I do not normally post many mileage run opportunities (where you fly for the purpose of earning miles for redemption or elite status), but this one was too good to pass up. This is one thing you need to know with fares like this – act now and think/plan later. These deals will not last!
Get AA Executive Platinum For As Little As $725
AA Executive Platinum is the top tier status with American Airlines and is seen as a great status to have given the 8 systemwide upgrades that you receive. These upgrade certificates let you upgrade any revenue ticket to the next class (if there is availability) on AA flights. That means, you can upgrade a flight from the US to Asia (on AA) from a cheap coach ticket to business class! This status will also be useful should you desire to match to Delta or United in the future.
Required Reading: Frequent Miler’s The Last Great Mileage Run
Make sure you read the post above to get a great analysis on this concept of mileage running for American Airlines Executive Platinum. Basically, there is a small window (probably until the end of the month or end of December) that people have to purchase a status trial from US Airways and then fly in the next 90 days to equal a total of 30,000 miles on US Airways and American Airlines to earn US Airways Chairman status which will become American Airlines Executive Platinum next year under the new program.
How To Work This
First, you need to purchase a US Airways Preferred Trial. These cost as little as $200 (for Silver) and go up to $600 (for Platinum). It does not matter which trial you prefer – if you fly 30,000 miles during the trial period, you will be given US Airways Chairman status. The only difference between the status is which status you will hold during the trial period. If you have Platinum, you will receive a 75% bonus in award miles and have a better shot at upgrades. But, you can get away with only the Silver status and still earn a 25% bonus and maybe get an upgrade.
US Airways Preferred Trial Purchase Link
Silver trial costs $200, Gold trial costs $400, and Platinum trial costs $600.
- Silver: Fly 7,500 miles or 10 segments
- Gold: Fly 15,000 miles or 20 segments
- Platinum: Fly 22,500 miles or 30 segments
- Chairman’s: Fly 30,000 miles or 40 segments
Cost for this portion – as little as $200 or as much as $600
Buy The Flights
The part of the deal which makes the out-of-pocket cost low. There is a very low fare on Philadelphia to Las Vegas flights – or the reverse (HT: DansDeals). The cost is $74 roundtrip! That is a ridiculous price! There are same day trips available – leave Philadelphia at 7:45 in the morning and arrive back in Philadelphia at 6:50 that evening with a 40 minute layover in Las Vegas.
It would only take 7 trips to get the required 30,000 miles which means you could do a couple a week for a few weeks and be done or do one a week for several weeks. Your trial will last 90 days and the fare price is valid in January and February. If you do an overnight in Las Vegas, the price goes up to $81 for the roundtrip. This fare is bookable as a one-way or roundtrip.
If you buy through an OTA like Orbitz or Priceline, you can cancel up until the next day after purchase (11PM Eastern day after on Orbitz and 11:30PM Eastern day after on Priceline) so book now and cancel later for free if you need to. With a deal like this, it is better to lock in as many days as possible now and then find out which ones may or may not work.
Total award miles earned if you purchase the Silver trial – 38,000 award miles. If you purchase the Platinum trial, you will receive 53,000 award miles.
If you need to get to Philadelphia or Las Vegas to make these trips, consider using British Airways Avios for only 4,500 Avios for a short-haul (under 650 miles) one-way award trip on AA or US Airways.
Cost for this portion – as little as $518 for the 7 roundtrips.
Move fast! This will not last long!
This is exactly how I maintained AA Platinum status this year–although last year the fares were $128 roundtrip, but I just took 3 redeye flights after work which was easy enough (I wish there was an AA lounge in LAS!). I’m going to book 4 of these tickets for Jan./Feb.
If I buy the US Airways preferred trial, do I get upgrades during the trial period? Or I can only get upgrades after I completed the trial period and qualify for executive platinum.
The Philly-LV flight deal, how many miles is it for one way? And I have to do at least 7 one way OR 7 round-trip in order to get the executive platinum status?
This flight deal is on weekday or weekend?
Thanks for your help as I am still new on this but this good deal is too good to pass up.
@David Yes, you will be eligible for upgrades (doesn’t mean everyone will clear, but the higher status you purchase will give a better shot). It is 2,170 miles one-way. You would need to do 7 ROUNDTRIPS to get the 30,000 needed. During the week has the most availability, but there are some weekend days with the $41 one-way price. You can go to the ITA Matrix to search for the best dates.
Hope that helps and good luck! E-mail me if you need anymore help – charlie at runningwithmiles.com
Thanks Charlie, I just checked the ITA Matrix and saw that the only available dates out from LAS-PHL are only 1/7, 1/30,1/31, 2/4, 5, 6, 7. I can only go on the weekends due to my work schedule and maybe call in sick one day on weekday , so probably the most I can do is 1/7, 1/31, 2/6……and that only makes it 3 roundtrips…only halfway done from total of 7 roundtrips required to get the status…..so probably it’s impossible for me at this time, unless you or anyone kind here have better idea….
Looks to be dead