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.
American Airlines AAdvantage Elite Status
Before we talk about how to get American Airlines AAdvantage elite status, you’ll need to understand some specific terms, so let’s have a quick vocabulary lesson.
Loyalty Points
American recently overhauled the AAdvantage program, which changed the way you earn elite status. Gone are Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs), Elite Qualifying Segments (EQSs), and Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQDs), replaced by a single elite-qualifying metric called Loyalty Points.
Earning Loyalty Points
Now that American Airlines has implemented its updated AAdvantage program, you’ll only earn Loyalty Points instead of EQMs, EQSs, and EQDs. You’ll earn 1 Loyalty Point for each eligible AAdvantage mile you earn.
Each eligible AAdvantage mile will equal 1 Loyalty Point. Image Credit: American AirlinesHere are 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, such as the Citi®/AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®
- AAdvantage eShopping and AAdvantage Dining portals
- SimplyMiles
- American Airlines Vacations
- Partner hotels and bookings through bookaahotels.com
- AAdvantage car rental partners booked through aa.com/car
- Cruises booked through bookaacruises.com
- Retail partners: Shell, WeWork, Vinesse, FTD, Vivid Seats, NRG Energy, Reliant Energy, Xoom, and Miles For Opinion
AAdvantage members are used to earning redeemable miles based on their elite level and the price they paid for their tickets. Loyalty Points will be earned at the same rates, as shown below:
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 |
Hot Tip: Basic Economy tickets are eligible to earn Loyalty Points under the new AAdvantage program.
How To Earn AAdvantage Elite Status
Now, there’s only 1 thing you need to do to achieve elite status with American Airlines: earn Loyalty Points.
After earning American Airlines elite status, you’ll enjoy benefits like upgrades that can make your flights more comfortable. Image Credit: American AirlinesThese are the requirements to earn American Airlines elite status in 2022:
Qualification | Gold | Platinum | Platinum Pro | Executive Platinum |
Loyalty Points | 30,000 | 75,000 | 125,000 | 200,000 |
How To Check Your Progress Toward American Airlines Elite Status
To check your progress toward American Airlines elite status, log on to your AAdvantage account. After you sign in, click your name in the top-right corner and then click Account.
You’ll then be able to quickly see your progress in the AAdvantage account view.
American’s website makes it easy for you to track your progress toward elite status. Image Credit: American AirlinesQualification Period vs. Membership Period
When you’re trying to earn American Airlines elite status, you’ll want to understand the qualification period and the membership period.
The qualification period is March 1 to the last day of February the following year. This is the time period you have to earn Loyalty Points. As soon as you qualify for elite status by meeting the requirements, your benefits will be active and they’ll remain active through the next membership year.
The membership year starts on the day you qualify for status or April 1 (whichever comes first) and goes through the following March 31.
AAdvantage Gold Status Benefits
We’ve written at length about the benefits and value of AAdvantage Gold status, so we’ll just touch on the highlights here:
- Automatic upgrade requests on flights of 500 miles or less
- 24-hour upgrade window
- 40% elite mileage bonus
- Main Cabin Extra seats at check-in, if available
- Complimentary Preferred seats
- 1 free checked bag
- Oneworld Ruby status
Hot Tip: American Airlines and JetBlue have a reciprocal relationship for passengers flying with each airline. American AAdvantage elite members can now expect benefits such as priority check-in, free checked bags, priority baggage handling, priority boarding, and more when flying JetBlue.
AAdvantage Platinum Status Benefits
Our guide to the perks and value of AAdvantage Platinum status goes into detail on the benefits and their worth, but here are some of the highlights of this tier:
- Automatic upgrade requests on flights 500 miles or less
- 48-hour upgrade window
- 60% elite mileage bonus
- Complimentary Main Cabin Extra and Preferred seats at the time of booking
- 2 free checked bags
- Oneworld Sapphire status
AAdvantage Platinum Pro Status Benefits
Platinum Pro elites are eligible for upgrade and seating benefits and perks at the airport, fee waivers, and alliance benefits. Here are some of this elite level’s highlights:
- Loyalty Choice Awards
- Automatic upgrade requests on all flights within North America on American Airlines
- Complimentary upgrades on Alaska Airlines
- 72-hour upgrade window
- 80% elite mileage bonus
- Complimentary Main Cabin Extra and Preferred seats
- 3 free checked bags
- Oneworld Emerald status
Hot Tip: Loyalty Choice Awards are extra bonuses for Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum members who also fly a minimum number of segments on qualifying airlines. Awards include things like systemwide upgrades, bonus miles, Admirals Club day passes, and more.
AAdvantage Executive Platinum Status Benefits
Executive Platinum is AAdvantage’s highest elite status. We’ve written extensively on this tier’s upgrades and seating options and the airport benefits and alliance-wide perks. Here’s a quick look at the benefits:
- Automatic upgrade requests on all flights
- 100-hour upgrade window
- 120% elite mileage bonus
- Complimentary Main Cabin Extra and Preferred seats
- 1 free food and 1 free drink item in Main Cabin seats
- 3 free checked bags
- Oneworld Emerald status
- Ability to upgrade to first class on Alaska Airlines
- Loyalty Choice Awards
Hot Tip: A fifth, unpublished status level exists within the AAdvantage program called ConciergeKey. This invitation-only status doesn’t have published specific requirements and is reserved for the top-tier spenders and influential travelers.
AAdvantage Million Miler Program
AAdvantage Million Miler status grants lifetime American Airlines Gold status, plus other additional benefits like bonus miles and upgrades after reaching 1 million miles.
Miles for the Million Miler program are calculated based on 2 criteria:
- The actual distance flown on American-marketed flights
- Base miles earned for flights on eligible American Airlines partners
After reaching 1 million miles on American Airlines, you’ll earn lifetime Gold status and 35,000 bonus AAdvantage miles. When you reach 2 million miles flown on American Airlines, you’ll earn lifetime Platinum status and 4 one-way system upgrades. After that, you’ll earn an additional 4 one-way system upgrades for each additional million miles flown.
Bottom Line: There are 4 levels of elite status within the American Airlines AAdvantage program — Gold, Platinum, Platinum Pro, and Executive Platinum. A fifth level, ConciergeKey, is invitation-only and doesn’t publish membership requirements. In addition, if you fly at least 1 million miles, you’ll be a part of the Million Miler program, earning you Gold status for life.
Is American Airlines Elite Status Worth It?
Determining whether or not an airline’s elite status is worth it is somewhat subjective, but that’s not going to stop us from breaking it down to help you determine the value you can get from American Airlines status.
For this analysis, we’ve evaluated the minimum standards for Gold status only, since it’s the base-level tier. According to our extensive analysis of the value of American Airlines Gold status, you can get upwards of $1,000 in value if you’re a frequent flyer who knows how to use your benefits.
Here’s a quick look at the estimated value you can get from just some of the American Airlines Gold status benefits:
- 40% mileage bonus: ~$300 (based on approximately $3,000 yearly spend and 7 miles per dollar earned)
- Free checked bag: $30 per flight (more if you’re traveling with companions on the same reservation)
- Complimentary Preferred and Main Cabin Extra Seats seats: $250 (based on 5 flights per year)
These numbers are a conservative estimate based on just a few benefits and can dramatically increase based on your flying habits.
Final Thoughts
If you fly American Airlines often, earning elite status is something you’ll definitely want to consider. Many benefits that come with American Airlines elite status are geared at making your flights more comfortable, like preferred seating and upgrades. Plus, you’ll earn points faster and save money with benefits like free checked bags.
The information regarding the Citi®/AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard® was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.