2022 AAdvantage Requirements
 

I have just completed booking the rest of my flights for 2021, and have started roughly planning my travel for 2022. Just wondering if AA has released its EQS/EQD/EDM requirements yet for status next year (2022) as I am currently under the impression the requirements for 2021 where just temporary and AA could potentially return to its pre-covid numbers, but seen some signs the current numbers are gonna the norm for a while.

No, we're not even half way through 2021 yet, no one knows what the 2022 qualifying landscape might look like. Anything out there is just pure guesswork. Lots of discussion and speculation on all things status-qualifying in the existing threads...

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amer...l#post33329889

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amer...l#post33314561

Speculation at best. AA has been IMHO very generous this year. I suspect that if business travel takes off like a gazelle in Q3 and Q4 AA will either restore the 2019 earnings thresholds or not be as generous-for example the $3EQDs kick to EXPs. But only time will tell.

Domestic, maybe, but I doubt international travel gets back to 2019 levels in Q3/Q4. Q3 starts two weeks from now and it still isn't really clear when it will be easy to travel to most of the EU/UK, much less Asia.

Welcome to Flyertalk, GreatPlainsFlyer.

Way too early to allow the "moving target" of EQM/EQD/EQS for 2022 to significantly influence your travel plans. Let the destination inspire your flying instead of the "rewards (incentives)" provided by the AAdvantage Program. :cool:

I suspect that they will incrementally increase the EQS/EQD/EDM requirements for 2022 (like they did for 2021) and then probably restore them to the pre-COVID requirements in 2023. Business travel is still down significantly, especially international.

I could see them pushing the targets back to 2019 levels for 2022, but perhaps including 4Q21 as part of the qualification period like they did for 2021 with 4Q2020. Highly dependent on what AA sees in their booked travel for 3Q21 and 4Q21 and beyond. I would think 3Q21 does not have business travel kicking into high gear yet and that will be fresh in AA's minds as they develop plans in 3Q21 to announce 4Q21 for 2022. I suspect a lot of companies' business travel may be tied to their 2022 Budgets and will accelerate when the calendar flips.

OP: check back later this year. Too early, they are in the middle of a promotion to help get people renewed via bonus EQMs and EQDs based on current elite levels

where's the predictable post from the user banned from AAdvantage to come huff and puff about status is for chumps?

AA has been super generous for 2021 and I personally think 2022 will not be as generous, but also not revert to pre-covid levels, but will be something like reduced EQM and EQD by 25% or so...just a guess

All thank you for your replies. Time will tell where we go from here.

My only dilemma right now is I have a trip planned for next March to LHR and CDG and I’m trying to decide if I want to cash out my points for an award ticket or pay by cash for the EQDs.

Isn't the main consideration how much value you get for the redemption (cpm)? If you'll have some trips where the choice comes down to 0.5 cpm and some where it's 3 cpm, I hope you'll do cash for the first kind and awards for the second kind.