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 27, 2021, 7:13 am
#482
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Wesley Chapel, FL
Programs: American Airlines
Posts: 29,996
Oct 27, 2021, 7:15 am
#483
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 407
Or if you just wanted to outright buy top status at a sharp discount, you could purchase 100 of the $2,000 gift cards and find a small business owner who relies on Costco and who would readily rebuy those cards at a 5% discount. EXP would cost $10,000 doing it that way. Might be worth it if you travel enough. It would take you 20 days to accomplish because gift card purchases are limited to $10k per day.
Oct 27, 2021, 7:17 am
#484
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
Someone actually did this https://www.disaadvantagestatus.com/
Oct 27, 2021, 7:18 am
#485
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 2,344
Some things are clear to me:
1. AA sees it's future profit based upon generating credit cards for it's partners
2. There's going to be thinning of the ranks for EXP and PP because only the high spender and/or very heavy users of co branded credit cards are going to reach these levels
1. AA sees it's future profit based upon generating credit cards for it's partners
2. There's going to be thinning of the ranks for EXP and PP because only the high spender and/or very heavy users of co branded credit cards are going to reach these levels
Moving to revenue based / credit card spend based was inevitable, and is probably wise.
Oct 27, 2021, 7:21 am
#486
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: PIT-SCE-AOO-PHL-NYC-WAS
Programs: free agent
Posts: 1,034
Last thing i want to do is lock myself into AA universe and using their credit cards instead of using Chase, Citi, or AMEX cards to give me more flexibility. AA's decision with this silly program validated my decision to not chase their status this year or even next year. Even AA did not devalue miles but I already trim my miles down to 35k with multiple international trips (I expect 2022 to be better than 2021 barring super variants and it seems countries are ready to move on and live with covid than pursing zero-covid mindset).
I already told some friends who keep finding ways to "stay" on AA's hamster wheel that they are wasting their time and MONEY. It's far better to buy PE or J trips that meet their needs than wasting time in sky or airports to meet AA's silly requirements.
I already told some friends who keep finding ways to "stay" on AA's hamster wheel that they are wasting their time and MONEY. It's far better to buy PE or J trips that meet their needs than wasting time in sky or airports to meet AA's silly requirements.
Oct 27, 2021, 7:26 am
#487
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,132
If AA didn't dominate PHL, I'd try another airline. In any case, I extended my Gold status from 2019 another year using the $15k spend promo (I have a lot of trips planned next year after nothing last year and this year) but, after that, I'll just rely on the Aviator card benefits and occasionally buy upgrade seats.
Oct 27, 2021, 7:28 am
#488
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Back in Reds Country (DAY/CVG). Previously: SEA & SAT.
Programs: DL PM 1MM, AA PLAT, UA Silver, Marriott Bonvoy Titanium
Posts: 10,344
If you can convince the USG and with it, the taxpayers, to pay for F/J travel all the time, that would be most welcome for me. But since I doubt that's likely to happen, as it's also unlikely to happen for much other company/business travel, some of us rely on the perks of elite status to make flying bearable/tolerable when flying on OPM and buying F/J/PE isn't an option, even if we often do buy F/J or PE outright for our own personal travel.
Oct 27, 2021, 7:41 am
#489
Ambassador, Hong Kong and Macau
Join Date: May 2009
Location: HKG
Programs: Non-top tier Asia Miles member
Posts: 19,795
AA didn't just think of these points randomly, they have troves of data to sort through. I think the bottom line is these heavy road warriors / frequent fliers aren't as important to the company as they think; ultimately, other people are giving AA more money. It's a hard pill to swallow for us here on FT, but a couple of J and F tickets with regular Y leisure travel doesn't justify the cost of elite status probably.
Moving to revenue based / credit card spend based was inevitable, and is probably wise.
Moving to revenue based / credit card spend based was inevitable, and is probably wise.
- business travellers as a fringe benefit
- the wealthy (the super wealthy fly private)
Out:
- value travellers meeting modest goals for some travel benefits
- runners (I don't immediately see how the requirements can be hacked by running/error fares even if possible, but AA may introduce flaws when they introduce promos)
Oct 27, 2021, 7:49 am
#490
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SJC
Programs: AA EXP, BA Silver, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton diamond, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 33,533
How would they know COS, distances flown based simply on dollars spent? We all know the cost of distances flown (base miles) are highly variable based on innumerable variables. Nothing linear there, COS, same thing. I think they rushed the calculator out way too early and leading to mass confusion on how to earn these new "Loyalty Points".
Cheers.
Oct 27, 2021, 7:52 am
#491
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: PHL
Programs: Chivas, Tequila, Good Beer
Posts: 615
Here is the way I understand and will use me-self as an example... Feel fee to chime in...
With no biz travel anywhere near in sight I will optimistically assume 15 trips of 2000 miles each at $400 a pop.
Spend $6K per year, giving me 66,000 LPs based on the calculator.
Add 6000 more LPs from using the branded card to purchase tickets for a total of 72,000.
Add a total of 30,000 butt miles (15 x 2000) to get me up to 102,000 points.
Throw in 1/3 of that travel is in paid first giving me an extra 10,000 miles of bonus class cabin to put me at 112,000 points
Add an extra $2500 in spend for paid first for an additional 27,500 points (calculator based) + an extra $2500 for using the branded card for 30,000 more points and a total of 142,000 points
Add another 40 large ones in CC Exec card spend to get me to 182,000 points
Throw in the 10,000 CC bonus for the $40K CC spend and I end up with 192,000 LPs,
In that very possible scenario, I do not make Exec Plat by 8,000 points. That means I have no incentive to go out of my way and pay for first cabin to accelerate re qualification to EXP as I did for 2021 nor to even spend much on the branded CC.
On the other hand, I think this give me the opportunity to consider other metal when looking to pay for 1st as re-qualifiaction to EXP is now based on $ spent not EQMs.
If anything, I think this is going to make it easier for many of us to break the habit of flying for miles in an airline just to acquire benefits that are becoming less valuable with each passing year.
In this day and age, AA is selling FC tix rather than giving them away for free. If the upgrade is being offered for $140 and it takes 2 coupons ($80) it is a not a hard decision to buy the upgrade rather than fight it on the UG list for the $60 buck difference.
On my last flight on a Tuesday at noon from MCO to PHL there were 8 open seats in FC and the UG did not clear until 20 hours before departure rather than the 100 on the EXP benefit.
I have no illusions that UGs are a sure things anymore even for people with the highest level of status.
The Good old days of FF for benefits like UGs are mostly over. The only benefits that remain are soft ones like group boarding, bag allowances, or oneworld status if flying abroad.
With no biz travel anywhere near in sight I will optimistically assume 15 trips of 2000 miles each at $400 a pop.
Spend $6K per year, giving me 66,000 LPs based on the calculator.
Add 6000 more LPs from using the branded card to purchase tickets for a total of 72,000.
Add a total of 30,000 butt miles (15 x 2000) to get me up to 102,000 points.
Throw in 1/3 of that travel is in paid first giving me an extra 10,000 miles of bonus class cabin to put me at 112,000 points
Add an extra $2500 in spend for paid first for an additional 27,500 points (calculator based) + an extra $2500 for using the branded card for 30,000 more points and a total of 142,000 points
Add another 40 large ones in CC Exec card spend to get me to 182,000 points
Throw in the 10,000 CC bonus for the $40K CC spend and I end up with 192,000 LPs,
In that very possible scenario, I do not make Exec Plat by 8,000 points. That means I have no incentive to go out of my way and pay for first cabin to accelerate re qualification to EXP as I did for 2021 nor to even spend much on the branded CC.
On the other hand, I think this give me the opportunity to consider other metal when looking to pay for 1st as re-qualifiaction to EXP is now based on $ spent not EQMs.
If anything, I think this is going to make it easier for many of us to break the habit of flying for miles in an airline just to acquire benefits that are becoming less valuable with each passing year.
In this day and age, AA is selling FC tix rather than giving them away for free. If the upgrade is being offered for $140 and it takes 2 coupons ($80) it is a not a hard decision to buy the upgrade rather than fight it on the UG list for the $60 buck difference.
On my last flight on a Tuesday at noon from MCO to PHL there were 8 open seats in FC and the UG did not clear until 20 hours before departure rather than the 100 on the EXP benefit.
I have no illusions that UGs are a sure things anymore even for people with the highest level of status.
The Good old days of FF for benefits like UGs are mostly over. The only benefits that remain are soft ones like group boarding, bag allowances, or oneworld status if flying abroad.
Last edited by PepeBorja; Oct 27, 2021 at 8:06 am
Oct 27, 2021, 7:54 am
#492
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SJC
Programs: AA EXP, BA Silver, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton diamond, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 33,533
Cheers.
Oct 27, 2021, 8:17 am
#494
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Stilllwater OK (SWO)
Programs: AAdvantage ExecPlat, World of Hyatt Globalist, plain "member" of Marriott, IHG, enterprise, etc.
Posts: 1,846
A day to digest this and I am of the opinion still that I overall -like- this change. The current program made tracking too complicated, various bonuses on one metric were useless without bonuses on another metric, etc. I like having ways outside of travel to 'help' with status. But, I hope AA plans on tweaking this thing!
I can't get over the fact that for a non status'ed member they only earn 5 LPs per dollar on an airfare (minus fees) but 1 LPs per dollar on anything in the world with a cobranded CC. From a RDMs standpoint, it's consistent with other programs, but from a status earning perspective, this seems to underappreciate/underaward the person for traveling.
(Bear with my simplification here) For my favorite hotel program (WOHyatt), $5K CC spend gets someone 1/30th of the way towards top status (2 nights credit towards 60), same as a 2 night stay which could come as cheap as $200 and usually won't be more than $600 for the vast majority of time. That means dollars spent at hotels gets someone 8-25 times more value towards status earning than dollars put on the CC. And status has no bearing on that differential. Here, with AA, its only a 5 times difference at the base level, but corrects towards a more reasonable 11 times difference with Exec Plat status. With WOH, the credit card can help towards status, arguably even too much for that program, but the vast majority of people are likely still qualifying mostly on their nights in bed, especially at the lower tiers.
With this program, status will correlate very poorly with bottom-in-seat travel. I doubt there will be hardly any Golds that get there from travel alone without it being some sort of accident. Oddly, for the CC holders who get gold, a lot of their more tangible/guaranteed benefits (boarding order, free checked bag), are already from the CC anyways. So, if you are a new $3-4K a year domestic traveler you now have get the credit card and put some non-trivial spend on it just to bring yourself up to gold, all just for the added benefit (beyond the CC) of trying to jump into MCE at T-24. AA is banking on enough people going for /keeping Gold by doing some CC spend; but I think they are doing nothing to truly incentivize that level of traveler to stay with them. Under the current system, people who travelled enough could get Gold benefits, people who didn't could still get a CC and have most gold benefits like a free bag, but now AA wants that former group to travel nearly twice as much or get the CC which neglects most of the value of their status anyways. I think the first tweak to this should be that all members should be getting 10 LPs per dollar spent on airfare. Just that one change would correct this issue, bring gold/plat status levels back down to earth.
I can't get over the fact that for a non status'ed member they only earn 5 LPs per dollar on an airfare (minus fees) but 1 LPs per dollar on anything in the world with a cobranded CC. From a RDMs standpoint, it's consistent with other programs, but from a status earning perspective, this seems to underappreciate/underaward the person for traveling.
(Bear with my simplification here) For my favorite hotel program (WOHyatt), $5K CC spend gets someone 1/30th of the way towards top status (2 nights credit towards 60), same as a 2 night stay which could come as cheap as $200 and usually won't be more than $600 for the vast majority of time. That means dollars spent at hotels gets someone 8-25 times more value towards status earning than dollars put on the CC. And status has no bearing on that differential. Here, with AA, its only a 5 times difference at the base level, but corrects towards a more reasonable 11 times difference with Exec Plat status. With WOH, the credit card can help towards status, arguably even too much for that program, but the vast majority of people are likely still qualifying mostly on their nights in bed, especially at the lower tiers.
With this program, status will correlate very poorly with bottom-in-seat travel. I doubt there will be hardly any Golds that get there from travel alone without it being some sort of accident. Oddly, for the CC holders who get gold, a lot of their more tangible/guaranteed benefits (boarding order, free checked bag), are already from the CC anyways. So, if you are a new $3-4K a year domestic traveler you now have get the credit card and put some non-trivial spend on it just to bring yourself up to gold, all just for the added benefit (beyond the CC) of trying to jump into MCE at T-24. AA is banking on enough people going for /keeping Gold by doing some CC spend; but I think they are doing nothing to truly incentivize that level of traveler to stay with them. Under the current system, people who travelled enough could get Gold benefits, people who didn't could still get a CC and have most gold benefits like a free bag, but now AA wants that former group to travel nearly twice as much or get the CC which neglects most of the value of their status anyways. I think the first tweak to this should be that all members should be getting 10 LPs per dollar spent on airfare. Just that one change would correct this issue, bring gold/plat status levels back down to earth.
Oct 27, 2021, 8:18 am
#495
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SJC
Programs: AA EXP, BA Silver, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton diamond, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 33,533
Just did chat with AAdvantage Customer Service and, as expected, partner and special fare will still be distance-based. Also, he's received no indication that any of the chart class bonus factors will change. So that makes the picture more clear, even if as expected.
Also realized that the first year (the 2022 earning year) is actually a 14-month year as it has Jan-Feb, 2022 pulled in as well as its normal Jan-Feb, 2023.
Cheers.
Also realized that the first year (the 2022 earning year) is actually a 14-month year as it has Jan-Feb, 2022 pulled in as well as its normal Jan-Feb, 2023.
Cheers.