Airlines

American AAdvantage Loyalty Factors Program Information

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American Airways made radical adjustments to its loyalty program as of 2022. The Fort Price-based airline fully reimagined how elite standing is earned, and eradicated the idea of elite qualifying miles and elite qualifying {dollars}.

As a substitute incomes AAdvantage elite standing has been considerably simplified, and doesn’t simply account for a way a lot you fly with American, but in addition accounts for a way a lot you interact with American’s companions. Now you can earn high tier standing completely by bank card spending, when you wished to. That is such a radical departure from the previous system, and I’d largely contemplate that to be factor.

On this put up I wished to cowl the whole lot you must know concerning the Loyalty Factors program.

Earn American AAdvantage elite standing with Loyalty Factors

American AAdvantage elite standing is earned completely based mostly on what number of Loyalty Factors you rack up. Each qualifying AAdvantage mile accrued earns you one Loyalty Level. For 2022, AAdvantage elite standing necessities are as follows:

  • AAdvantage Gold standing requires 30,000 Loyalty Factors
  • AAdvantage Platinum standing requires 75,000 Loyalty Factors
  • AAdvantage Platinum Professional standing requires 125,000 Loyalty Factors
  • AAdvantage Govt Platinum standing requires 200,000 Loyalty Factors

American’s invitation-only Concierge Key standing continues to have unpublished qualification necessities. Nonetheless, we’ve motive to consider that some non-flying exercise can also be thought-about towards incomes Concierge Key, in contrast to previously.

American AAdvantage elite standing necessities

Be aware that with the Loyalty Factors program, standing is earned between the start of March of a specific yr and the tip of February of the next yr, and is then legitimate by March 31 of the yr after that. Meaning standing is not based mostly on the standard calendar yr.

You’re most likely questioning what’s thought-about “qualifying” for the needs of Loyalty Factors. Sure, spending $200,000 on a bank card would earn you Govt Platinum standing, however shopping for 200,000 AAdvantage miles wouldn’t earn you Govt Platinum standing. So let’s go over these particulars.

Every eligible AAdvantage mile earns you a Loyalty Level

Easy methods to earn Loyalty Factors for flying American Airways

The most well-liked technique to earn Loyalty Factors is by flying with American Airways. When flying American Airways:

  • You earn 5x base miles per greenback spent, all of which qualify as Loyalty Factors
  • Elite standing bonuses additionally rely as Loyalty Factors, starting from 40% to 120%; Gold members get a 40% bonus, Platinum members get a 60% bonus, Platinum Professional members get an 80% bonus, and Govt Platinum members get a 120% bonus
  • In different phrases, an AAdvantage Gold member earns 7x Loyalty Factors per greenback spent, whereas an Govt Platinum member earns 11x Loyalty Factors per greenback spent
  • American primary financial system tickets are eligible to earn Loyalty Factors
American AAdvantage elite bonuses rely as Loyalty Factors

Easy methods to earn Loyalty Factors for flying accomplice airways

Along with having the ability to earn Loyalty Factors for flying with American Airways, you may also earn Loyalty Factors for flying with accomplice airways:

  • You’ll be able to earn Loyalty Factors for flights on all oneworld airways, plus JetBlue and GOL
  • You earn redeemable miles on the identical fee as earlier than, and people miles additionally qualify as Loyalty Factors
  • Elite standing bonuses additionally qualify towards Loyalty Factors on accomplice airways, and people vary from 40-120%
  • Cabin bonuses (the place you earn miles for flying premium financial system, enterprise class, or top quality) additionally qualify towards Loyalty Factors

Let me give a few examples. Say you’re an AAdvantage Govt Platinum member reserving an Alaska Airways top quality ticket from Los Angeles to Seattle within the “I” fare class. That flight covers a distance of 954 miles, so what number of Loyalty Factors do you earn? Based mostly on the mileage incomes chart:

  • You earn 100% base miles, in order that’s 954 miles
  • You then obtain a 50% class of service bonus, in order that’s 477 miles
  • You then earn a 120% elite bonus, in order that’s 1,145 miles
  • Altogether you earn 2,576 AAdvantage miles, all of which might qualify as Loyalty Factors

Say you’re an AAdvantage Gold member reserving a British Airways top quality ticket from San Francisco to London within the “A” fare class. That flight covers a distance of 5,367 miles, so what number of Loyalty Factors do you earn? Based mostly on the mileage incomes chart:

  • You earn 100% base miles, in order that’s 5,367 miles
  • You then obtain a 150% class of service bonus, in order that’s 8,051 miles
  • You then earn a 40% elite bonus, in order that’s 2,147 miles
  • Altogether you earn 15,565 AAdvantage miles, all of which might qualify as Loyalty Factors
You’ll be able to earn Loyalty Factors for journey on accomplice airways

Easy methods to earn Loyalty Factors for bank card spending

Most American AAdvantage bank cards issued by Barclays and Citi earn Loyalty Factors:

  • You earn one Loyalty Level for each base mile earned on the cardboard, which might typically be the speed of 1 Loyalty Level per greenback spent
  • Welcome bonuses don’t rely as Loyalty Factors
  • When you’re spending in a class that’s bonused, you solely earn Loyalty Factors for the “base” spending, that means one Loyalty Level for each greenback spent; in different phrases, if a card gives two AAdvantage miles per greenback spent on American Airways flight purchases, you continue to solely earn one Loyalty Level
  • There are some alternatives to earn bonus Loyalty Factors for bank card spending, which you’ll be able to be taught extra about right here

However lengthy story brief, spending $200,000 on a co-branded American Airways card, whether or not it’s the no annual charge American Airways AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card (assessment) or the $450 annual charge Citi® / AAdvantage® Govt World Elite Mastercard® (assessment), would earn you Govt Platinum standing.

See this put up for all the small print on incomes Loyalty Factors with bank cards.

You’ll be able to earn American standing by bank card spending

Easy methods to earn Loyalty Factors for different accomplice exercise

So far as non-flying actions go, there are another companions past bank cards that will let you earn qualifying Loyalty Factors. Particularly, base miles earned with the next companions can earn you Loyalty Factors:

  • Platforms: AAdvantage Eating, AAdvantage eShopping, SimplyMiles
  • Inns: bookaahotels.com, Hyatt, Marriott, IHG, Marriott Holidays, RocketMiles (this contains miles earned with the American & Hyatt partnership)
  • Automobiles: aa.com/automobile, Avis, Price range, Payless, Hertz, {Dollars}, Thrifty, Alamo, Nationwide, Sixt
  • Cruises & trip packages: bookaacruises.com, aavacations.com
  • Retailers: Shell, WeWork, Vinesse, FTD, Vivid Seats, NRG Vitality, Reliant Vitality, Xoom, Miles for Opinions

Even when you hadn’t thought-about these applications previously, these might be value one other look, as you may rack up Loyalty Factors based mostly in your on a regular basis purchases.

You’ll be able to earn Loyalty Factors for eating out

What exercise doesn’t earn Loyalty Factors?

There are a number of varieties of exercise that don’t earn Loyalty Factors, together with:

  • Shopping for, gifting, or transferring miles
  • Authorities taxes, charges, and different expenses related to shopping for airline tickets
  • Conversion of one other program forex to AAdvantage miles (for instance, changing Marriott Bonvoy factors, reasonably than choosing Bonvoy factors as your earnings desire for stays)
  • For AAdvantage bank cards, welcome bonuses don’t qualify, and neither do “accelerators” or “multipliers” (like additional miles for every greenback spent in sure classes)
  • Miles earned with Bask Financial institution, which gives AAdvantage miles based mostly on how a lot cash you’ve deposited

I discover these exclusions to be attention-grabbing. I’m not stunned that purchasing miles doesn’t rely towards Loyalty Factors, although on the identical time, I don’t comply with the logic of that:

  • Presumably American promoting AAdvantage miles on to customers is larger margin than when American sells miles to accomplice applications (whether or not it’s Citi or SimplyMiles)
  • I suppose the logic is that American thinks it will be too simple to earn standing that manner, and doesn’t wish to do this; however what does and doesn’t qualify actually doesn’t totally make sense
Shopping for miles doesn’t rely towards Loyalty Factors

American AAdvantage Loyalty Alternative Rewards

American AAdvantage gives Loyalty Alternative Rewards, whereby Platinum Professional and Govt Platinum members can select rewards when incomes Platinum Professional and Govt Platinum standing. These rewards can embrace perks like systemwide upgrades, although the intent is that this program provides folks the flexibleness to decide on the rewards that matter most to them.

There’s one main catch, although. So as to have the ability to earn Loyalty Alternative Rewards, you must log 30 segments on American or a qualifying accomplice airline throughout your membership yr. American Airways marketed award flights even rely towards that requirement.

In different phrases, this can be a technique to keep away from giving these perks to individuals who don’t really fly American often. There are Loyalty Alternative Rewards perks on the following tiers:

  • Stage 1 — 125,000 Loyalty Factors
  • Stage 2 — 200,000 Loyalty Factors
  • Stage 3 — 350,000 Loyalty Factors
  • Stage 4 — 550,000 Loyalty Factors
  • Stage 5 — 750,000 Loyalty Factors

See this put up for all the small print on Loyalty Alternative Rewards, and which signify one of the best worth.

American AAdvantage Loyalty Alternative Rewards tiers

Platinum Professional Loyalty Alternative Rewards

When incomes 125,000 Loyalty Factors plus finishing 30 qualifying segments, Platinum Professional members are capable of choose one of many following:

  • One systemwide improve
  • 20,000 AAdvantage bonus miles (25,000 AAdvantage bonus miles you probably have an AAdvantage co-brand bank card)
  • One-time 15% AAdvantage award financial savings (applies to a roundtrip award for as much as two vacationers on any oneworld airline in any cabin, and the rebate shall be utilized after journey)
  • $200 American Airways journey voucher
  • Six Admirals Membership one-day passes
  • Carbon emissions offset
  • $200 donation to certainly one of 10 accomplice charities
Choose a systemwide improve as a Loyalty Alternative Reward

Govt Platinum Loyalty Alternative Rewards

When incomes 200,000 Loyalty Factors plus finishing 30 qualifying segments, Govt Platinum members are capable of choose two of the next:

  • Two systemwide upgrades
  • 25,000 AAdvantage bonus miles (30,000 AAdvantage bonus miles you probably have an AAdvantage co-brand bank card)
  • Present of AAdvantage Gold standing
  • Admirals Membership membership (this requires two decisions)
  • Alternative of Bang & Olufsen merchandise (this contains headphones, audio system, and earbuds)
  • Carbon emissions offset
  • $200 donation to certainly one of 10 accomplice charities
  • $200 American Airways journey voucher

Perks are related on the larger Loyalty Alternative Rewards thresholds.

Choose bonus miles as a Loyalty Alternative Reward

Easy methods to see your AAdvantage Loyalty Factors complete

You’ll be able to all the time simply see your AAdvantage Loyalty Factors complete by logging into your AAdvantage account, both by aa.com or the American Airways app. There’s a easy graphic that exhibits your standing towards qualifying for the varied Loyalty Factors thresholds.

You’ll be able to click on on the “Exercise” tab to see a breakdown of the Loyalty Factors you’ve earned for all of your AAdvantage accruing exercise.

What’s more durable to determine is your progress towards the 30 eligible flights with a purpose to earn Loyalty Alternative Rewards. Finest I can inform there’s not a counter for that, so that you’ll have to find out manually when you’ve met that requirement or not.

American AAdvantage account exhibiting Loyalty Factors exercise

Loyalty Factors decide improve precedence

Complimentary upgrades are among the best perks of airline elite standing. Loyalty Factors can play into your odds of getting upgrades. American Airways upgrades are prioritized first by elite standing, after which by your rolling 12-month complete of Loyalty Factors.

In different phrases, the extra Loyalty Factors you rack up on an ongoing foundation, the upper your improve precedence shall be inside your elite tier. These days all AAdvantage elites are eligible for complimentary upgrades inside North America, and upgrades even prolong to companions.

Nonetheless, there are many folks eligible for upgrades and restricted seats to improve to, so larger elite standing and a better Loyalty Factors complete actually makes a distinction for clearing into an obtainable seat.

Upgrades at the moment are prioritized based mostly on Loyalty Factors

Easy methods to earn American AAdvantage Million Miler lifetime standing

American AAdvantage has lifetime elite standing, whereby you may earn AAdvantage Gold or Platinum standing for all times, for passing a million or two million lifetime miles (respectively). The necessities to earn which can be remaining unchanged, and are unrelated to Loyalty Factors.

As a substitute miles towards Million Miler are calculated based mostly on the gap flown for American marketed flights, or base miles earned for journey on eligible accomplice marketed flights. Meaning you may’t earn lifetime standing by bank card spending (for example).

Sadly American’s lifetime elite standing program continues to be woefully uncompetitive, particularly compared to Delta SkyMiles and United MileagePlus.

Million Miler standing is unrelated to incomes Loyalty Factors

American AAdvantage 2022 standing double-dipping

As talked about above, qualifying for elite standing within the AAdvantage Loyalty Factors program relies on exercise between March 1 of a given yr, and February 28 of the next yr.

Nonetheless, for 2022 American Airways has made it a bit simpler to earn standing. For 2022 solely, all exercise between January 1, 2022, and February 28, 2023, will qualify towards standing for this yr. In different phrases, you’ve 14 months to earn standing, reasonably than 12.

AAdvantage standing is less complicated to earn in 2022

Crunching the numbers on AAdvantage Loyalty Factors

How onerous is it to earn AAdvantage elite standing with the Loyalty Factors program, in comparison with the earlier one? For context, AAdvantage Govt Platinum standing used to require incomes 100,000 elite qualifying miles and 15,000 elite qualifying {dollars} in a yr. Now the standing requires 200,000 Loyalty Factors (plus 30 segments, if you wish to earn Loyalty Alternative Rewards).

With that in thoughts, a number of ideas on the mathematics right here:

  • When you’re incomes 11x Loyalty Factors per greenback spent on American flights, you’d should spend ~$18,200 per yr on flights to earn Govt Platinum standing, which is a big improve in comparison with the earlier requirement
  • Curiously Govt Platinum standing is tougher to earn than earlier than when you’re ranging from scratch, because you don’t earn the identical 120% mileage bonus from the beginning; you’d should spend over $27,000 on flights to get to Govt Platinum standing from scratch
  • On the opposite finish of the spectrum, spending $200,000 per yr on a co-branded bank card would additionally earn you Govt Platinum standing, although you’d solely obtain the Loyalty Alternative Advantages when you flew at the very least 30 segments
  • To take a hybrid strategy, when you’re an Govt Platinum member you may spend $100,000 per yr on a co-branded bank card and spend ~$9,100 per yr on flights to keep up Govt Platinum standing
You’ll be able to take a hybrid strategy to incomes AAdvantage standing

Backside line

New as of 2022, American AAdvantage elite standing is completely earned based mostly on what number of Loyalty Factors you accrue, reasonably than based mostly on what number of miles you fly, or how a lot you spend on flights. Loyalty Factors may be earned by flying, bank card spending, and exercise with AAdvantage companions.

I’m a fan of the idea behind these adjustments. The Loyalty Factors idea simplifies incomes elite standing, and does a greater job of contemplating a member’s general engagement in a loyalty program, past flying. In spite of everything, that’s how a loyalty program makes cash and finest engages with members.

What do you make of the AAdvantage Loyalty Factors program?

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