Aadvantages of Aadvantage-Fly like you're rich when you're not (American Airline's AAdvantage Awards)

Member Name: duchy

Product:	American Airline's AAdvantage Awards
Date:	15/09/08 (32 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Pay economy -fly first class

Disadvantages: I don't get the time to do it more often !

My name is duchy and I'm a travel addict !
I used to be a travel agent and the common thread you'll find in most of my reviews is that I have a weakness for great holidays but I can't afford to pay (or want to pay) too much.
One of my favourite ways to travel is using or earning miles. I used to book flights based on the cheapest fares and flew just about every carrier to the US at one time or another.......but then I got wise !
I had assumed as a leisure traveller (2-4 trips a year to the US) I'd not qualify for elite status with any airline-that's for businesmen flying first class and travelling almost every week-right? Well no -Wrong !
American Advantage will challenge you to fly 5000 or 10000 miles in a three month period to qualify for Gold or Platenium status.
Sounds a lot-until you realise that Heathrow to Vegas or LA is over 10,000 miles return. It's a one time only deal so don't do it unless you have future plans to fly though !
What do I get for my 10,000 miles ?
I get to use first class check in-not because I have deillusions of grandeur but because those economy lines are just too darn long. I also get preferred seating on the plane-usually bulkhead or emergency exit seats (the ones with extra legroom) which makes travelling economy that little bit nicer. If I'm flying internationally I also get access to the Admirals Club lounges at various airports (and other airlines lounges too in the One World alliance-like BA and Cathay Pacific). I also generally get upgraded to first class when flying within America-bigger seats and free, pretty decent food-the last flight was salmon and an icecream sundae.
Another nice perk is access to the security lanes at many American airports. Ever wanted to get out of the airport between flights but the line was too long and you were afraid you might miss the connecting flight if you did? So was I until I discovered the elite lane !
However the very best perk for me is the double miles I earn. Two trips and I have enough for a free ticket from London to anywhere in the US. I can also earn extra miles towards these free tickets by showing my card when I check into most major hotels, hire a car, there's even a dining scheme which recognises your creditcard in resturants and gives miles automatically.
Miles for shopping-recently AA have opened a UK shopping portal and you can earn miles from retailers like HMV and Debenhams.
I travel more and travel better since I discovered making miles work for me.

Summary: How to earn frequent traveller perks when you're not flying all the time