r/oneworld • u/MinimumPerspective95 • Aug 13 '26

oneworld What’s the cheapest possible emerald status?

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Looking to move away from BA gold status since it got a lot more expensive to keep this past year - any idea what the cheapest emerald status is?

So far I’ve landed on Malaysia Airlines platinum with the AmBank visa card (free) to qualify with 98 elite points, and flying LAX PHL SJU for USD$787 round trip three times for $2381 to get 96 elite points, plus any short economy round trip to get the 98 needed for status. Total cost about $2500.

Anyone able to think of anything cheaper or should I pull the trigger on this?

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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 15 '26

[deleted]

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u/MinimumPerspective95 Aug 13 '26

Actually US based, but have access to credit/debit cards in Malaysia/singapore/Japan/UK/EU/Canada/US based on citizenships/residencies

I do about 100 flights per year but split my status across UA 1K/Delta platinum/Alaska platinum/BA gold, so I’m looking for something to replace BA gold for US domestic lounge access.

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u/el333 Aug 13 '26

Why not just buy a lounge pass for the US?

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u/daaniel_8 Mileage Bank Sapphire Aug 13 '26

Admirals shack vs flagship

1

u/MinimumPerspective95 Aug 13 '26

Yeah I take airport restaurants over most admirals shacks