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Last week, I wrote about an opportunity where you could sign up for an American Airlines status challenge and possibly earn Executive Platinum status (their top status) for only 25,000 EQP (elite qualifying points), which is a quarter of the amount it usually takes.

american-airlines-fast-track-elite-status

It appeared that it was probably intended to be a targeted offer, though anyone could sign up on the offer page.  I’m not clear if anyone was able to successfully register for the promotion or not (let me know in the comments if you did).  I posted the offer and then mostly forgot about it, since I typically don’t chase airline elite status.

A strange email

Yesterday I got a strange email.

Here’s how the email read (I got no context other than this)

Please take a look at the deal advertised on this link:
https://www.pointswithacrew.com/targeted-aa-executive-platinum-challenge-top-status-for-only-25k-flown-miles/
I tried to sign up for this, but the American Airlines customer service wants a promotion code that’s associated with this deal. Could you please do some searching online and find the promotion code?

It appears that someone read my post at some point, tried to sign up, couldn’t sign up online, then called in, and American Airlines asked for a promotional code.  He/she then forwarded it to a virtual assistant to have the assistant find a promo code, who then contacted the main BoardingArea contact box, and Randy Petersen forwarded the email to me.  Convoluted, I know

The offer is dead, Jim

Going to the original offer page, you now see

american-airlines-offer-expired

I’m not surprised – my guess is that this was intended to be a targeted offer, got out to the general public, and when American saw a huge influx of signups, they pulled the deal.  This kind of thing happens all the time, which is why we always say whenever there’s an offer that seems “too good to be true” (like a favorable status challenge or a mistake fare), you best jump on the deal now and ask questions later!

(SEE ALSO: 4 reasons why you’ll miss out on the next mistake fare)

(SEE ALSO: 5 steps to get you ready for the next mistake fare sale!)

The relationship between blogs and “the miles community”

I put “the miles community” because personally, as a blogger, I feel like I belong to the miles community, and I try to be a good member

It seems that the community is divided into the following camps of peoples

  • Hard-core enthusiasts who believe that no deals should be shared with anyone except members of their secret forums
  • Veteran enthusiasts who don’t mind helping people, but require them to put in some effort
  • Newbies that are wanting to learn and willing to put in effort, but find it very difficult to figure out how to get started
  • People that just want the information spoonfed to them and will only follow simply laid out instructions (arrows and circles)

With bloggers too, there is a range of personalities, from those who scour Flyertalk, reddit and other sources and try to share information to the least common denominator, to those who try to be more judicious about what and how they share.

Did I, personally, contribute to the death of this deal?  It’s possible I played a part.  This news was also on blogs like View from the Wing, Million Mile Secrets and others who are MUCH larger than me!  My general philosophy for deals like this is to share them and act fast.  That being said, I do also try to balance a line between that and not sharing more sensitive deals.  It’s a tough line to walk!

Where do you stand on if (or when!) deals should be shared?


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