Dec 17, 2021, 11:25 am
Last edit by: jbeckett
American Airlines announced that starting in 2022, the way to earn Elite status has changed. No more Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM), Elite Qualifying Segments (EQS), or Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQD)!
Now, you can get AA Elite status by earning Loyalty Points (LPs): https://aadvantagestatus.com/?anchor...=newaadvantage
How many LPs do I need for elite status?
How do I earn LPs?
Flying
What you get for redeemable miles (RDM) is what you'll get for LPs.
AA and B6 flights:
No status: 5 LPs per $ spent in base fare plus fees (excludes taxes)
Gold: 7 LPs per $
Platinum: 8 LPs per $
Plat Pro: 9 LPs per $
EXP: 11 LPs per $
Partner flights (other than B6):
Distance flown x accrual rate* x (1 + cabin bonus + elite bonus**)
* Certain discount fares earn less than 100% of miles flown. In those cases, the discounted accrual rate (0% to 75% depending on the partner and the fare class) should be applied to the flown miles. Otherwise, the accrual rate is 100%. If there is a cabin bonus, it should not be added to the accrual rate; it is applied separately within the parentheses. The accrual rate can never be more than 100%.
** 40% for GLD, 60% for PLT, 80% for PRO, 120% for EXP.
So for example, an EXP on a 5000-mile flight on QR booked in J would earn 5000 x 100% x (1 + 25% + 120%) = 5000 x 1 x 2.45 = 12250 LPs.
A PLT on the same flight booked in P would earn 5000 x 75% x (1 + 0% + 60%) = 5000 x .75 x 1.6 = 6000 LPs.
Earning chart for QR
Here's a great online LP calculator:
https://lpcalculator.com/#/calculator/
AAdvantage non-flying partners:
Generally, 1 LP per base mile earned. But in many cases you can earn large bonuses that post as base miles; see link here: https://exploreamerican.com/newaadva...nloyaltypoints
There are differences among how these programs work, ranging from minor to significant, in terms of awarding LPs. You will need to skim through the thread as there are too many different promo offers to address here. But here are the popular ones:
BookAAHotels and RocketMiles: You can earn large mileage bonuses here, separated into "base" miles and "promo" miles by the portals. For now they are all posting as base miles on aa.com, but there is a suspicion that the "promo" miles may start posting as bonus miles (and so would not count as LP). You don't even have to actually check in or stay at the hotel as long as you pay for the stay.
SimplyMiles: You must link a MasterCard to the account. Then you can add their promos to your card by activating the offers. When you accept one of their offers and then pay for it using your linked card, you will get the associated miles which currently post as base miles on aa.com.
AAdvantage eShopping: Once you click through the AAdvantage eShopping portal to a vendor offer and make a purchase, you will eventually get the associated miles posted to your AAdvantage account as both redeemable miles and Loyalty Points. If the merchant advertises an increase in the miles per dollar spent, you'll earn the higher amount in both redeemable miles and an equal number of Loyalty Points. The same applies if a merchant advertises a higher fixed amount per purchase, rather than a per dollar amount. Examples of this would appear on the portal as, "Extra miles. Was 1 mile/$. Now earn 3 miles/$" or "Extra miles. Was up to 3700 miles. Now up to 6200 miles." However, if the website advertises a "Limited-time bonus offer" for "bonus miles" after meeting a spending threshold, that bonus will only post as redeemable miles and not Loyalty Points. If a bonus is offered for some site-wide activity such as 1000 miles for installing an extension, or 500 miles for enrolling in the portal, or 2000 miles for meeting a spending threshold across multiple merchants, the bonus will only post as redeemable miles and not Loyalty Points.
(If a vendor has offers with both SimplyMiles and eShopping, activate the offer on SimplyMiles first and then make the purchase through eShopping with the MasterCard linked to your SimplyMiles account. Apparently that you can get a double-dip. You can also get a double-dip by stacking the promos with discount offers from your credit card issuers, basically reducing the cost to you.
Booking directly with hotels, car rental companies, etc.: The picture here is a bit unclear but it appears that if you book with a hotel that offers 5x miles, only 1 mile will post as base and the rest as bonus.
Credit card spend:
1 LP per $ spent on an AA branded card (except for one card which earns 0.50 LP per $ and several non-US cards which earn 2 LP per $). See the list of cards, and a lot more small print here: https://creditcards.aa.com/aadvantag...hange_ExecCard
What about spending bonuses?
E.g., your card gives 2x miles for hotels, or 3x for AA purchases, etc etc. These do NOT count.
These bonuses count:
Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard (the $450 annual fee card that gives Admirals Club access): 10K LP bonus when hitting $40K spend for the year.
AAdvantage Aviator Silver Mastercard: 5K LP bonus when hitting $20K spend, another 5K LP bonus when hitting $40K spend, and another 5K LP bonus when hitting $50K spend for the year.
Do miles earned at Bask Bank count?
No.
Will Loyalty Points count toward Million Miler℠ status?
No, Million Miler℠ status will still be earned the same way as today, based on miles earned from flying with American and its partners.
Now, you can get AA Elite status by earning Loyalty Points (LPs): https://aadvantagestatus.com/?anchor...=newaadvantage
How many LPs do I need for elite status?
Code:
Gold: 40K Platinum: 75K Plat Pro: 125K EXP: 200K
Flying
What you get for redeemable miles (RDM) is what you'll get for LPs.
AA and B6 flights:
No status: 5 LPs per $ spent in base fare plus fees (excludes taxes)
Gold: 7 LPs per $
Platinum: 8 LPs per $
Plat Pro: 9 LPs per $
EXP: 11 LPs per $
Partner flights (other than B6):
Distance flown x accrual rate* x (1 + cabin bonus + elite bonus**)
* Certain discount fares earn less than 100% of miles flown. In those cases, the discounted accrual rate (0% to 75% depending on the partner and the fare class) should be applied to the flown miles. Otherwise, the accrual rate is 100%. If there is a cabin bonus, it should not be added to the accrual rate; it is applied separately within the parentheses. The accrual rate can never be more than 100%.
** 40% for GLD, 60% for PLT, 80% for PRO, 120% for EXP.
So for example, an EXP on a 5000-mile flight on QR booked in J would earn 5000 x 100% x (1 + 25% + 120%) = 5000 x 1 x 2.45 = 12250 LPs.
A PLT on the same flight booked in P would earn 5000 x 75% x (1 + 0% + 60%) = 5000 x .75 x 1.6 = 6000 LPs.
Earning chart for QR
Here's a great online LP calculator:
https://lpcalculator.com/#/calculator/
AAdvantage non-flying partners:
Generally, 1 LP per base mile earned. But in many cases you can earn large bonuses that post as base miles; see link here: https://exploreamerican.com/newaadva...nloyaltypoints
There are differences among how these programs work, ranging from minor to significant, in terms of awarding LPs. You will need to skim through the thread as there are too many different promo offers to address here. But here are the popular ones:
BookAAHotels and RocketMiles: You can earn large mileage bonuses here, separated into "base" miles and "promo" miles by the portals. For now they are all posting as base miles on aa.com, but there is a suspicion that the "promo" miles may start posting as bonus miles (and so would not count as LP). You don't even have to actually check in or stay at the hotel as long as you pay for the stay.
SimplyMiles: You must link a MasterCard to the account. Then you can add their promos to your card by activating the offers. When you accept one of their offers and then pay for it using your linked card, you will get the associated miles which currently post as base miles on aa.com.
AAdvantage eShopping: Once you click through the AAdvantage eShopping portal to a vendor offer and make a purchase, you will eventually get the associated miles posted to your AAdvantage account as both redeemable miles and Loyalty Points. If the merchant advertises an increase in the miles per dollar spent, you'll earn the higher amount in both redeemable miles and an equal number of Loyalty Points. The same applies if a merchant advertises a higher fixed amount per purchase, rather than a per dollar amount. Examples of this would appear on the portal as, "Extra miles. Was 1 mile/$. Now earn 3 miles/$" or "Extra miles. Was up to 3700 miles. Now up to 6200 miles." However, if the website advertises a "Limited-time bonus offer" for "bonus miles" after meeting a spending threshold, that bonus will only post as redeemable miles and not Loyalty Points. If a bonus is offered for some site-wide activity such as 1000 miles for installing an extension, or 500 miles for enrolling in the portal, or 2000 miles for meeting a spending threshold across multiple merchants, the bonus will only post as redeemable miles and not Loyalty Points.
- A separate thread exists to discuss the AAdvantage eShopping portal
- Another thread exists to discuss using the portal for a particular merchant, giftcards.com
- For additional questions about buying and using gift cards, refer to the separate Manufactured Spending forum.
(If a vendor has offers with both SimplyMiles and eShopping, activate the offer on SimplyMiles first and then make the purchase through eShopping with the MasterCard linked to your SimplyMiles account. Apparently that you can get a double-dip. You can also get a double-dip by stacking the promos with discount offers from your credit card issuers, basically reducing the cost to you.
Booking directly with hotels, car rental companies, etc.: The picture here is a bit unclear but it appears that if you book with a hotel that offers 5x miles, only 1 mile will post as base and the rest as bonus.
Credit card spend:
1 LP per $ spent on an AA branded card (except for one card which earns 0.50 LP per $ and several non-US cards which earn 2 LP per $). See the list of cards, and a lot more small print here: https://creditcards.aa.com/aadvantag...hange_ExecCard
What about spending bonuses?
E.g., your card gives 2x miles for hotels, or 3x for AA purchases, etc etc. These do NOT count.
These bonuses count:
Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard (the $450 annual fee card that gives Admirals Club access): 10K LP bonus when hitting $40K spend for the year.
AAdvantage Aviator Silver Mastercard: 5K LP bonus when hitting $20K spend, another 5K LP bonus when hitting $40K spend, and another 5K LP bonus when hitting $50K spend for the year.
Do miles earned at Bask Bank count?
No.
Will Loyalty Points count toward Million Miler℠ status?
No, Million Miler℠ status will still be earned the same way as today, based on miles earned from flying with American and its partners.
Loyalty Points discussion/questions - From 2022 now used for determining elite status
Feb 9, 2022, 12:00 pm
#2086
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 624
Feb 9, 2022, 1:54 pm
#2087
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: SFO
Programs: BART Platinum, AA Plat Pro
Posts: 1,158
I know that 1/1/22-2/28/22 is a "double dip" period for LPs (i.e. they count both towards 2022 status and 2023 status). But does anyone know whether segments flown before Mar 1 count towards the "30-segments in a year" (to get choice rewards) requirement for the 2023 status year? The AA page is a bit vague on this.
Feb 9, 2022, 2:06 pm
#2088
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
i gotta believe they’re gonna close this loophole - otherwise they’re just giving away status. Or maybe that’s the idea - to make status meaningless?. All that’s important is the money generated by CC sales and other associated partnerships as a way to protect the airline against future travel disruptions caused by pandemics?
But how many people do you think are actually doing this? FT is a tiny minority of people who fly, and even among the people here, most won't bother.
Most people on a plane have absolutely no idea how any of this works, and many people who do aren't willing to spend even a little bit extra to get status.
One year, at the end of the year, I was a few hundred miles short of AS 75k status and 1 night short of Hyatt Globalist (both the top non-invitational statuses at the time) So I was planning a quick one night SFO-LAX round trip to get both. A friend and co-worker was just a little short of AA Plat. I found him a round trip for under $100 that he could have taken at about the same time as my flights -- it would have gotten him to Plat. The plan was just to meet up with some co-workers who lived in LA for dinner, and head back the next day. He decided not to do it because he didn't want to pay for status.
This kind of thinking is not unusual. If you think that tens of thousands of people are going to be flocking to the shipping portal to pay a few thousand dollars for EXP you are way overestimating things. The number of people who will do this is probably in the low hundreds.
Feb 9, 2022, 2:43 pm
#2089
Join Date: Jan 2022
Location: CMI
Programs: AAdvantage Platinum
Posts: 106
How many people in this thread who think they have bonus LPs coming will actually get them?
Nobody in this thread has any idea how this actually works.
This groupthink is strange and amusing. I think it's likely there's going to be some disappointment on 3/1.
This groupthink is strange and amusing. I think it's likely there's going to be some disappointment on 3/1.
Feb 9, 2022, 3:16 pm
#2090
Original Member and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Kansas City, MO, USA
Programs: DL PM/MM, AA ExPlat, Hyatt Glob, HH Dia, National ECE, Hertz PC
Posts: 16,579
So we should assume the written information published by AA have nothing to do with how the program will 'actually work'?
I've been saying since the start no one knows anything for sure until at least March 1 when AA will actually tell us how many LP we've earned since January 1, but it's not unreasonable to expect that AA's written information is accurate.
Feb 9, 2022, 3:27 pm
#2091
Join Date: May 2008
Programs: Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, AA Plat, UA Silver, Delta Silver
Posts: 453
I’m getting the sense that some on here are a bit annoyed at the new reality of what AA has changed this program into and in a way hoping that others don’t get the LPs discussed either out of jealousy or resentment.
However, I do expect every mile from eshopping and rocket miles to post as LPs for everyone.
We’ll all find out in a few weeks anyway and this will be a moot discussion.
However, I do expect every mile from eshopping and rocket miles to post as LPs for everyone.
We’ll all find out in a few weeks anyway and this will be a moot discussion.
Feb 9, 2022, 3:29 pm
#2092
Join Date: Aug 2021
Location: USA
Programs: American Airlines (Executive Platinum), Hyatt (Globalist), Hilton (Diamond), IHG (Diamond)
Posts: 2,917
Why wouldn't they want to "give away status" to people that don't fly and use the status benefits often? This helps their AAdvantage membership numbers, helps their "look how many elites we have" numbers, etc.? It's great for underlying basis reporting for the program, has an incredibly low cost to provide any benefits, and has a negligible impact on those that are flying.
Feb 9, 2022, 3:31 pm
#2093
Original Member and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Kansas City, MO, USA
Programs: DL PM/MM, AA ExPlat, Hyatt Glob, HH Dia, National ECE, Hertz PC
Posts: 16,579
I don't expect this, eshopping regularly posts certain miles as Bonus miles, and those will not count as LP. I expect that Base miles posted from Rocketmiles will count as LP, but if and when they start posting some miles as Bonus miles, those would not count as LP.
Feb 9, 2022, 3:32 pm
#2094
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
I’m getting the sense that some on here are a bit annoyed at the new reality of what AA has changed this program into and in a way hoping that others don’t get the LPs discussed either out of jealousy or resentment.
However, I do expect every mile from eshopping and rocket miles to post as LPs for everyone.
We’ll all find out in a few weeks anyway and this will be a moot discussion.
However, I do expect every mile from eshopping and rocket miles to post as LPs for everyone.
We’ll all find out in a few weeks anyway and this will be a moot discussion.
Assuming that the change happens, whether that change will be retroactive is a different question. I have no guess as to the answer to that.
Feb 9, 2022, 4:18 pm
#2095
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SJC
Programs: AA EXP, BA Silver, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton diamond, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 33,535
Cheers.
Feb 9, 2022, 4:29 pm
#2096
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: PHX
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 1,377
Feb 9, 2022, 4:51 pm
#2098
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: NYC
Programs: AA EXP / LT PLT / 3MM, Marriott LT Gold
Posts: 35,399
You can do the same thing with Sunbasket, as I did. Actually, I found the meals to be reasonably good and reordered for another week at the regular price.
Feb 9, 2022, 5:18 pm
#2099
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 10,904
And that's why they can afford to give away 2000 miles for trying them. It seems like a steal to you but actually it's just relatively cheap advertising. Customer acquisition is not cheap.
Feb 9, 2022, 8:13 pm
#2100
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: LAX
Programs: AA EP, MUCCI, Proudly BA Blue,.
Posts: 888
If too many people end up with high enough status they will change things.
But how many people do you think are actually doing this? FT is a tiny minority of people who fly, and even among the people here, most won't bother.
Most people on a plane have absolutely no idea how any of this works, and many people who do aren't willing to spend even a little bit extra to get status.
One year, at the end of the year, I was a few hundred miles short of AS 75k status and 1 night short of Hyatt Globalist (both the top non-invitational statuses at the time) So I was planning a quick one night SFO-LAX round trip to get both. A friend and co-worker was just a little short of AA Plat. I found him a round trip for under $100 that he could have taken at about the same time as my flights -- it would have gotten him to Plat. The plan was just to meet up with some co-workers who lived in LA for dinner, and head back the next day. He decided not to do it because he didn't want to pay for status.
This kind of thinking is not unusual. If you think that tens of thousands of people are going to be flocking to the shipping portal to pay a few thousand dollars for EXP you are way overestimating things. The number of people who will do this is probably in the low hundreds.
But how many people do you think are actually doing this? FT is a tiny minority of people who fly, and even among the people here, most won't bother.
Most people on a plane have absolutely no idea how any of this works, and many people who do aren't willing to spend even a little bit extra to get status.
One year, at the end of the year, I was a few hundred miles short of AS 75k status and 1 night short of Hyatt Globalist (both the top non-invitational statuses at the time) So I was planning a quick one night SFO-LAX round trip to get both. A friend and co-worker was just a little short of AA Plat. I found him a round trip for under $100 that he could have taken at about the same time as my flights -- it would have gotten him to Plat. The plan was just to meet up with some co-workers who lived in LA for dinner, and head back the next day. He decided not to do it because he didn't want to pay for status.
This kind of thinking is not unusual. If you think that tens of thousands of people are going to be flocking to the shipping portal to pay a few thousand dollars for EXP you are way overestimating things. The number of people who will do this is probably in the low hundreds.