Andrew Kimmel flies. A lot. In fact, Kimmel had spent so much of 2019 in the air, at the end of the year he was only a few hundred bucks short of receiving a special loyalty status from American Airlines. So, as the clock was ticking away, Kimmel decided to book a trip to Mexico. Little did he know, it was going to be one of the most memorable experiences he has ever had. And not necessarily in a good way.

Continue scrolling to read how everything unfolded and an exclusive Bored Panda interview with Kimmel himself!

More info: Twitter

Image credits: andrewkimmel

Image credits: andrewkimmel

Image credits: andrewkimmel

Image credits: andrewkimmel

Image credits: andrewkimmel

Image credits: andrewkimmel

Image credits: andrewkimmel

Image credits: andrewkimmel

Image credits: andrewkimmel

Image credits: andrewkimmel

Image credits: andrewkimmel

Image credits: andrewkimmel

Image credits: andrewkimmel

Image credits: andrewkimmel

Image credits: andrewkimmel

Image credits: andrewkimmel

Image credits: andrewkimmel

Image credits: andrewkimmel

Image credits: andrewkimmel

Image credits: andrewkimmel

Image credits: andrewkimmel

Image credits: andrewkimmel

Image credits: andrewkimmel

Andrew said the amount of miles he travels during a year usually varies depending on the work he gets. “While I was working in news, I was on flights up to three times a week. As a reality producer, up to twice a week,” he told Bored Panda. “Both jobs require I travel all over the United States. When I get some time off work, I like to plan trips out of the country, which is usually twice a year.”

“Flying in America sucks,” he added. “Especially when you have to do it all the time. So the travel perks which have continually become more difficult to attain for what feels like fewer perks do make a big difference financially, mentally, and physically.”

This last year he was an Executive Platinum with American Airlines. “This provided me with three free checked bags, top of the list for complimentary upgrades on all domestic flights (which, if you fly the LA-NYC route, usually lands you in a business class full lie-down bed for the cost of an economy ticket),” Andrew explained. “Free same-day flight changes (as a producer, this is key as I often make last-minute changes and need to change my departure time), and the really great perk… four free systemwide upgrades. That means if I am flying economy to Asia, I can use one systemwide upgrade that bumps me to business on up to three segments to my destination. So essentially, an $800 economy ticket could land you a $5,000 business class seat. Unfortunately, American Airlines just upped the threshold to get Executive Platinum from spending $12K a year on flights (pre-tax) to $15K a year, a cost I can’t possibly reach being self-employed or working as a freelancer. I reached Platinum Pro, one tier below EP, which requires $9K pre-tax towards flights plus 75K miles.”

Andrew’s story sounds so crazy, some are even finding it hard to believe

Image credits: andrewkimmel

Kimmel couldn’t just buy tickets and stay home to reach the status. You must physically be on the plane and complete the travel to receive the Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQDs) and Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM’s). “I was only $275 EQMs short after returning from Indonesia, so I reached out to the airline and asked if I could just pay that difference without actually flying. Instead, I was provided an offer that asked that I pay $1,875 for the status, which makes absolutely zero fucking sense. So I started looking on Google flights to see what would be the bare minimum spend that would give me what I needed.”

“Places like Vegas or Denver were coming up around $600 for a return trip. The only two places came up that were just enough and not too far away so that I could still make it back before New Year’s Eve (if you travel after the New Year, it doesn’t count towards status). Those two places were San Jose, CA or Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Both flights were priced the same, just over $400, which would give me the EQDs needed for Platinum Pro and would save me a huge amount in spending $1,875 without flying as the airline so generously asked. Personally, I don’t want to fly somewhere just to fly there. And the San Jose flight would’ve been me sitting in the airport for two hours then coming home. Cabo was 24 hours. Where I could rent a cheap car, found a cheap hostel, and figured I could sit on the beach and make a day of it. I made the wrong choice…”

And even American Airlines saw it eventually. At least the first tweet

Image credits: AmericanAir

Others had a lot to say about it as well

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