Last May, I boarded my first American Airlines flight in nearly a decade. Now I’m a top-tier Executive Platinum member with American, though I have no firm plans to fly the airline.
What about American Airlines led me to shift a lot of my business? Here’s why and the way I qualified for Executive Platinum status with American Airlines.
United Premier 1K is not what it was once
For the last decade, I’ve lived in San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and London, so United Airlines has been my airline of selection. I first qualified for Premier 1K status about eight years ago, and while 1K status still offers many advantages, it’s now not the status crown jewel it was once.
In 2016 and 2017, I received Complimentary Premier Upgrades (CPUs) on most of my eligible United flights. Nonetheless, last yr one in all my few CPUs on 35-plus eligible flights was for a no-frills weekday trip from Puerto Vallarta (PVR) to Denver (DEN).
And it isn’t looking like United CPUs are coming back. On a recent Boeing 777-200ER flight from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Dulles International Airport (IAD), I used to be 52nd on an upgrade waitlist. Top quality, which had 50 seats, was fully booked.
My days of paying for economy class and flying top quality on United Airlines appeared to be behind me.
The United woes extend beyond upgrades — United now not has a partner award chart, and in the course of the early days of the pandemic, it increased award rates on partners all at once. We hoped that was temporary. Nonetheless, this unwelcome change hasn’t gone away.
So, is the grass greener at American? Well, my newly-minted American Airlines elite status began with my quest to earn American miles.
More worthwhile redeemable miles
Though American Airlines recently retired its Web Specials and MileSAAver awards, lots of its partner sweet spots remain intact for now.
A few of our favourite AAdvantage business-class redemptions include flights from america to the Middle East and South Asia for 70,000 miles in Qatar Airways Qsuite, and from the U.S. to Europe for 57,500 miles in Finnair’s latest business-class seat. You may as well use 80,000 miles to fly from the U.S. to Japan in top quality on Japan Airlines.
For comparison, United Airlines MileagePlus now charges over 121,000 miles for one-way ANA first-class flights on the identical route.
I recently used 42,500 AAdvantage miles to travel from Europe to the Middle East in Etihad Airways business class, which requires calling American to book.
For one-way business-class flights from Europe to the Middle East, United charges a minimum of 50,000 miles. Unlike with American AAdvantage, United’s MileagePlus members cannot use their miles for creme-de-la-creme seats like Qatar Qsuite and Etihad business class.
I also booked a flight for later this yr from Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) to San Francisco on Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines in business class for 70,000 miles, which was funded by my Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Business Mastercard sign-up bonus.
The data for the AAdvantage Aviator Business Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The cardboard details on this page haven’t been reviewed or provided by the cardboard issuer.
But there was one other profit to my push for worthwhile miles.
Beneficial advantages
Having initially focused on earning redeemable American miles, I started to earn status-qualifying Loyalty Points, because you generally earn 1 Loyalty Point for each AAdvantage mile
Here’s a take a look at my favorite advantages of Executive Platinum status.
Oneworld Emerald status
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KYLE OLSEN/THE POINTS GUY
For the last 4 months, I have been a Platinum Pro and am now an Executive Platinum on American — each include Oneworld Emerald status.
And I find it irresistible.
Oneworld Emerald provides some key perks that Star Alliance status doesn’t offer. For one, Emerald gives you access to preferred or reserved seating on Oneworld flights.
So, as an American Airlines top-tier elite, I could select complimentary extra-legroom seating on a Royal Air Maroc flight from Dulles International Airport (IAD) to Casablanca International Airport (CMN) and upper-deck business-class seating on a British Airways A380. Those pesky advance seat fees can reach the triple digits on long-haul flights.
Meanwhile, top-tier United elite members must pay advance seating fees in lots of fare classes on airlines like Lufthansa, Copa Airlines and Swiss.
Moreover, Oneworld Emeralds are welcome into Oneworld first-class lounges (with some notable exceptions) — I loved the Qantas first-class lounge at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and the British Airways Galleries Lounge at London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR).
Meanwhile, Star Alliance elite members cannot access first-class lounges just like the latest SilverKris First lounge at Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) and the Lufthansa first-class lounge at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) using their status.
For frequent international travelers, Oneworld Emerald could make an enormous difference.
Alaska Airlines advantages
American Airlines elite members effectively receive status on Alaska Airlines, because of the reciprocal elite partnership the 2 carriers have recently strengthened.
Executive Platinum members are eligible for Alaska Premium-class upgrades after booking (not applicable on Saver fares) and receive first-class upgrades just after Alaska’s MVP 75K elite members.
Some TPG Executive Platinum elite members have reported recent upgrade success on Alaska Airlines transcontinental flights, including routes like Latest York-JFK to Seattle (SEA). While your experience may differ (and I have never flown Alaska on a transcontinental flight), my impression is that transcontinental upgrades are rather more common on Alaska than on United.
Executive Platinum members are also entitled to a few checked bags and complimentary same-day flight changes on Alaska.
As a San Francisco-based traveler, United has occasionally rebooked me on Alaska when something went incorrect, and I will be glad to have Alaska advantages when this inevitably happens again.
How I earned Executive Platinum status
You will need to earn Loyalty Points to qualify for American Airlines status. As mentioned, you generally earn 1 Loyalty Point for each 1 AAdvantage mile you earn. Here’s how I earned enough Loyalty Points for Executive Platinum status. Use this for inspiration as you seek for creative ways to earn Loyalty Points.
May-August 2022: General member earning 30,000 Loyalty Points
American Airlines adjusted its elite qualifying yr from January 1-Dec. 31 to March 1-Feb. 28 when it introduced Loyalty Points for the 2022 elite qualifying yr. That allowed AAdvantage members to begin earning Loyalty Points on January 1, 2022, but I didn’t earn my first Loyalty Point until May 2022.
Here’s a take a look at how I earned 30,000 Loyalty Points as a general member, subsequently qualifying me for entry-level Gold status (note, American has since increased some elite status requirements, so you’ll have to earn 40,000 Loyalty Points for Gold status in 2023.).
August-October 2022: Gold earning 50,800 Loyalty Points
With 30,000 Loyalty Points, I qualified for Gold status. Subsequently, I started earning 40% more Loyalty Points on my air travel than I did as a general member, making it easier to earn Loyalty Points through my British Airways and American Airlines flights during this time-frame. Also, now that I had elite status with American and Hyatt, I started to double dip on most paid Hyatt stays by earning 1 Loyalty Point per qualifying dollar spent at Hyatt properties.
That is how I earned 50,800 Loyalty Points from August to October.
November 2022: Platinum earning 5,800 Loyalty Points
Passing the 75,000-Loyalty Point requirement for Platinum status, my sought-after advantages began to kick in, including complimentary Most important Cabin Extra seating, Oneworld Sapphire (which may be used to access many Oneworld business class lounges on most long-haul itineraries) and a 60% Loyalty Point bonus on paid tickets.
Here’s how I earned 5,800 Loyalty Points in November.
- 2,800 Loyalty Points from an Alaska Airlines economy-class ticket credited to AAdvantage.
- 1,500 Loyalty Points from $190 in qualifying spending on an American Airlines flight (8 Loyalty Points per dollar spent).
- 1,000 Loyalty Points from Hyatt dual accrual.
- 500 Loyalty Points from SimplyMiles.
December 2022-March 2023: Platinum Pro earning 68,500 Loyalty Points
At this point, I had earned over 85,000 Loyalty Points and planned to complete the status yr (Feb. 28, 2023) as a Platinum member. But overnight, I became a Platinum Pro member once I registered for an American Airlines status challenge for World of Hyatt elite members. The challenge offered me a path to Executive Platinum status if I earned 67,000 Loyalty Points in the subsequent 4 months.
Although this status challenge for Hyatt elite members is now closed, if you happen to hold status on one other airline, you possibly can call American AAdvantage customer care and ask to enroll within the Easy Status Pass. You will be asked to supply documentation of your competing airline status. If approved, you will be an AAdvantage elite member for 4 months, with the chance to increase your status by meeting certain Loyalty Point thresholds.
Here’s a breakdown of what number of Loyalty Points I earned between December and March:
- 35,500 Loyalty Points from a reduced British Airways business-class ticket credited to AAdvantage.
- 16,500 Loyalty Points from the AAdvantage Shopping portal.
- 8,700 Loyalty Points from $960 in qualifying spending on an American Airlines flight (9 Loyalty Points per dollar).
- 3,500 Loyalty Points from bank card spending to fulfill a sign-up bonus on the Barclays AAdvantage Aviator Business Mastercard.
- 2,300 Loyalty Points from Hyatt dual accrual.
- 2,000 Loyalty Points from a Royal Air Maroc economy-class ticket credited to AAdvantage.
Since I earned 67,000 Loyalty Points during Phase 1 of the status challenge, I moved into Phase 2 as an Executive Platinum, where I’ll now must earn 67,000 Loyalty Points in the subsequent 4 months. If I do not meet this requirement, my status will drop to a lower tier of the AAdvantage program.
From qualifying for Executive Platinum status a month ago, I’ve earned 30,000 Loyalty Points from Rocketmiles stays, and I’m on my technique to extending my status.
Bottom line
With the gamification of Loyalty Points, many AAdvantage members qualify for upper tiers of this system — and I’m no exception. What began as a pursuit to earn redeemable AAdvantage miles landed me top-tier American status.
Though I even have no firm plans to fly the airline in the approaching months, I’ll proceed to earn its worthwhile redeemable miles (and, subsequently, Loyalty Points toward maintaining my status).
