With the rollout of a new mileage program, American Airlines (AA) has also launched a new 2016 elite challenge program. Overall, the new challenge is a bit easier than the old one, and this post explains the details.
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Participating in the Challenge
Call +1 (888) 697-5636 and provide your personal information to register for the challenge. Note that if you already have AA elite status, you cannot use a challenge to requalify. (But if you are currently Gold, you can use the challenge to upgrade to Platinum.) If you have participated in a challenge recently, you cannot do it again. Anyone else can call the number above and pay the following fees to join the challenge:
| AA Gold | AA Platinum | AA Executive Platinum |
|---|---|---|
| $120 | $200 | Only for UA 1K members: free |
Please note that if you join the challenge before June this year, the elite status earned will expire at the end of February 2017, while if you join after June (which may increase to $140/$240), it will expire at the beginning of January 2018. So we strongly recommend joining in June or later.
Challenge completion requirements
AA Gold and Platinum each require 7,000 and 12,500 EQM within 90 days, respectively. Executive Platinum requires 35,000 (normal qualification requires 25,000/50,000/100,000 EQM). To earn EQM, you must fly on the following airlines:- American Airlines, AA
- Finnair, AY
- British Airways, BA
- Iberia, IB
- Japan Airlines, JL
- Qantas, QF
How many EQM you earn depends on the fare class purchased. For AA-marketed flights (by flight number, regardless of operating carrier):
- Full-fare Business/First (F, J): 3 EQM per mile.
- Discounted Business (A, P, D, I, R): 2 EQM per mile.
- Full-fare Economy (Y, B, and AA-operated W): 1.5 EQM per mile.
- All other booking classes: 1 EQM per mile.
Then for partner airlines:
- Business and Premium Economy classes (Premium Economy Cabin): 1.5 EQM per mile.
- All other classes: 0-1 EQM per mile; check this page for specifics.
Based on EQM earning rates, we strongly recommend flying AA-operated flights to complete the challenge. If you need to fly AA round trip between the U.S. and China, you can meet the 12,500 EQM requirement in any fare class. (LAX-PEK is exactly 6,250 miles one-way; SFO departures are slightly short on great-circle distance, but since AA has no direct SFO-PEK/PVG service, routing via LAX/DFW will more than cover the requirement.) If you do not need a China round trip, you can also look for a cheap business fare to complete the challenge. Also, if you sign up for the AA Platinum challenge and only reach AA Gold’s 7,000 EQM threshold, you can call the same number and request AA Gold.
Gold or Platinum?
AA elite benefits can be checked on this page. For AA-operated flights, the Gold and Platinum benefits are actually not that different, with the main differences being:
- Platinum earns more miles: Gold members earn a 25% bonus, while Platinum members earn a 100% bonus.
- Platinum and Gold members can check in 2 and 1 bags for free, respectively.
If you fly a lot with Oneworld airlines, there are additional benefits:
- Platinum (OneWorld Sapphire) gets priority boarding on Oneworld flights and access to most Oneworld lounges operated by Oneworld carriers (except AA domestic routes).
But because the challenge fees differ by only $80, if you fly frequently, the extra 75% in miles is usually easy to recoup; if you need to check two bags, it is even more worthwhile, so we still recommend joining the Platinum challenge whenever possible. Also, besides Oneworld benefits, earning AA Platinum may later allow you to match to elite status in other alliances. For example, at one time, Turkish Airlines (TK) allowed a match to Star Alliance Gold, which let you access United Club on UA flights. If AA Gold matched only to Star Alliance Silver, it is not very useful. Although TK’s status matching window is currently closed, it might reopen at some point.
Would you participate in AA’s challenge program? Feel free to comment and discuss.