Now that the calendar has turned to January, the focus has shifted from getting status for 2012 to getting status for 2013.  With the Double Elite Qualifying Miles promos from American Airlines, there are people trying to figure out how to get there as quickly as possible.  Thanks to confirmation from American, those able to take advantage of the promo for flights between LAX/SFO and ORD or DFW can stack the offers, so they can actually earn Triple Elite Qualifying Miles.  And ...

Much to my surprise, American Airlines just announced double elite qualifying miles and double redeemable miles for flights between SFO/LAX and ORD/DFW.  You must register for the promotion and travel between October 27, 2011 and March 31, 2012.

The offer is only good for residents of California, Illinois, and Texas and only for round-trip or open jaw tickets purchased after registering for the promotion.

I usually take mile runs to Europe in January and February, but ...

I'm no longer traveling for business, and with my new job, I haven't had much time to explore MRing to get  myself back to EXP. I'm sitting on about 70,500 EQM at the moment (including a couple family trips between now and the end of the year).

So despite AA's generous RDU/BNA/PIT/STL double-EQM promotion, things aren't looking good for my AAdvantage Executive Platinum status:

1. I need to earn 29,500 EQM between now and December 31.

2. Between now and December 16, I must be in LA (where I live) on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, and on Sundays. (More specifically, I have to be in LA all day every Sunday, and I have to be at my office 3pm-9pm Tuesdays and 3pm-7pm Thursdays.)

3. December 22-29, I cannot travel (I'll be on a family trip).

I spent about 40 minutes this morning playing around in the FT MR forums and on ITA, and I'm not feeling positive. Anyone got any bright ideas?

In this week's frequent traveler podcast we return to hotel loyalty programs and hotel elite status - this week focusing on the Marriott Rewards program.  Most of our panelists do not recommend the Marriott program, unless you are staying there due to contractual obligations. While it falls towards the bottom of our list of programs to obtain status in - there are still some situations where it makes sense. Listen in to hear more about the Marriott Rewards program and other topics ...

A lot of us have been speculating (praying?) that the other big airlines will match US Air's current double EQM promotion. UA and AA ran similar promotions for the past couple of years, and a lot of us (especially those of us who are unsure we'll be able to re-acquire top tier status) were hoping it might happen again.

Well, at least for those of us in the AA camp, it appears that a double EQM promotion isn't happening this quarter. Of course, there are all the common-sense reasons: ...