AAdvantage Elite members who are a little shy of re-earning their elite status for the new year have a glimmer of hope.  American Airlines is once again offering the opportunity to members to “buy back” their status for the upcoming program year.  This is a one-time deal.  You can’t buy the status back two years in a row.  This offer is only made to Gold and Platinum members.  Executive Platinum members are not eligible for the “buy back” program.  It isn’t cheap, but the more miles you’ve flown this year, the cheaper it could be as American is offering a two-tiered pricing scheme.  Prices start at $349 for Gold and go up from there.  The priciest option is Platinum if you’ve flown less than 40,000 miles or 48 segments.  This will set you back $649 dollars.

“Buying back” your status can be an ok deal if you came up short this year, but are fairly certain your travel plans will pick up again in the new year.  You can read complete details of the offer here.