If you want to become an elite member of American Airlines, you have to earn enough Loyalty Points by the end of the year. It might be a bit early to discuss last-minute strategies if you are reading this shortly after it publishes.

It's not too late for elite status planning. Log into your account and check your Loyalty Point balance. Consider how many Loyalty Points you need and how many you want to earn.

Here are some strategies you can use if you fall short of your goals. There are many ways to earn Loyalty Points without traveling.

AAdvantage elite status overview

ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

American Airlines doesn't use elite miles, dollars and segments anymore. If you want to earn American Airlines elite status, you need to accumulate loyalty points.

When you earn American Airlines miles, you earn loyalty points. Bonus American Airlines miles will not get you loyalty points. It's important to know whether you're earning base miles or bonus miles on your flights, credit card spending and other partner activities.

You need to earn a certain amount of Loyalty Points in order to be eligible for elite status.

  • Gold: 30,000 Loyalty Points.
  • Platinum: 75,000 Loyalty Points.
  • Platinum Pro: 125,000 Loyalty Points.
  • Executive Platinum: 200,000 Loyalty Points.

The qualification periods will last from the beginning of March to the end of February. You can keep your status through March 31, 2024 if you earn enough Loyalty Points by the end of February.

If you want to earn Loyalty Choice rewards as a Platinum Pro elite member or higher, you will need at least 30 segments.

There are a number of ways you can earn more loyalty points.

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American's new loyalty points are a game-changer for me.

Strategies for earning Loyalty Points

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The current AAdvantage elite qualification period doesn't end on December 31, unlike other U.S. based programs. You have until the end of February to earn Loyalty Points. You have plenty of time to reach your goal if you read this story soon after we published it.

By the end of February, loyalty points must be posted to your account. Your Loyalty Points will usually post to your account based on the activity date of the flight or transaction, except for spending on AAdvantage credit cards, which post based on the date the activity posts to your AAdvantage account.

Credit card spending

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Spending on American Airlines credit cards will allow you to earn loyalty points. You will only earn 1 point for every dollar spent. Bonus miles that aren't eligible for loyalty points are earned by welcome offers.

You could be eligible for American Airlines status if you use your credit card for purchases. If you put $30,000 of purchases on the American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp SM Card, you can get enough Loyalty Points for AAdvantage Gold status. You could earn Executive Platinum status by making $200,000 of purchases on one of these cards.

Most other ways you can earn Loyalty Points are different. The Loyalty Points are calculated based on the date the activity posts to your AAdvantage account. You don't want to wait until the last minute to earn Loyalty Points.

There is a sign-up bonus for an American Airlines card.

Click through the AAdvantage shopping portal

The AAdvantage shopping portal is an easy way to earn loyalty points. You can earn Loyalty Points if you make one or more purchases through this shopping portal.

In your shopping portal profile, add your favorite merchants. You will get an email when these merchants offer higher-than- usual earning rates.

This year, I'm focusing on the American Airlines portal.

Use SimplyMiles

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SimplyMiles offers are an easy way to earn loyalty points. Shoppers with a Mastercard can earn American miles and Loyalty Points when they shop with certain merchants.

Link your Mastercards to your SimplyMiles account and enroll in SimplyMiles offers you might use. Loyalty Points can be earned when you make an eligible purchase with an enroll card.

There are different ways to earn rewards on Hotels.com.

Book and stay at a hotel

Extra loyalty points can be picked up on hotel stays. You can earn loyalty points from hotel stays.

  • Bookaahotels.com and Rocketmiles: Earn up to 10,000 Loyalty Points per night.
  • Credit Hyatt stays to AAdvantage: Earn 500 Loyalty Points per stay.
  • Credit Marriott or IHG stays to AAdvantage: Earn 1 or 2 Loyalty Points per dollar of qualifying spending (earning rates vary by brand).
  • Link your AAdvantage and World of Hyatt accounts: American elite members earn 1 Loyalty Point per dollar spent on Hyatt stays.

You are unlikely to get elite nights and benefits when booking through Bookaa hotels.com and Rocketmiles.

If you want to earn maximum American Loyalty Points, don't book a hotel stay directly.

Credit your rental car to AAdvantage

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If you don't get a lot of value from car rental loyalty programs, you might want to switch to AAdvantage. When you earn AAdvantage miles on your rental car, here's what you can earn.

  • Avis and Budget: Earn 2 to 5 Loyalty Points per dollar spent (earning rates vary based on your American Airlines elite status level).
  • Hertz and Payless: Earn 1 Loyalty Point per dollar spent.
  • Alamo, Dollar, National and Thrifty: Earn 50 Loyalty Points per rental day.

You can earn loyalty points when you stay at hotels and rent cars.

Dine with AAdvantage Dining

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You can earn loyalty points through the program. Enroll in the AAdvantage dining rewards program, enroll your favorite dining rewards cards in the program and then use an enroll card to pay at a participating restaurant, bar or club

You'll earn between 1 and 5 Loyalty Points for every dollar you spend, depending on your status with the AAdvantage Dining program. You should see the miles and Loyalty Points in your AAdvantage account one to two weeks after the restaurant has registered your transaction.

Here's why I'm considering a "cheeseburger run".

Buy-up to elite status

Frequent flyers have been offered the chance to elevate their elite status and either requalify for their same tier or advance to a higher tier by paying a preset amount. We haven't seen any offers to buy up to elite status launched by AAdvantage.

In the past, members were sometimes given offers of up to $799 to requalify for Gold, Platinum or Executive Platinum. After your qualification period ends, these offers usually change based on your activity. You may be able to find offers later this year.

Is it a good idea to buy hotel or airline elite status.

Status challenge

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The Instant Status Pass challenge was introduced by American. After logging into your AAdvantage account, you can check your online wallet to see if there is a personalized Instant Status Pass challenge for you.

You may be charged a co-payment to participate in an Instant Status Pass challenge. You will enjoy the perks of the status tier you signed up for once you register for the challenge.

If you want to keep the status for which you are challenging, you need to earn a lot of Loyalty Points during the four-month challenge period. We have a full story on the new Instant Status Pass elite challenge.

You should know about the current airline elite status match.

Business Extra

American Airlines has a loyalty program for businesses. The A Advantage program is for individuals.

There are a lot of ways to redeem points. One redemption option is to give gold status to an employee for 3,200 points or Platinum status to an employee for 6,600 points. You can be gifted status through your business' Business Extra account if you have a small business.

I am trying to earn AAdvantage status because of this perk.

Mileage-run scenarios

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You can earn loyalty points by booking a mileage run. Premium cabin fares on American Airlines' partners for trips that cover a lot of distance are cheaper if you don't need many Loyalty Points or don't mind paying a lot.

British Airways, Finnair and Qantas are appealing since flights in most premium economy fares will earn at least 100% of the flight distance in base miles.

An American Airlines Executive Platinum elite member would earn 46,022 Loyalty Points on a British Airways round trip from Los Angeles to Bangalore that was booked in E or T fares. It takes about one-fourth of what's needed to get requalify for Executive Platinum.

Special fares and partner fares earn based on your class, distance and elite status, but other fares earn based on your base fare. The base fare you pay for flights marketed by American Airlines and the codeshare flights operated by the airline are what you earn.

You can earn American AAdvantage status and loyalty points with Oneworld partner flights.

Strategies for earning qualifying segments

You may want to book at least one segment run if you fall short of your Loyalty Points goal.

AAdvantage often prices multi-stop awards cheaper than paid fares. There is a one-way award from Jacksonville, Florida, to Allentown, Pennslyvania for 6,000 miles plus $5.60 in main cabin economy seats.

AA.COM

If you're short on segments at the end of February, you can take an AAdvantage award trip in January or February. You can cancel your award if you get the segments you need between now and then.

How to change or cancel a flight.

Bottom line

The end of February is a good time to check in on your elite status plans. The Loyalty Points you will likely earn through the end of the qualification period are based on your planned travel and other activities.

If you spend a little more on mileage runs and other activities, you can get AAdvantage status by the end of February. It's a good idea to wait until the last minute since your activity might not post as you anticipate.

The additional reporting was done by two people.