Changes to status-earning and adding milestones will give you more benefits in the years to come.
They are removing the flight requirement to earn milestone benefits, increasing the Loyalty Points required for Gold status, and lifting the cap on the number of miles you can earn for a ticket. Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum members will need more loyalty points to be eligible for benefits.
Semi-frequent and heavy users of AAdvantage gain here, while those squeaking into Gold, Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum need to stretch a bit more. Changes aren't as significant as I thought they would be, considering that Loyalty Points is a metric for status and there was bound to be tweaking.
I spoke with Heather Samp, American's Managing Director in charge of the AAdvantage program, to get an idea of what to expect next year. The current status-earning year runs through the end of February, instead of December, which is one of the things many flyers don't know. There are two months left in the year to get status for next year.
The requirements for earning Gold status have been raised by American.
30,000 points is how much Loyalty Gold costs this year. It will need 40,000 loyalty points next year. At 15,000 Loyalty Points, Group 5 boarding is provided and there is a choice of either or both.
Group 6 boarding is given to all A Advantage members. To board with Main Cabin Extra and AAdvantage credit card customers, you have to hit 15000 loyalty points. The board is made up of Goldmans and Citi Executive card members.
Existing elites will not see much of a benefit since they already get all of the benefits. Heather told me that the 15,000 point choice was relevant because an elite might not requalify.
All other thresholds are the same.
Executive Platinum: 200,000 Loyalty Points
Heather told me not to expect any changes to the program.
There were a number of benefits offered under the new status program which was launched last year.
The choice benefits were not just for members who earned Loyalty Points, but also for members who had to fly at least 30 flight segments in order to get them.
There will no longer be a minimum of 30 flights to earn loyalty points. More members will be able to earn them easier.
American has changed their loyalty points rewards to offer benefits starting earlier, as well as between status levels, with benefits worth up to 500,000 miles, 10 systemwide upgrades, and Executive Platinum. People with a lot of credit card spend are usually with their own businesses.
If you want to earn Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum status, you will need 175,000 and 250,000 Loyalty Points, instead of 350,000.
The benefits on offer with each level of loyalty point rewards are listed here.
| Loyalty Points (Total) | Reward |
| 15,000 | Members unlock Group 5 boarding for the membership year and may choose one of the following:
|
| 60,000 | Members unlock Avis Preferred Plus status and receive a 20% Loyalty Point bonus on spend with the following partners: AA Vacations; AA Hotels; eShopping; Dining; SimplyMiles |
| 100,000 | Members unlock Avis Presidents Club status and receive a 30% Loyalty Point bonus on spend with the following partners: AA Vacations; AA Hotels; eShopping; Dining; SimplyMiles |
| 175,000 | Members may choose one of the following:
|
| 250,000 | Members may choose two of the following:
|
| 400,000 | Members may choose two of the following:
|
| 550,000 | Members may choose two of the following:
|
| 750,000 | Members may choose two of the following:
|
| 1,000,000 | Members may choose one of the following:
|
| 3,000,000 | Members may choose one of the following:
|
| 5,000,000 | Members may choose one of the following:
|
There was a suggestion back in October that there was a tie-in with Avis. Avis Presidents Club members are going to increase next year.
The 20% point bonus was explained to me. Six months is how long it lasts. It is hoped that there are more lucrative Simplymiles promotions. I hope a 20% bonus period overlaps with a nice holiday promotion, but it seems like Mastercard might be hesitant about doing one again.
There is a high value tradeoff to get access to Flagship Dining inside of Flagship lounges, but I like that they are doing something with those productive and hopefully that will support re- opening Los Angeles.
There are a lot of valuable benefits here, though there are going to be Platinum Pro members that no longer earn systemwide upgrades and there are going to be Executive Platinum members who only have the chance to select two. Those are not usually confirmable at booking. If American revenue management ever decides to make international upgrades available, there will be less competition for confirmed international upgrades.
The basic economy is strange. In order to make more money, the airline makes its product worse. They do this in two different ways.
There wasn't much corporate business to speak of during the Pandemic and American eliminated nearly all basic economy restrictions. Customers were allowed to spend money to buy seat assignments in advance and they got rid of the no carry on rule.
Basic economy fares became fully earning with the launch of loyalty points in 2020.
They will still be entitled to elite benefits, but they will only be able to earn 2 miles per dollar instead of 5 on other fares. These miles are still eligible for bonus money. This applies to tickets that were issued in January and March of the following year.
The only disadvantage of a basic economy fare is that it hasn't changed. Benefits and earning were applied. Is it possible that they were too appealing compared to the cost of buying a higher fare? They seem to be experimenting with adding more appeal to the buy up when someone else is paying.
One point is earned for every dollar spent on American Airlines credit cards. Only one Loyalty Point is earned when the card earns two miles. 1.5 and 2 loyalty points per dollar are earned by some non-U.S. credit cards.
The bonus loyalty points were earned for hitting spending thresholds. It was described as being for 2022,
After spending $90,000, Citi has been surveying an additional 10,000 loyalty points.
I asked if there would be a change to the bonus loyalty points. She said there wouldn't be and that they would continue next year.
Depending on how you interact with the program, you can either like or dislike the change to most frequent flyer activity. People who flew American and didn't spend on their credit card or earn miles in other ways didn't like the change. The people who engage with American AAdvantage liked it.
The mileage-obsessed lost status while the pure elite lost it. Selling miles is more profitable for the airline than selling transportation. The selling miles margin is for American. Selling miles earns a lot of money, but selling tickets frequently doesn't.
American knew at the beginning that they would be increasing their elite ranks. Seeing them change the number of loyalty points is not new. At the end of October, I wondered if they could do it. The changes are modest. It makes sense to adjust up Gold if they are seeing more elites at lower tiers. It makes sense to give customers additional levels that are more realistic, like Hyatt givingIncremental benefits every 10 nights, not just when they hit status.
The American AAdvantage credit card comes with a Admiral's Club lounge membership, which is currently being surveyed by Citibank. They seem to be looking to raise the card's fee and begin charging for authorized user cards. The surveys I participated in.
In airlines.
Some flyers are going to be very happy with the new American Airlines elite status-earning program. Status-earning is easier for anyone who spends a lot on credit cards. You can earn Platinum status with $200,000 spent alone.
In airlines.
It's easy to keep elite status if you engage with the program across a variety of earning streams rather than just flying. American has shared the full list of partners.
In general.
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