Jun 8, 2016, 12:18 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
What are AAdvantage Platinum Pro Benefits? Are they worth it?
NOTE: AAdvantage Platinum Pro elite status became available 1/1/2017.Platinum Pro status requirements: in one calendar year, earn $9,000 EQD*, AND earn 75,000 EQ Miles or fly 90 EQ Segments.
*See FT: Earning EQD / Elite Qualifying Dollars on AA and partner airlines (2017 on)
Status will last the status year earned and the following status year. (Platinum Pro status earned in 2017 will last through 31 Jan 2019.)
Preferred benefits:
- Complimentary Main Cabin Extra and Preferred Seats (extends to up to 8 traveling companions)
- Two (2) free checked bags (extends to all traveling companions same PNR)
- Free Same Day Flight Change (SDFC)
- Minimum mileage guarantee (EQM only)
- Earn 9 Award Miles per "fare dollar" spent (fare & carrier imposed fees, not taxes, etc.)
- Business class lounge access longhaul international and MEX** (see below)
- oneworld Sapphire benefits (see below)
Airport benefits
- Priority through the airport at check-in, security and boarding
- Checked bag fee waived for two (2) bags
- Priority baggage delivery
- Complimentary same-day standby
- Complimentary same-day flight change
- Discounted Admirals Club® membership
Upgrade benefits (on AA)
- Flights 500 miles or less: Unlimited, auto-requested complimentary upgrades*
- Flights over 500 miles: Complimentary "domestic" (North & Central America, Caribbean) upgrades
- Upgrade one companion traveling with you on the same flight with 500-mile upgrades*
- Upgrades confirmed before departure (as early as) 72 hours
- *Upgrades are valid on American marketed and operated flights, within and between the U.S. (including Hawaii) and between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Bermuda and Central America (based on availability). Upgrades are valid from the Main Cabin to the next class of service.
- Platinum Pro members will not earn four 500-mile upgrades as you get unlimited domestic upgrades (UDU).
Other benefits
- "Exclusive service desk" (actual prioritized number to Reservations lines)
- Complimentary preferred seats (extends to up to 8 traveling companions)
- Complimentary Main Cabin Extra seats (extends to up to 8 traveling companions)
- Exclusive partner offers
Award benefits
- Award processing charge waived (awards within 21 days of travel)
- Special discounts on hotel and car awards
- N.B. Extended award availability is only an Executive Platinum benefit
oneworld benefits*
- oneworld priority check-in and standby
- oneworld priority boarding
- oneworld partner lounge access** Business Class and frequent flyer lounges
*oneworld benefits are available only to passengers on scheduled flights that are both marketed and operated by a oneworld member airline (marketed means that there must be a oneworld member airline flight number on your ticket).
**Access to Qantas Domestic Business Lounges excluded. AAdvantage member access to American Airlines lounges excluded (regardless of status or class of service) if traveling within North America or between the U.S., Canada, Mexico (except Mexico City), the Bahamas, Bermuda and the Caribbean.
Alaska Airlines Benefits ended 1/1/2018
Can only earn EQ on AA codeshares and AS International flights
Link to aa.com guide to AAdvantage Elite benefits (all levels)
Updated 16 Jan 2018 - JDiver
What are AA Platinum Pro Benefits? Are they worth it? (master thread)
Jan 16, 2018, 12:46 am
#196
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: LA
Programs: AA Plat Pro, SPG/Marriott Titanium, Hilton Gold
Posts: 4,192
I wish i flew enough yearly to hit plat pro simply for the SDFC. I’ve hit around 60k EQMs each year since I started earning status so it’s not even worth mileage running.
Jan 16, 2018, 10:23 am
#197
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Chicago O'Hare
Programs: AA EXP, LT PLT 2.6MM, HHonors Lifetime Diamond, Hertz Presidents Circle
Posts: 678
With the now free confirmed SDFC, it is definitely worth it. Never know if I'll have enough to hit EP again this year, but I'm going to make sure I hit PRO.
Jan 19, 2018, 3:35 am
#198
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: SNA
Programs: AA EXP, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, IHG Plat, Marriott Gold, National EE
Posts: 1,204
Jan 19, 2018, 7:24 am
#199
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: PBI/MIA
Programs: AAdvantage Gold, HHonors Diamond, Marriott Gold, Skymiles, Mileage Plus
Posts: 397
Jan 26, 2018, 12:13 am
#200
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 64
I was one of those lucky enough to get a free PP trial. Wondering if it makes any sense to fly AA over United (auto. EP seats) or Southwest (companion pass)? It sounds like upgrades are a hit or miss. Does anyone know if there is a way to figure out which flights traditionally have unsold First or Business class inventory? Knowing that info. would make all the difference in the world in figuring out which airline to fly. For example, I read the LAX to Boston route is nearly impossible now to upgrade. So that helps knowing.
Jan 30, 2018, 7:00 pm
#202
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Chicago O'Hare
Programs: AA EXP, LT PLT 2.6MM, HHonors Lifetime Diamond, Hertz Presidents Circle
Posts: 678
Considering that most upgrades on popular mainline routes won't clear, they had to do something to differentiate it from Platinum.
Mar 28, 2018, 10:41 pm
#203
Join Date: May 2008
Location: PHL (kinda, no airport is really close)
Programs: AA Exp, but not sure for how long. Enterprise Platinum woo-hoo!
Posts: 4,550
Value of Platinum Pro
I will make platinum easily this year, Platinum Pro would be in sight.
How worthwhile is it?
I'm retired, so my time is flexible, and at least half my travel is PHL-LAS. Many of the LAS returns are red-eyes. For the moment I'm mostly flying westbound on the A332 PHL-LAX, then catching a flight back to Vegas, although I don't know how long that flight will last.
There appear to be two benefits. One is free same-day change. This would be helpful. I'm usually buying the cheapest flight of the day, which is often late in the day, but I'd rather leave earlier.
The other of course is free upgrades. I feel like PHL-LAS, and especially the red-eye return, are low-elite routes. Lots of leisure travelers, not many business flyers. I think that won't be the case on the A330's, but I can at least book MCE which is actually PE, which obviously isn't bad.
Does anyone have a guess on what my upgrade success rate might be as a plat pro? I anticipate my EQD's to be comfortably over $9,000. I'll be getting $6,000 from the Barclay's credit card, and a lot of my EQM's will come from paid F, which tends to have a higher cost per EQM than economy.
How worthwhile is it?
I'm retired, so my time is flexible, and at least half my travel is PHL-LAS. Many of the LAS returns are red-eyes. For the moment I'm mostly flying westbound on the A332 PHL-LAX, then catching a flight back to Vegas, although I don't know how long that flight will last.
There appear to be two benefits. One is free same-day change. This would be helpful. I'm usually buying the cheapest flight of the day, which is often late in the day, but I'd rather leave earlier.
The other of course is free upgrades. I feel like PHL-LAS, and especially the red-eye return, are low-elite routes. Lots of leisure travelers, not many business flyers. I think that won't be the case on the A330's, but I can at least book MCE which is actually PE, which obviously isn't bad.
Does anyone have a guess on what my upgrade success rate might be as a plat pro? I anticipate my EQD's to be comfortably over $9,000. I'll be getting $6,000 from the Barclay's credit card, and a lot of my EQM's will come from paid F, which tends to have a higher cost per EQM than economy.
Mar 28, 2018, 10:44 pm
#204
Join Date: Oct 2008
Programs: AA Plat, National EE, Marriott Plat, HH Gold, SPG Plat
Posts: 401
the few times I have flown the A330 domestically, it was always elite heavy. I am platinum with around 9k EQD and landed around number 18-22 on the upgrade list at the gate with 0 open. PHL and CLT.
Mar 29, 2018, 2:31 am
#205
Join Date: May 2005
Location: SJC
Programs: UA MM, AA EXP, VS (silver-for-life revoked), DL, WN, AS, Hilton diamond, Marriott gold
Posts: 388
I don't know about that route, but SFO-PHL on the A332 I cleared on a Sunday and wasn't anywhere close on a Monday. My experience as PP is I get upgraded on all CR7/CR9/175 and all mainline through PHX but never mainline through CLT or ORD.
Last edited by 1111; Mar 30, 2018 at 1:26 am
Mar 29, 2018, 1:24 pm
#206
Join Date: May 2008
Location: PHL (kinda, no airport is really close)
Programs: AA Exp, but not sure for how long. Enterprise Platinum woo-hoo!
Posts: 4,550
I wouldn't expect to get upgraded on an A330. However, the PE seats that are sold as MCE (and therefore free to Plat and above) are fine, but I would get those at plat or plat pro. I'm mostly interested in the PHL-LAS route.
Mar 29, 2018, 6:39 pm
#207
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Tucson, AZ
Programs: UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist, National EE
Posts: 253
I've got no experience on the LAS route, so use these data as you wish. I've been upgraded as PP on every flight I've taken this year that has a premium cabin, and that DOESN't start or end in DFW. So upgrades out of PHL, PHX, CLT, LGA. A couple of the DFW flights have been upgraded, but mostly I'm around #10-15 on the list there.
Mar 30, 2018, 2:58 pm
#208
Join Date: May 2008
Location: PHL (kinda, no airport is really close)
Programs: AA Exp, but not sure for how long. Enterprise Platinum woo-hoo!
Posts: 4,550
Plat Pro Strategy
So I've decided to go for PP. I will get there with about 8 cross-country trips, many of them in paid F westbound. (Why westbound only? Because it's more worthwhile to pay for F on a flight that's an hour longer, because many of my eastbound trips are red-eyes where F isn't as worthwhile, and because westbound I can take an A330 out of PHL.) I will also max out my Silver Aviator card which will get me 5K EQM's at each of $20 and $40K spend, and 3K EQD's at each of $25 and $50K.
I'm gold now, so there is some value in making Plat earlier rather than later, although the only significant benefit is free MCE. Many of my trips are on LUS321's, where I try to book 23A or 23F, and these have just been changed from MCE to Premium, meaning free if I get it before anyone else does. So it's not really a big deal.
I estimate that overall I'm paying about 8 cents EQD per EQM. I've spent $25K on my credit card already, and can easily control when I spend the rest.
So there's my strategy, and I'm interested in thoughts if this is optimal. If I aim to get my credit card spending to $40K by the time I've got 40K EQM's, at that point I'll have paid a bit over $3K and I'll have 3K EQD's and 10K EQM's, which will put me over the 50K/6K thresholds. Then I want to delay the rest of my credit card spending. The main benefit of PP are the upgrades, and priority is based on rolling EQD's. So I'd like the 3K bump from my credit card to last as far into 2019 as possible. What I want to avoid is getting the credit card bump before I get to 65K flown EQM's, because at that point it won't do me much good.
Make sense?
I'm gold now, so there is some value in making Plat earlier rather than later, although the only significant benefit is free MCE. Many of my trips are on LUS321's, where I try to book 23A or 23F, and these have just been changed from MCE to Premium, meaning free if I get it before anyone else does. So it's not really a big deal.
I estimate that overall I'm paying about 8 cents EQD per EQM. I've spent $25K on my credit card already, and can easily control when I spend the rest.
So there's my strategy, and I'm interested in thoughts if this is optimal. If I aim to get my credit card spending to $40K by the time I've got 40K EQM's, at that point I'll have paid a bit over $3K and I'll have 3K EQD's and 10K EQM's, which will put me over the 50K/6K thresholds. Then I want to delay the rest of my credit card spending. The main benefit of PP are the upgrades, and priority is based on rolling EQD's. So I'd like the 3K bump from my credit card to last as far into 2019 as possible. What I want to avoid is getting the credit card bump before I get to 65K flown EQM's, because at that point it won't do me much good.
Make sense?
Mar 31, 2018, 3:08 pm
#209
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: DCA
Programs: UA LT 1K, AA EXP, Bonvoy LT Titan, Avis PC, Hilton Gold
Posts: 9,658
So I've decided to go for PP. I will get there with about 8 cross-country trips, many of them in paid F westbound. (Why westbound only? Because it's more worthwhile to pay for F on a flight that's an hour longer, because many of my eastbound trips are red-eyes where F isn't as worthwhile, and because westbound I can take an A330 out of PHL.) I will also max out my Silver Aviator card which will get me 5K EQM's at each of $20 and $40K spend, and 3K EQD's at each of $25 and $50K.
I'm gold now, so there is some value in making Plat earlier rather than later, although the only significant benefit is free MCE. Many of my trips are on LUS321's, where I try to book 23A or 23F, and these have just been changed from MCE to Premium, meaning free if I get it before anyone else does. So it's not really a big deal.
I estimate that overall I'm paying about 8 cents EQD per EQM. I've spent $25K on my credit card already, and can easily control when I spend the rest.
So there's my strategy, and I'm interested in thoughts if this is optimal. If I aim to get my credit card spending to $40K by the time I've got 40K EQM's, at that point I'll have paid a bit over $3K and I'll have 3K EQD's and 10K EQM's, which will put me over the 50K/6K thresholds. Then I want to delay the rest of my credit card spending. The main benefit of PP are the upgrades, and priority is based on rolling EQD's. So I'd like the 3K bump from my credit card to last as far into 2019 as possible. What I want to avoid is getting the credit card bump before I get to 65K flown EQM's, because at that point it won't do me much good.
Make sense?
I'm gold now, so there is some value in making Plat earlier rather than later, although the only significant benefit is free MCE. Many of my trips are on LUS321's, where I try to book 23A or 23F, and these have just been changed from MCE to Premium, meaning free if I get it before anyone else does. So it's not really a big deal.
I estimate that overall I'm paying about 8 cents EQD per EQM. I've spent $25K on my credit card already, and can easily control when I spend the rest.
So there's my strategy, and I'm interested in thoughts if this is optimal. If I aim to get my credit card spending to $40K by the time I've got 40K EQM's, at that point I'll have paid a bit over $3K and I'll have 3K EQD's and 10K EQM's, which will put me over the 50K/6K thresholds. Then I want to delay the rest of my credit card spending. The main benefit of PP are the upgrades, and priority is based on rolling EQD's. So I'd like the 3K bump from my credit card to last as far into 2019 as possible. What I want to avoid is getting the credit card bump before I get to 65K flown EQM's, because at that point it won't do me much good.
Make sense?
Apr 1, 2018, 12:36 pm
#210
Join Date: May 2008
Location: PHL (kinda, no airport is really close)
Programs: AA Exp, but not sure for how long. Enterprise Platinum woo-hoo!
Posts: 4,550
As I noted earlier, most of my travel is to/from Las Vegas, and a lot of my eastbound trips are red-eyes. It's possible I'll be changing my primary destination to Portland. I'll see how things are going later in the year to see if a last push is worth it.
At the moment though, I'm planning on booking F anyway for most of my westbound flights. For example, going to PDX is about $183 in coach and $565 in F, and F means the sleeper seats on the westbound A330 PHL-LAX. So between that and the extra EQM's I'll book it. I don't know how long the domestic A330's will last, but I'd assume it's very unlikely to get a free upgrade on that route, since a lot of flyers like me will be buying F, and that flight will probably be elite-heavy. But that's a consideration for next year, not this year.
At the moment though, I'm planning on booking F anyway for most of my westbound flights. For example, going to PDX is about $183 in coach and $565 in F, and F means the sleeper seats on the westbound A330 PHL-LAX. So between that and the extra EQM's I'll book it. I don't know how long the domestic A330's will last, but I'd assume it's very unlikely to get a free upgrade on that route, since a lot of flyers like me will be buying F, and that flight will probably be elite-heavy. But that's a consideration for next year, not this year.