American Airlines offers two new ways to maintain your status as of the beginning of 2021. These new ways make it easy for elites, particularly those who spend a lot on credit cards, to maintain their status.Spend $15,000 on an Avantage co-brand creditcard between July 15th and November 15 Earn 2000 elite dollars between September 1st and December 31You will retain the status you had at the beginning of the year, if you do one or both of these things. This includes status that was extended during the pandemic in 2020. It will continue through January 31, 2023. This is not available to those whose status was temporarily challenged.If you are a Platinum Pro or Executive Platinum member, this status will not be eligible for elite choice rewards like systemwide upgrades and bonus miles.Already American has reduced the miles and qualification dollars needed to earn status this year by 20 percentGold Platinum Platinum Pro Executive platinum Elite qualifying dollars (EQD), 2,000 4,500, 7,000 12,000 Elite qualifying segments(EQS), 20 45 70 95 Elite qualifying mileage (EQM), 20,000 40,000 80,000They also offer 3 promotions simultaneously to help you earn your elite status: Free qualifying dollars for existing elites; bonus qualifying miles on 10 segments flown before August 31; and qualifying dollars purchased.Anyone who has purchased qualifying dollars is now in the air. I advised you to delay, as there was no advantage to buying them right away. The offer cannot be refunded.It is not hard to believe that $15,000 spent on an AAdvantage cobrand credit card in just four months is quite a large sum. These Mastercards can be used to pay a mortgage via Plastiq (a 2.5% service fee). This is how you can make your car payment. If you are able, put your utilities on your creditcard and pay them forward for a few months.Anyone who is on track to earn Platinum Pro or Executive Platinum would have probably been earning 2000 qualifying dollars during the last four month. Anyone who is able to fly reasonably well will be satisfied, despite the promotion. Upgrades are prioritized on rolling 12-month qualifying dollars. Those requalifying in this manner will have low qualifying dollar totals.I find it funny that American will not fly me as often because of the promotion. With the current promotions, giving them planned trips would have earned me Executive Platinum. It's easier to stay at this level without systemwide upgrades, which are rarely confirmed in advance. I will be able spread out my travels for the remainder of 2021 and take advantage of these easy offers.
