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Loyalty Points discussion/questions - From 2022 now used for determining elite status

Old Dec 17, 2021, 11:25 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
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?


Code:
Gold:       40K
Platinum:   75K
Plat Pro:  125K
EXP:       200K
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.











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Loyalty Points discussion/questions - From 2022 now used for determining elite status

Old Jan 24, 2023, 7:16 pm
  #3931  
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Originally Posted by JetAway
Since we don't know how the prepaid amounts are split among the various parties nor do we know the various commissions paid, it's hard to project how things will play out.
Well, if I book a one night stay in Vegas at the Strat for $32.56 tonight, once the money is split between The Strat, Rocketmiles, American Airlines, credit card processor, and taxes, I think The Strat is really counting on at least getting the $40 resort fee for it to make sense for them to even block out a room. In small quantities they may not care much, but I could see this getting out of hand, and Rocketmiles' own rules give them recourse if and when it comes to that in that they state you have to complete the stay. Fortunately, they have been posting miles pretty quickly so one should be able to avoid getting in a hole if they actually ever enforce their stated rule they wait for the stay to be confirmed. The reality is these types of loopholes at some point tend to get hammered to the point someone feels they have to close it, Flyertalk is filled with such cautionary tales.
Originally Posted by JetAway
very few people will pay for a room they don't intend to use.
And no one would by pallets of pudding they're not going to eat or buy Bonzai trees they don't want and it's not like there's already a common term for making hotel stays one doesn't really need, but I suppose we could make one up ... a bed jog ... headboard dash ... mattress run ... something like that.
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Old Jan 24, 2023, 7:45 pm
  #3932  
 
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Originally Posted by JetAway
As long as you make a nonrefundable, prepayment for the stay(s). At that point no one cares whether you stay in "your" room.
The housekeeping servicer who doesn't get his/her $5 tip on the bed might care.
apeortdz is online now  
Old Jan 24, 2023, 7:49 pm
  #3933  
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 2,301
Originally Posted by apeortdz
The housekeeping servicer who doesn't get his/her $5 tip on the bed might care.
the same one that didn't have to do ANY housekeeping for a room that didn't even get used?
🤣
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Old Jan 24, 2023, 8:00 pm
  #3934  
 
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Originally Posted by apeortdz
The housekeeping servicer who doesn't get his/her $5 tip on the bed might care.
Even more reason to book "ghost stays" at independently owned international properties where 1) you won't be donating money to large corporations and 2) you won't have to deal with the pitfalls of a ridiculous tipping culture.
coleslaw is offline  
Old Jan 24, 2023, 8:12 pm
  #3935  
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
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Originally Posted by coleslaw
Even more reason to book "ghost stays" at independently owned international properties where 1) you won't be donating money to large corporations and 2) you won't have to deal with the pitfalls of a ridiculous tipping culture.
off topic, but who the hell tips corporate marriott/hilton/hyatt housekeepers here in the US? i sure don't
flame away, but i just do not.
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LovePrunes is offline  
Old Jan 25, 2023, 4:13 am
  #3936  
 
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How does one ACTUALLY know what counts as a Loyalty Point? Phrasing bonus vs base?

Is there "official" phrasing regarding what AA miles earn loyalty points? Their premise was that most miles = LPs. Technically all of them except for credit card signup bonuses at least was my expectation, with probably a few other caveats. I participated in the Aadvantage early Holiday shopping bonus (earn between 500-4000 bonus miles by spending between $200 and $1500 before November 18th, '22) and my bonus miles did NOT earn loyalty points. I don't recall the website or my marketing emails saying they WOULD earn LPs but also it didn't mention that they WOULDN'T... is there phrasing one should keep an eye out for? Is the idea "Base mile" versus "bonus" mile? They call the Exec Platinum elite level benefits "120% status mileage bonus" which debunks my idea of bonus versus base... Doesn't this kindof defeat the purpose of supposedly making things clearer and easier?
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Old Jan 25, 2023, 4:47 am
  #3937  
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Base mile vs. Bonus mile is generally the distinction but there are some nuances with each earning method.

As a general rule any kind of promo where you have to spend X to earn Y bonus miles, the bonus miles will NOT count as LP's. This is especially true for the eShopping bonus promos and credit card sign up bonuses.

Now there have been some credit card bonuses that do count as LP's, I was targetted for a Citi one recently, but these are very clear that the bonus counts as LP's.

Similarly, Rocketmiles will run promos like "Book any 2 night stay receive 4k bonus miles". These bonus miles do not count as LP's, but any extra miles you select during the booking path at RM or BAAH do earn LP's (boost your miles, earn even more miles).

And miles earned from flying are easy, pretty much all miles earned count as LP's. Doesn't matter whether it's an AA flight earning 11 LP per $, or a partner flight earning base miles plus class of service bonus plus status multiplier, these all count as LP's.
Carolina2Cali likes this.
JJeffrey is online now  
Old Jan 25, 2023, 4:52 am
  #3938  
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Programs: AA EXP and Marriott Titanium
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Yes, you're onto it. This applies to things outside fares and status bonuses. Most everything directly related to AA counts as LPs aside from in-app upgrade offers/seat fees and purchasing miles.

Bonus miles = no LPs
Base miles = LPs

Sometimes it doesn't indicate which you'll get so I just assume they are bonus and if not, good surprise.
Carolina2Cali likes this.
Drwaz99 is offline  
Old Jan 25, 2023, 6:20 am
  #3939  
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Originally Posted by Carolina2Cali
Doesn't this kindof defeat the purpose of supposedly making things clearer and easier?
Regardless of some nuances of earning LP, I think having LP only is still a lot clearer and easier than having EQM, EQS, and EQD.
Beckles is offline  
Old Jan 25, 2023, 2:39 pm
  #3940  
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Originally Posted by Carolina2Cali
Is there "official" phrasing regarding what AA miles earn loyalty points? Their premise was that most miles = LPs. Technically all of them except for credit card signup bonuses at least was my expectation, with probably a few other caveats. I participated in the Aadvantage early Holiday shopping bonus (earn between 500-4000 bonus miles by spending between $200 and $1500 before November 18th, '22) and my bonus miles did NOT earn loyalty points. I don't recall the website or my marketing emails saying they WOULD earn LPs but also it didn't mention that they WOULDN'T... is there phrasing one should keep an eye out for? Is the idea "Base mile" versus "bonus" mile? They call the Exec Platinum elite level benefits "120% status mileage bonus" which debunks my idea of bonus versus base... Doesn't this kindof defeat the purpose of supposedly making things clearer and easier?
The email which I received from AA announcing this promotion included the following language in the fine print:
1 Loyalty Point per eligible AAdvantage mile 1 Loyalty Point accrues for every eligible AAdvantage mile earned on purchases, excluding balance transfers, cash advances, checks that access your credit card account, items and services returned for credit, unauthorized charges, interest and account fees, travelers checks, purchases of foreign currency, money orders, wire transfers (and similar cash-like transactions), lottery tickets, and gaming chips (and similar betting transactions). Eligible AAdvantage miles include the base miles earned on purchases, and do not include any bonus miles or accelerators. Loyalty Points may be earned on miles on purchases made by primary credit cardmembers and authorized users. Loyalty Points earned will be posted to the primary credit cardmembers AAdvantage account in 8 to 10 weeks.
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Old Jan 25, 2023, 2:49 pm
  #3941  
 
Join Date: Jun 2022
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How would I go about calculating if it's worth it for me to mattress run for status? I have Plat Pro with 0 LP until April 29. Need 42k to keep or 67k for EP. Having trouble figuring out a quantification for my desire to travel...
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Old Jan 25, 2023, 3:55 pm
  #3942  
 
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Is the point where we hit silliness. Somebody has not flown for an entire year and needs 42,000 LPs.....
IADCAflyer is offline  
Old Jan 25, 2023, 4:10 pm
  #3943  
 
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Originally Posted by IADCAflyer
Is the point where we hit silliness. Somebody has not flown for an entire year and needs 42,000 LPs.....
Seems like you might've forgotten that other airlines exist
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Old Jan 25, 2023, 4:47 pm
  #3944  
 
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Originally Posted by lowkeyflyer
Seems like you might've forgotten that other airlines exist
It is a fair question - will you suddenly have enough flights on AA next year to suddenly start justifying the PPro or Exp benefits?
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Old Jan 25, 2023, 5:27 pm
  #3945  
 
Join Date: Jun 2022
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Originally Posted by wutlol
It is a fair question - will you suddenly have enough flights on AA next year to suddenly start justifying the PPro or Exp benefits?
That's the exact question I'm trying to answer right now. How do I go about quantifying that? I'm a casual flyer but certainly value the comp upgrades.
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