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
Oct 25, 2022, 12:26 pm
#3736
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Boston MA
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 24
I fall into the high spend/low fly category. I spend well over $1m a year on various cards, principally UA up to now. Though I have had a personal card for decades, I've just moved a decent portion of my corporate spend to AA, and have gone up one status level every month in the last 2- will get to EP in November. The nature of my business means that cards are the preferred way of paying for most business expenses. It's been pointed out that the $1 pm equation is relatively poor, but I have this aversion to spending real money on premium flights; miles seem to be so much easier to spend than $. I fly one or maybe 2 long haul premium trips a year, and maybe one or 2 inter-us flights, so the status costs AA very little. The catch is that AA needs to make sure that availability matches the demand- if I earn 1000's of miles and can't spend them, I will move to one of the transfer cards- eg Amex, where I can transfer miles to an airline that has availability.
Oct 25, 2022, 1:40 pm
#3737
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Chicago
Programs: AAdvantage EXP | United Silver | HH Diamond | Bonvoy Platinum | Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 718
I think it's a matter of (presumed) lower cost to AA. People who are becoming elites primarily through CC purchases and such and not by flying are not costing the airline much in terms of operating costs. They are not making all that many reservations. They are not going to the AC and asking the AAngels to make changes to their itineraries when there are inevitable IRROPS. They are not seeking regular upgrades. This puts less pressure on AA's operations.
We are talking about people who fly a comparatively few times a year, usually paying for desired class of service on their own dime. AA has determined it is less expensive to cater to this group.
We are talking about people who fly a comparatively few times a year, usually paying for desired class of service on their own dime. AA has determined it is less expensive to cater to this group.
Oct 25, 2022, 1:54 pm
#3739
Join Date: Oct 2021
Location: TX
Programs: Alaska, AA, Marriott
Posts: 943
The LP-only EXP's also don't get any of the Loyalty Choice awards.
Oct 25, 2022, 1:54 pm
#3740
formerly DreAAmliner
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: DFW
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 419
At risk of opening the "whole other debate" I was trying to avoid, most people would be much better off just getting a cashback credit card and use the cash back on buying airfare. Spending to earn rewards at a not-very-good-rate in a rapidly-devaluing currency that locks in which airline you can fly not knowing whether it will be a good deal is.... questionable, at least in my view.
Plus, the value proposition for those miles, in my opinion, changes due to the upgrade possibilities on domestic awards. (Notwithstanding partner awards, which are likely a very small part of AA mile redemptions)
AA is certainly going to prey on inefficient redemptions from "Most People".
Oct 25, 2022, 1:57 pm
#3741
Join Date: Oct 2021
Location: TX
Programs: Alaska, AA, Marriott
Posts: 943
No way. That "race to the top" is one of the driving factors at the top end of LP earners. Besides, there's EXP (with 30 segments) and EXP-lite (without 30 segments), so if anything the segment count just goes up.
Oct 26, 2022, 5:47 am
#3742
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 126
At the risk of being told by others that I made the wrong decisions, I actually like the current situation. I fit the model of an occasional flyer that likes the free checked bag and slightly earlier boarding the card gets me. There is a shuttle flight out of CLT that I often have to take with limited notice, and I can usually find an award around 2.7 cents per mile. Redeeming awards is an easy system to use. I can change the return if need be with no issues. It fits my needs perfectly.
I'll make gold this year, which is a fluke that won't be repeated, and I really doubt I'll enjoy any of the benefits enough to make that a goal next year, but who knows.
At my age and stage, I place high value on the hassle factor, sometimes even higher than monetary concerns. I feel this program helps with that with no effort on my part.
I'll make gold this year, which is a fluke that won't be repeated, and I really doubt I'll enjoy any of the benefits enough to make that a goal next year, but who knows.
At my age and stage, I place high value on the hassle factor, sometimes even higher than monetary concerns. I feel this program helps with that with no effort on my part.
Oct 26, 2022, 9:09 am
#3743
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Chicago
Programs: AAdvantage EXP | United Silver | HH Diamond | Bonvoy Platinum | Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 718
Correct. My mom didn't want to bother me, and booked a HORRIBLE redemption to fort meyers with the help of an AAgent over the phone that was so nice and helped her buy 5k miles to complete the booking. I literally died. We were able to cancel and rebook by one day for HALF of the miles, but the damage was done with the miles for purchase. So yes, AA is banking on the average person not understanding the program and just doing whatever to use their miles and buy some more.
Oct 26, 2022, 9:51 am
#3744
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Wesley Chapel, FL
Programs: American Airlines
Posts: 29,959
I don't see any incentive to fly AA after reaching 200K LP's.
Oct 26, 2022, 11:29 am
#3747
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Wesley Chapel, FL
Programs: American Airlines
Posts: 29,959
Oct 26, 2022, 11:41 am
#3748
Join Date: Aug 2022
Programs: AA Executive Platinum (Oneworld Emerald)
Posts: 135
Are the benefits you see value in the Loyalty Choice Rewards? Because other than those, the benefits of EXPlat (Priority boarding, domestic upgrades maybe, checked beggage, etc) are only available if you continue to fly AA, which would thus be the incentive to fly them.
Oct 26, 2022, 11:46 am
#3749
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Wesley Chapel, FL
Programs: American Airlines
Posts: 29,959
No you misread my post. I meant there is no benefit from earning more than 200 LP's (other than perhaps a few more SWU's). Of course I'm still flying and at 250K LP's but it really doesn't mean anything 250K LP or 200K LP.
Oct 26, 2022, 11:54 am
#3750
Join Date: Aug 2022
Programs: AA Executive Platinum (Oneworld Emerald)
Posts: 135
Since you get 2 choices each at the tiers above 200K LP anyways, maybe AA should split them into more tiers with 1 choice each, so it's more gradual (e.g. 2 at 200K, 1 at 275K, 1 at 350K instead of 2 at 200K and 2 at 350K). I realize that's slightly more generous of course, but it also provides a stronger incentive as well. Alternatively, they could explore LP rollover (Delta rolls over MQM), but I'm not sure that's something they really want to do. AA also needs to revamp its lifetime offering (it's awful and completely noncompetitive), and that could help here - I know that many people who fly BA continue to credit there above the limit for Gold (OWE) just because it helps their lifetime stats, even though it doesn't help them for this particular year.
Last edited by Acidity; Oct 26, 2022 at 12:26 pm Reason: Clarify that BA Gold = OWE
