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Key Takeaways
- American Airlines’ AAdvantage program offers elite status levels Gold, Platinum, Platinum Pro, and Executive Platinum.
- Each status level offers increasing benefits such as priority boarding, complimentary upgrades, and bonus miles.
- AAdvantage status is based on earning Loyalty Points through various activities such as flying, using credit cards, and spending with partners.
Having elite status with an airline is a great way to earn benefits and perks that make travel more rewarding. American Airlines is one of the main players in the industry and an airline that many of us use often. Its AAdvantage loyalty program has 4 main levels of elite status available — Gold, Platinum, Platinum Pro, and Executive Platinum. Earning elite status can be confusing, so we’re going to break it down for you so it’s easy to understand.
In this post, we’ll go over how to earn elite status with American Airlines and discuss whether or not it’s a valuable thing to have.
How To Earn American Airlines AAdvantage Status
American Airlines simplified the process of earning elite status at the beginning of 2022. Gone are the days of Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs), Elite Qualifying Segments (EQSs), and Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQDs). Now, all you need to do to earn AAdvantage status is earn Loyalty Points.
You’ll earn 1 Loyalty Point for each eligible base AAdvantage mile you earn.
Here’s a quick look at the ways you’ll be able to earn American AAdvantage Loyalty Points:
- Fly on American Airlines, Oneworld partner airlines, JetBlue, and GOL Airlines
- Spend on AAdvantage co-branded credit cards
- Shop through AAdvantage eShopping portal
- Dine at restaurants attached to AAdvantage Dining portal
- Shop with SimplyMiles
- Book travel packages through American Airlines Vacations
- Partner hotels and bookings through AAdvantage Hotels
- AAdvantage car rental partners booked throughaa.com/cars
- Cruises booked throughbookaacruises.com
- Retail partners including Shell, Miles for Opinions, NRG Energy, Reliant Energy, and Xoom
Hot Tip: Loyalty Points are earned through base AAdvantage miles. American Airlines bonus miles (including credit card sign-on bonuses and AAdvantage dining portal promotional bonuses) and eShopping portal promotional bonuses do not earn Loyalty Points.
Earn Loyalty Points on Flights
AAdvantage members earn Loyalty Points at the same rate as they earn redeemable miles on airline tickets. That means you’ll earn 5 AAdvantage miles and 5 Loyalty Points per dollar spent on American Airlines flights. This is on the fare only which doesn’t include taxes, fees, and surcharges.
You’ll earn miles and Loyalty Points on any class of ticket, including Basic Economy, however, Basic Economy only earns 2 miles per dollar.
If you have American Airlines status, you’ll continue to earn Loyalty Points at the same rate you earn redeemable base miles. For example, a Platinum Pro member would earn 9 redeemable miles and 9 Loyalty Points per dollar spent on flights.
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Status Level | Miles/Loyalty Points Earned |
General Member | 5 miles/Loyalty Points per $1 |
Gold | 7 miles/Loyalty Points per $1 |
Platinum | 8 miles/Loyalty Points per $1 |
Platinum Pro | 9 miles/Loyalty Points per $1 |
Executive Platinum | 11 miles/Loyalty Points per $1 |
You’ll also earn Loyalty Points when flying on American Airlines Oneworld partners as well as JetBlue and GOL Airlines. Loyalty Points are earned at the same accrual rate as redeemable AAdvantage miles on these airlines.
Earn Loyalty Points With Credit Cards
Using an American Airlines co-branded credit card is a great way to earn Loyalty Points that count toward status. You’ll earn 1 Loyalty Point per $1 spent on any of these cards (with 1 exception, see below). Loyalty Points are not earned on spend category multipliers. For example, if your card earns 2 points per $1 spent on American Airlines purchases, you’ll still only earn 1 Loyalty Point per $1 spent.
