My Half-Year Review. Kind of late.
It has been a busy year so far, that’s for sure. Last summer I spent it traveling all over, so much that I came back stateside and hadn’t found an apartment to move into. Oops. This year has been different, I’ve spent my summer in Washington, D.C. for the most part. A little bit of travel, but nothing like last summer.
Elite Status:
This year I lost Delta Gold Medallion status, which is ok because Delta is no longer on my radar anyway. Plus, upgrades on Delta were impossible for Silver and Gold members. I’ve kept flying American exclusively this year. My upgrade success rate as an Executive Platinum is 95%, which is pretty stunning. All of my systemwide upgrades have cleared and 95% of my complimentary 500-mile upgrades have cleared. Not too shabby!
I’m on track to requalify for Executive Platinum on my birthday this year (November), so that’s pretty exciting. Last year I requalified in mid-September. I haven’t used many AAdvantage miles this year, I’m currently sitting at 488,172 miles. I’ve found that AAdvantage miles are better for flights within domestic foreign countries than within the domestic United States.
Credit Cards:
I’ve been using my Citi AAdvantage Platinum credit card for most of the year. However, about two months ago I got approved for the Citi Prestige and the Citi AAdvantage Executive card. I’ve stopped using the AA platinum card and started to use the Executive card, mostly for the 10,000 EQM bonus the card brings after spending $40,000 per calendar year. The prestige card is good to use for hotel stays of 4 or more nights because of the free 4th night reward it brings and the $250 annual airline credit, which I used for a flight to Sao Paulo, Brazil in October.
I’ve used 1/2 companion certificates from my US Airways credit card (now known as the AAdvantage Aviator) from Barclays. The 2nd certificate expires in September so I still have time to plan.
Upcoming Trips:
Nothing exciting so far. I plan on making my way to Saint Louis and Chicago, maybe a trip to Ecuador, Japan, and China within the next few months. Possibly even somewhere else in Asia.
- Miami, FL – July
- Portland, OR – September
- Seattle, WA – September
- Sao Paulo, BR – October
- Miami, FL – November
Blog Updates:
Our blog has grown immensely since our first post in February of 2014. I’m glad that BoardingArea/Prior2Boarding have been so good about hosting us and helping us grow since last summer, it has been quite a ride.
Here are some top stories you’d might like to read:
- The effects of posting your boarding pass on social media
- Find out what the worst seat in economy is
- Trip Report: Johannesburg, South Africa
- Trip Report: Cape Town, South Africa
- The best use for your AAdvantage miles
Thank you for reading!
P.S. We will be having a competition in the coming weeks where you can win a couple of flying gear!
