четверг, 19 декабря 2013 г.

The  Delta Platinum Amex  offers 10,000 MQMs for $25,000 in annual spend, and another 10,000 MQMs fo


It s official nyc rental car we re in elite status crunch time. It s just about the last two weeks of the year and everyone is scrambling to check their mileage balances and figure out if they ll hit their elite status tier for 2014 and I bet more than a few of you are considering some mileage runs to squeak in under the buzzer. However, mileage running isn t always a great option for many folks because airfares tend to be high in December around the holidays, it s a hugely nyc rental car busy travel time, you can expect all kinds of weather issues, and a lot of us just don t have the time to do it now. But even if you re a few miles (or a lot!) short of your goal there are still plenty of ways to squeeze in a last few elite-qualifying miles before the end of 2013.
Note: I m excluding status matches and challenges since they generally involve flying and this is a post about non-flying ways to earn elite-qualifying miles. However, if you re interested in a match or challenge, here s my most recent list of live challenge and match promos .
I just want to start this off with a caveat that no one is exactly sure yet how the American/US Airways merger will play out when it comes to 2014 elite status, but in the best case scenario, if and when the two frequent nyc rental car flyer programs do merge, hopefully they ll let us all combine nyc rental car our flight activity on both airlines in 2013 toward elite status on both in 2014, but only time will tell.
American Airlines added another level of stress for their frequent flyers by discontinuing their "soft landing" policy earlier this year where they'd only drop elites one level if they didn't requalify for their current status, but that doesn t mean you can t still requalify.
Pay For It: American announced a new set of options for elites having a hard time requalifying nyc rental car where they can pay to boost up to their current elite level if they re just a little bit short, or to renew their status altogether if they re far short of requalifying.
If you are within 5,000 miles or 5 segments short of reaching nyc rental car Gold status, you can boost to the status for the cost of $399 .  If you are you already Gold and are way off from retaining it and out of the "boost" range, you can  buy it back for $649 . Gold normally requires 25,000 miles or 30 segments.
If you are up to 10,000 nyc rental car miles or 10 segments short of achieving Platinum , you can boost to the status for the cost of $899 . If you are within 5,000 miles or 5 segments nyc rental car short of achieving Platinum, you c an boost for $699 . If you are you already Platinum and are way off from retaining it and out of "boost" range, you can buy it back for $1,199 . Platinum normally requires 50,000 miles or 60 segments.
If you are up to 10,000 miles or 10 segments short of achieving Executive Platinum , you can boost to the status for the cost of $1,799 . If you are within 5,000 miles or 5 segments short of achieving Platinum, nyc rental car you can boost for $1,199 . Unfortunately there is not a renewal option for Executive Platinum , which usually requires 100,000 miles or 100 segments.
Credit Card Spending: The Citi Executive AAdvantage MasterCard nyc rental car gives cardholders nyc rental car 10,000 elite qualifying miles when they reach $40,000 in purchases each calendar year – just under halfway to Gold status. You can find the rest of the terms of this card and the other best Citi offers of the moment here. While the public offer on the Citi Executive AAdvantage World Mastercard usually hovers around the 30,000-mile mark when you spend $1,000 in 4 months, there is currently an offer available for double the bonus miles – 60,000 miles when you spend $5,000 in 3 months. If you just got the card recently during nyc rental car this special bonus offer period, you might have a hard time hitting $40,000 spend quickly enough for the bonus EQM's, but if you've had this card for a while, check up on your annual spending so far because you might be closer to that threshold than you think, and those 10,000 EQM's can really come in handy if you're close but not quite up to an elite threshold.
Elite Rewards Gift: American revamped its Elite Rewards incentive program for elite flyers who go above and beyond their status qualification thresholds by offering nyc rental car them gifts such as mileage bonuses and additional systemwide upgrades as soon as they hit their higher mileage levels, and among the gifts they can bestow is elite status. Flyers who hit 125,000 miles/points or 130 segments can gift someone Gold status, and those who hit 150,000 miles/points or 160 segments can gift one Platinum status good through February 28, 2015, so make nice with your high-flying friends and they just might give you the gift of status.
Business ExtrAA: Business frequent flyer programs can be a great way to double dip on airline perks since the individual nyc rental car flying still earns miles while their company earns points based on spending, which can then be redeemed nyc rental car for various benefits, including nyc rental car elite status. Best of all, you don't even have to prove you have a company to sign up for a business extra account, and can usually just do so with with your own federal tax ID number. Companies with a Business ExtrAA account can redeem 2,400 points (the equivalent of $24,000 in spending) to bestow Gold status upon an employee. Gold status appointments issued through December 31st of each year are valid through February 28th of the next calendar year (i.e. Feb. 28, 2015).
there are a lot of things you have to consider with Delta requalification, including nyc rental car potentially negative changes to the SkyMiles program nyc rental car coming next year, and the fact that you can rollover any MQM's above and beyond elite tier-qualifying mileage thresholds you may have already hit this year. While Delta does allow rollover, which is a great benefit in my opinion, they are not as generous with giving people status if they are close- even if you are 1 MQM away from the next status level, you should expect Delta to rollover your excess miles and keep you at the exact status that you earned.
But if you are going for that next tier threshold, here are a few ways to get some extra Medallion Qualifying Miles before the end of the year. Also note that starting in 2014, there will be a revenue requirement for elite status .
Buy MQM's: Just like last year, now through December 31, 2013 ,  Delta is selling Medallion Qualifying nyc rental car Miles . You may buy between 2,500-10,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) that will post to your 2013 MQM balance and apply  toward 2014 Medallion status . They should nyc rental car post to your SkyMiles account within 24 hours.
These prices have significantly increased from last year, and personally, I won't be buying any MQMs as there are cheaper ways to get them than buying them outright since the lowest rate with this sale is 10.75 cents per MQM – not a great value at all – but if you're close to one of the higher status levels and just need a little extra bump and plan to fly Delta a lot next year to make up for the up-front expense of purchasing MQM's, this could be worth it to you. Just remember that if you do buy them, they are non-refundable and they do not count toward rollover MQMs .
Credit Card Spending: Credit Cards: If you're several thousand miles short of requalification, you might have time to get the Delta Reserve card, which awards cardholders with 10,000 Medallion nyc rental car Qualifying Miles with the first purchase, and 15,000 more MQMs if a member hits $30,000 in spend within the calendar year and an additional 15,000 MQMs with $60,000 calendar year spend. The T C state "Please nyc rental car allow 2–4 weeks after your first purchase for the bonus miles to appear in your Delta SkyMiles account," so it could come down to the wire, but if you get the card expedited and use it right away, it could save you from having to buy those 10,000 MQMs, which would cost at least $1,075 through the Buy MQMs promotion. There is also a Business Reserve card as well that has the same earning structure: 10,000 MQMs on first purchase and then up to 30,000 more with spend. One other thing to consider is the card's hefty $450 annual fee.
One more thing to note about the Delta Reserve card: It actually allows you to gift the 15,000 MQM's you earn after $30,000 in annual spend and the other 15,000 MQM's after $60,000 in spend. So if you have the card and have hit that threshold (or are about to), you can give those miles to someone else who needs them.
The  Delta Platinum Amex  offers 10,000 MQMs for $25,000 nyc rental car in annual spend, and another 10,000 MQMs for $50,000 in annual spending, for a total potential of 20,000 MQMs . The annual fee is $150, but the card also entitles you to Zone 2 priority boarding, an annual companion ticket and 20% in-flight savings on foo and entertainment on every Delta flight. There is also a Business Platinum card product that offers the same amount of MQMs. Note: Delta does send targeted offers that are more lucrative than the public ones, so search your inbox for any recent American Express or Delta emailed offers.
Choice Benefits: Delta offers Choice Benefits to Platinum and Diamond Medallions, which include the option nyc rental car of gifting elite status. Platinum Medallions may gift Silver status and Diamond Medallions can gift Gold to anyone they want.
SkyBonus: SkyBonus is Delta's business frequent flyer program so if you are already a member nyc rental car and have been flying and using your SkyBonus number, be sure to check your balance because nyc rental car you can redeem your points for Silver Medallion nyc rental car status starting at 100,000 SkyBonus points if you redeem them in January-June and will be valid through February 2015 (be sure to do it after the new year, because if you do it now, it ll cost 160,000 points instead). If you're part of a larger corporation with a SkyBonus account, ask your friends in the travel department nyc rental car if they have extra points floating around since they might be willing to redeem them to give you status. Some corporate departments also do enough business with airlines that they are given a certain amount of elite statuses to distribute, and since it's the end of

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