Joining The dAArk Side: Taking Advantage of DEQM

I have been questioning myself when I will join the dAArk side. However, the pain of starting from the scratch with no upgrades is too much to bear. Unlike UA, AA mid tier status has to pay for their upgrade by stickers. I either make Executive Platinum(EXP) or nothing. I missed the EXP challenge earlier this year because I wasn't a 1K back then and I have been waiting for a good opportunity since.

For better for worse, AA went bankrupt. For the next few years, there will be a ton of good promos for customers since they are trying to retain customers who are afraid that their miles/tickets will disappear. And the first round is Double Elite Qualifying Miles systemwide from now till  Jan 31. The deal is so sweet that I'm taking advantage by flying 50k miles in Jan. This is the first time I fly this much in one single month and it's beyond craziness:)

I will be flying PHL-SEA 10 times. Here's the cost breakdown:

$340 x 10= $3400

10% discount from buying AA gift card from Costco

2% as a costco executive member

Total: $2992 ~ 3CPM

Although it is not the best deal, I will qualify EXP for half the time and I will also meet my AMEX Starwood card spending requirements so this works out very good for me.

I will get:

EXP status till Feb 28 2014!

~156,250 redeemable miles

16 EVIPs(systemwide upgrades) for any fare code!!!!

AA has the best meal services for domestic first class so I'm going to gain a few extra pounds after this:)

I'm also considering getting the AMEX Platinum card since AA Admiral Club accept them but I got 3 cards with AMEX for the last 4 months so I'm afraid this will trigger a financial review. I think I will lay down and endure pain for a while:(

This is a great opportunity for me to learn about AA to see if the grass is truly greener than UA :). I will also learn a lot about AA and Oneworld in general since I don't have a lot of experience with them.

If you have any flight with AA, don't forget to take advantage of the promo. Click here to sign up and I would love to hear your story too!