Frequent Miler's latest team challenge, Million Mile Madness, is happening now! Follow us as Greg, Nick, and Stephen compete to earn 1 Million SAS miles by flying 15 airlines before November 23rd. Who will complete the challenge with the most Speed, Affordability, and Style?
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American Airlines is widely targeting members of World of Hyatt with a fast track opportunity to earn up to Platinum Pro status through January 2023 with greatly reduced requirements. Personally, I think they are still setting the bar a bit high, but for those who can clear it this will surely be an attractive offer.
The Deal
- American Airlines is offering a fast-track to elite status to some World of Hyatt elite members. You must register by Sep 30, 2021 and complete the following requirements within 3 months of registering to enjoy status through January 2023:
- Gold status: Earn $700 Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQDs) and either 6,000 Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) or 7 Elite Qualifying Segments (EQSs)
- Platinum status: Earn $1,500 EQDs and either 12,000 EQMs or 14 EQSs
- Platinum pro status: Earn $2,300 EQDs and either 18,000 EQMs or 21 EQSs
- Link to log in to American Airlines and check your promotions
Key Terms
- Qualifying EQDs, EQMs and EQSs are earned when you fly on eligible tickets for flights operated by American Airlines or marketed by American, American Eagle®, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, JetBlue and Qantas.
- Must register and complete activity within 3 months of registering
Quick Thoughts
Getting a shortcut to elite status is always a great deal if it fits your travel plans. The requirements here to hit status are greatly reduced from the norm.
That said, my personal take on this fast track is that it isn’t particularly special. Platinum Pro status ordinarily requires $7,000 EQDs and 60,000 EQMs, so this fast track requires significantly less. However, you ordinarily have all year to meet the $7K / 60K requirements. In this case, you’ve got 25% of a year to accumulate more than 25% of the requirements. In the current environment, that doesn’t excite me very much.
Still, if you are already planning travel that will help you meet the requirements, it will obviously be nice to get elite status out of it.
Interestingly, while my promo states that this offer is exclusively available to me as a World of Hyatt Globalist member, Stephen tells me that his wife received the offer despite only being Hyatt Explorist. My wife has no status with Hyatt and has not been targeted for this offer, so it doesn’t appear that they are targeting everyone (though I don’t think my wife has connected her Hyatt and American Airlines accounts, so that may explain why she wasn’t targeted).
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Made Platinum pro with the challenge, but AA isn’t providing the elite choice benefit. I’m in the process of complaining to them to see if they’ll change their minds since the choice benefit isn’t excluded or mentioned in the promo T&Cs and since promotional status with AA through Hyatt has provided choice benefits in the past.
Did you ever get the elite choice reward? I’m calling about this currently.
I complained about it several times, but unfortunately I’ve been unsuccessful.
[…] American Airlines targeted Platinum Pro status via Hyatt […]
I received the same email about the challenge, but no promotion in my Account. I called Hyatt and American and neither one could help me. I am currently ExecPlat with AA but that expires beginning of next year. Therefore I thought I would love to qualify this way. This way I would receive a Choice Benefit at least (I assume).
There is a new promotion, open to everyone, starting September 1. Everyone can retain its current status all the way up to Executive Platinum. You only need to earn $2000 EQD by the end of the year. Promos that accrue EQD, don’t count for this promotion. Meaning you actually have to buy tickets and receive the $2000 EQD. You will keep your current status but Platinum Pro and ExecPlat won’t get the option to select a choice benefit by requalifying this way.
I did a small sum up here: https://gatetoadventures.com/extend-aa-elite-status-2021/
If you don’t like links to other blogs, you are free to remove it. However, I am small and in no way a competition to you guys. I am also focusing mainly on other travel aspects not so much on miles and points.
I never get offers for AA. It seems I’m always stuck at gold.
Same here
If you register, don’t forget to take the screenshot of the earnings on the pay page, before you pay for the flight. That way you can plan the next trip(s) and make the challenge. There is no way to find the earnings once you book, until after the flight. Maybe calling, but the wait times are so long these days. If someone knows a trick, please share!
Just made Gold under this challenge. I still have 15 500-mile upgrade certs sitting in my account (from a previous, failed, challenge), so this unlocks my ability to try and use them over the next year-and-a-half. Doubt I’ll make it beyond that but I’ll take it!
I was offered this even though I am a lowly Hyatt elite, just have the card.
I read the email and am still wondering if this gives you promotional status while you try to earn. Any insight on that? I don’t see that specifically mentioned.
Agreed that I don’t see it explicitly mentioned, which would lead me to assume that you do not get promotional status while working on the challenge. I would think they’d want to market that as part of it if it were the case. There is certainly a possibility that they just left that out, but my instinct is that you don’t get it since it’s not being advertised.
It does not.
Should I assume that the 3 months in the AA status match means 90 days like the Hyatt match? I have 2 long flights 91 days apart.
That’s the assumption I would make — 90 days.
I registered July 17 and on my account (under Promotions) it shows my earnings and that the offer expires October 17. So it looks like they do mean months, not 90 days. Last flight on Oct 16 for Platinum Pro, which is exciting for me.
Would a RT starting in December concluding in March get half credit?
I expect it would, but hopefully an AA elite member can chime in to confirm. I’m basing that educated guess on the fact that elite miles in most programs post as the segments are flown.
I flew the first half of a RT yesterday and the EQDs/EQMs/EQSs all posted today, so I’d imagine it would work.