom, this year has been non-standard for me. I was planning to do a whole lot more travel in the second half of the year, and some other obligations that were earlier in the year slipped to the right, which made it harder to plan travel.