This past week, Hilton sent letters (with both Hilton HHonors and American AAdvantage logos in the letterhead) to certain AA frequent flyers. The letters say, in part,

Congratulations. As a valued member of the American Airlines AAdvantage program, you’ve been selected to receive two great offers from Hilton HHonors.

Enjoy Gold VIP status. You’ll be treated to an elite level of perks reserved for our favorite guests. These benefits may include HHonors bonus ...

A few weeks ago, I got serious about my hotel status and did a "fast track to Gold" challenge with Hilton Honors. (You can find my post about it here.)

Basically, I called up HHonors customer service, and they offered me a deal whereby I could get myself quickly to HHonors Gold VIP status by with four stays or nine nights in the next 90 days. This was a great deal for me since I was already booked to stay at a Hilton property for seven days for a ...

I spent the last year getting far more serious about airline status. Early in the year I learned about routing rules, planning complex multi-city itineraries, and other tricks of the mileage earning trade. And now I have top-tier status to show for it.

So what's next?

Now I'm looking to do a better job with hotel earnings. At this moment, I have gold status from Marriott through a promo. It expires at the end of the year, seeing as I haven't even come close to staying 50 ...