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Earlier this year Hyatt and AA launched a partnership that resulted not only in bonus points being earned when staying at Hyatt or flying on AA, but targeted Elite challenges. Many Explorists, like myself, were given AA Gold status for 3 months along with a challenge to retain the status until January 31st, 2021.
Why would I want AA Gold?
- Elimination of close-in booking fees ( $75 under 21 days)
- Already made use of this once when I needed to book Etihad flights last minute
- Also when I make use of AA reduced mileage awards which happen almost always under 21 days
- Access to Priority seating at booking and Main Cabin Extra within 24 hours
- Comped Same Day standby ( would otherwise be $75 )
- Award processing phone fee waived
- Free checked bag ( although this is really is redundant with an AA credit card )
- There are others like 7x earning, etc, but the above are of most impact to me.
Here is the normal means of qualifying for AA Gold
While those benefits are nice, they certainly aren’t worth spending $3k on EQD and flying a whopping 25k EQM. Since I earn the bulk of my EQM on partner business class ( Think great BA flights out of Continental Europe and those earn mega points on Alaska ) I’d never pivot my business to hit Gold organically.
With the challenge, however, it’s a different story.
Honestly, I thought I’d end up taking advantage of Gold status for the trial period, but wouldn’t switch any of my business away from Alaska. I was wrong. It started with me using some AA gift cards on a flight back from Indianapolis shortly after I signed up for the promo in July. Since it was booked via AA.com it wouldn’t earn Alaska miles/status as those need to be booked with AS flight numbers. Then, we ended up flying to NYC, and the AA legs between JFK and LAX aren’t eligible for Alaska earning, so suddenly I was within striking distance of the challenge.
I’m currently writing this on my qualifying flight that will push me up and over the EQM threshold for the status challenge. I never thought I’d pick up AA Gold with this challenge, but hey…they lured me back and I’ll definitely make use of the benefits for the next year and a half.
For me, it’s a great lesson in always signing up for challenges, temporary status, etc. Circumstances may change and suddenly you’re prepared to take best advantage of your travel/spending.
If you’re unfamiliar with the promotion and want to learn more, or you have status and want to link your accounts: you can do so here.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card went through a major refresh in 2026 adding new bonus categories, travel protections, statement credits, and remains one of the best travel starter cards in the market. It earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott. Note that Hyatt is now a 4:3 transfer partner
Welcome Offer
Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
Earn
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on gas and EV charging
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on vacation homes at top brands
- Cardmembers will earn 3x points on vacation homes at these top brands: Airbnb, Vrbo, Plu Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com and Vacasa.
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 2x on all other travel
- 1x on everyday purchases
- 5x points on Lyft rides Earn 5x total points on eligible Lyft rides including ride share, bike and scooter rides and subscription and membership products through September 30, 2027.
- 5x total points on Peloton equipment Earn 5x total points on eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through December 31, 2027.
Benefits and Credits
- $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- NEW: $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS fee credit Cardmembers will receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to the card.
- NEW: Complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is great starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Chase Ink Business Cash® , Chase Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into the Sapphire Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee remains quite low at $95 a year and if you use the $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠ you’ll wipe out that annual fee every year. It has great bonus categories and other useful statement credits to enhance your travel.
One thing that is a bummer is Chase lowered the transfer ratio to World of Hyatt from 1:1 to 4:3.
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