Dec 17, 21, 12:25 pm
Last edit by: rrgg
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: 30K 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
Jan 25, 23, 7:20 am
#3946
Original Member and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Kansas City, MO, USA
Programs: DL PM/MM, WN A-List/CP, AA Plat, HH Dia, Hyatt Glob, National ECE, Hertz PC
Posts: 16,337
Originally Posted by Carolina2Cali
Doesn't this kindof defeat the purpose of supposedly making things clearer and easier?
Jan 25, 23, 3:39 pm
#3947
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: VNY | BUR | LAX
Programs: AAdvantage | MileagePlus
Posts: 18,109
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?
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.
Jan 25, 23, 3:49 pm
#3948
Join Date: Jun 2022
Location: LAX, SNA
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, AA Plat Pro, IHG Diamond Ambassador
Posts: 339
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...
Jan 25, 23, 5:10 pm
#3950
Join Date: Jun 2022
Location: LAX, SNA
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, AA Plat Pro, IHG Diamond Ambassador
Posts: 339
Originally Posted by IADCAflyer
Is the point where we hit silliness. Somebody has not flown for an entire year and needs 42,000 LPs.....
Jan 25, 23, 5:47 pm
#3951
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Isle of Man/East Palo Alto
Programs: AA - CK/Airpass
Posts: 371
Originally Posted by lowkeyflyer
Seems like you might've forgotten that other airlines exist
Jan 25, 23, 6:27 pm
#3952
Join Date: Jun 2022
Location: LAX, SNA
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, AA Plat Pro, IHG Diamond Ambassador
Posts: 339
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?
Jan 25, 23, 6:32 pm
#3953
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: DCA/IAD
Programs: AA EXP; 1W Emerald; HHonors Diamond; Marriott Gold; UA dirt
Posts: 7,090
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?
Jan 25, 23, 6:33 pm
#3954
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: DCA/IAD
Programs: AA EXP; 1W Emerald; HHonors Diamond; Marriott Gold; UA dirt
Posts: 7,090
Originally Posted by lowkeyflyer
Seems like you might've forgotten that other airlines exist
Jan 25, 23, 8:05 pm
#3955
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: LAX oriented World Digital Nomad
Programs: AA Exec Plat, Hyatt Globalist, MLife/Cosmo Identity Gold, Other Vegas too...
Posts: 1,161
Originally Posted by TWA884
The email which I received from AA announcing this promotion included the following language in the fine print:
Jan 25, 23, 10:24 pm
#3956
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Washington, D.C.
Posts: 498
Originally Posted by lowkeyflyer
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.
Then I think you do have to compare that cost to how often you intend, or would like to fly AA going forward. If it's only a handful of flights, $2000 might be better spent purchasing MCE or a higher class ticket than taking a chance on getting an upgrade -- unless you are generating the LPs through organic spend, that's arguably a pretty expensive lottery ticket. Another consideration is whether you will be taking any international flights on AA or other Oneworld airlines. PlatPro (or EXP) will get you international lounge access. But whether that's worthwhile for the price will depend again on your flight plans going forward. There is of course also priority boarding and a free checked bag allowance, but those benefits are potentially available through other less expensive means Good luck!
Jan 26, 23, 1:46 pm
#3957
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 17
Hm... My statement close on the 3rd of the month. Does that mean, I can start spending after Feb 4th and those transactions will be in March 3rd to count for next year's status.
Originally Posted by MathMusic
Credit card miles post by statement, so you can start spending when your February statement posts. So anything you spend in Feb that ends on the statement closing in March would count for 2023 status. My card statement is the 15th of the month so I would get an extra week or two if I was looking to spend strong in the start of the year.
Jan 26, 23, 2:30 pm
#3958
Join Date: Jul 2021
Location: Dallas, TX
Programs: AA, WN
Posts: 68
Originally Posted by gigadigit
Hm... My statement close on the 3rd of the month. Does that mean, I can start spending after Feb 4th and those transactions will be in March 3rd to count for next year's status.
Jan 26, 23, 3:52 pm
#3959
Join Date: Oct 2022
Location: YBT
Programs: AC, AA, TK
Posts: 141
Originally Posted by MathMusic
Credit card miles post by statement, so you can start spending when your February statement posts. So anything you spend in Feb that ends on the statement closing in March would count for 2023 status. My card statement is the 15th of the month so I would get an extra week or two if I was looking to spend strong in the start of the year.
And I'm sure I can persuade myself to try a some wine clubs through the eShopping portal in March as well.
