American Airlines AAdvantage Executive Platinum vs. Platinum Pro [Pros and Cons]

The top 2 elite status levels in American Airlines’ AAdvantage loyalty program are Executive Platinum and Platinum Pro, and AA flyers often ask if it’s worth making the jump from Platinum Pro to Executive Platinum.

Both status levels share many similar benefits, so it can be a tough decision to make. For many, staying at Platinum Pro is a good sweet spot in the AAdvantage program, while others find value in achieving American’s highest public tier.

We’ll take a look at the different benefits between each status level and which perks you only get as an Executive Platinum. You’ll be able to see if the extra flying or spending is worth these different benefits based on your travel patterns. For most people, staying at the Platinum Pro level will be the right move.

Requirements of Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum

To understand whether it’s worth pursuing Executive Platinum, you have to look at the requirements of each level.

• To earn Platinum Pro, you need 125,000 Loyalty Points.
• To earn Executive Platinum, you need 200,000 Loyalty Points.

Loyalty Points are American’s way of determining which status level you earn. You can earn Loyalty Points by flying, staying in partner hotels, or shopping through American’s online shopping portal, among many different options. The amount of Loyalty Points you can earn depends on the type of earning activity you’re participating in.

The difference between statuses is 75,000 Loyalty Points, which is considerable. That’s $75,000 spent on any American Airlines co-branded credit card or roughly $8,000 spent on flights — no easy task in either case.

Differences Between Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum

There are a few benefits that are different between Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum.

Upgrade Priority and Timing

At Executive Platinum, you can be upgraded as early as 100 hours out from the flight, while Platinum Pro only receives this at 72 hours. Executive Platinum members receive priority over upgrades.

If you always purchase first class, this benefit won’t be important to you. Likewise, if you’re always traveling high-profile peak routes that don’t really have much of a chance of an upgrade clearing (such as New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX) on a Monday morning), neither priority will help you.

Earning Executive Platinum could be worth it if you tend to find yourself lower on the upgrade list and think you could clear many of your flights if you were to move higher on the list.

Earning AAdvantage Miles and Loyalty Points

Platinum Pro members earn 9 miles per $1 spent on American, while Executive Platinum members earn 11 miles per $1. These are both Loyalty Points (those used to earn status) and redeemable miles (those used towards a free ticket).

While both of these are similar, there can be a considerable difference when trying to earn status. Once you have status, it’s much easier to renew status than starting from scratch, so depending on which status you’d like to go for, you need to keep in mind that you never want to drop down a status level, as it will be much harder to get a higher level in the future.

Complimentary Food and Drink in the Main Cabin

Executive Platinum members get a complimentary alcoholic drink and snack when seated in the main cabin, which may include a free sandwich or salad on longer flights. Platinum Pro members do not get this benefit.

Guaranteed Availability

If you absolutely have to travel, Executive Platinum members have access to full-fare economy class seats on sold-out flights (for them and a companion) when purchased at least 24 hours prior to departure.

Loyalty Point Rewards

Platinum Pro members need to earn 125,000 Loyalty Points in a year, however, they don’t get to choose from the selection of Loyalty Point Rewards until they earn 175,000 Loyalty Points. Executive Platinum members, on the other hand, need 200,000 Loyalty Points to qualify, and while they still have that same choice of rewards at 175,000 Loyalty Points, the next threshold above that is at 250,000 Loyalty Points.

These Loyalty Point Rewards tiers incentivize members to overachieve past the basic thresholds. In simplest terms, American is trying to get you to earn more Loyalty Points beyond the status you’re actually going for. The airline doesn’t want you to stop at one status level; it wants you to keep going.

For a Platinum Pro, it would take an additional 50,000 points to reach the Loyalty Point Rewards selection, but choosing again would require an additional 75,000 Loyalty Points (250,000) above that initial level.

At the 175,000 Loyalty Points, you can choose from several rewards, such as:

• 2 systemwide upgrades
• 20,000 AAdvantage miles (25,000 miles with a co-branded card)
• 6 Admirals Club day passes
• $200 Trip Credit ($250 with a co-branded card)
• 2 gifts of Gold status

At 250,000 Loyalty Points, you get 2 choices from mostly the same benefits, plus new options like a pair of Bang & Olufsen headphones or passes to the Flagship Lounge.

So, it’s worth it to get 175,000 Loyalty Points if you can, but likely not worth overachieving as much to hit 250,000 Loyalty Points. That additional 75,000 Loyalty Points may be tough to earn.

Why It’s Not Worth Going for Executive Platinum

While there are a few reasons to make the jump to Executive Platinum, there are actually quite a few reasons why you might not want to:

• Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum members get Oneworld Emerald privileges, the highest tier in the Oneworld alliance.
• Both levels get free same-day flight changes and standby, though Executive Platinum members receive higher priority standby.
• Both levels get priority check-in and security. When it comes to boarding, Executive Platinum has a slight advantage in boarding with group 1, though Platinum Pro isn’t far behind in group 2.
• Both Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum get complimentary Main Cabin Extra seats when booking.
• If you need to check a bag, both tiers get 3 free checked bags.
• Both tiers get access to an exclusive service desk, though Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum agents tend to pull from the same pool. You may get a faster response time as an Executive Platinum, but the faster answer time is usually marginal.

When Executive Platinum Is Worth It

If you tend to find yourself on the upgrade list and the losing end of an upgrade by 1 or 2 people, it likely would be worth the bump to Executive Platinum. However, keep in mind the list is also ordered by Loyalty Points earned annually, so if you only barely made it, you’d still be at the bottom of all other Executive Platinum members on the list. Additionally, if having that additional day heads-up in clearing upgrades is important to you, then earning Executive Platinum is worth it.

The other big benefit of Executive Platinum is earning 11 miles per dollar instead of 9. This allows you to earn AAdvantage miles faster, making free flights come sooner! If that’s important to you and you’re not too far off from 200,000 Loyalty Points, it likely makes sense to cross that threshold.

Final Thoughts

Many AAdvantage members view Platinum Pro as the sweet spot of the AAdvantage elite tiers, and for good reason. Not only does it come with Oneworld Emerald, but upgrade chances are pretty good, too. You get many of the same benefits as Executive Platinum, and though your priority may be a tad lower, it may not be worth pursuing the higher level unless you do some serial traveling each year.