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6 ways that American Airlines could enhance Loyalty Points
Kyle Olsen is the former points and miles reporter at TPG. He specializes in maximizing points and miles, elite status and credit cards so readers travel more comfortably and at a lower cost.
September 18, 2023 • 9 min read
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Quick summary
American Airlines' Loyalty Points program, introduced to simplify elite status qualification, now faces criticism due to reduced earning opportunities and inconsistent accruals.
Many transactions that earn redeemable miles do not consistently earn Loyalty Points, creating confusion and dissatisfaction among members.
Significant devaluations, such as reduced Rocketmiles earning rates and lackluster partner offers, have diminished the program's appeal.
There are calls for American to enhance earning rates, improve partner integration and allow features like transferring Loyalty Points to boost member engagement.
What to consider
Some earning methods, such as select partner flights and certain hotel bookings, no longer provide Loyalty Points or offer them at reduced rates.
Earning Loyalty Points varies by member status, making it more difficult for new or lower-tier members to progress quickly.
The ability to transfer or gift Loyalty Points is currently unavailable, limiting flexibility for members close to reaching higher status.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed analysis of how specific earning methods and partner programs have changed, and targeted suggestions for improving the Loyalty Points program.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
It's been a year and a half since American Airlines launched Loyalty Points, an entirely different way to qualify for AAdvantage elite status. Instead of solely crediting status based on flight activity, American flyers can also earn status through non-flight activities such as staying at hotels, spending on cobranded credit cards and using the airline's shopping portal.
When Loyalty Points were launched last year, there were ample opportunities to earn on everyday purchases. But across the TPG team, we're disheartened by the slashed Loyalty Points-earning sweet spots, lackluster flight accruals and underwhelming SimplyMiles offers. Many American elite members are feeling like the fun spirit of Loyalty Points is gone.
Now, with Delta Air Lines poised to make massive changes to Medallion qualification next year, American has a real opportunity to pick up those disaffected elite members while simultaneously energizing its existing members.
Here's how American Airlines could enhance Loyalty Points.
1 mile, 1 Loyalty Point — for real
You can't earn Loyalty Points on a Fiji Airways ticket unless it was issued by American Airlines. KYLE OLSEN/THE POINTS GUY
When American launched Loyalty Points, it claimed it would "simplify the way members earn status" by crediting a Loyalty Point for every redeemable mile earned.
While "one mile earned, one Loyalty Point earned" remains the basis of the program, plenty of transactions earn miles but don't earn Loyalty Points — or earn miles and Loyalty Points at different rates. For example, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees) earns 4 miles per dollar on eligible American Airlines purchases; however, you earn just 1 Loyalty Point per dollar on these charges.
Select partner-issued tickets are also ineligible for Loyalty Points. I recently traveled to Fiji on a Fiji Airways ticket that I credited to my AAdvantage account. Despite earning miles, Fiji Airways-issued tickets don't earn Loyalty Points.
Without Rocketmiles, it's unlikely I'll retain my American status. KYLE OLSEN/THE POINTS GUY
Earlier this year, I published an article on how AAdvantage members could earn over 75,000 miles and Loyalty Points on a seven-night Rocketmiles hotel stay, subsequently locking in mid-tier Platinum status (and being well on the way to higher elite tiers of the program). Although that sounds great, booking Rocketmiles stays means forgoing hotel elite status as you generally can't earn hotel points or elite nights, in addition to not being able to receive your standard hotel elite status benefits by booking this way.
Without notice, American massively devalued the Rocketmiles portal over the summer by slashing earning rates by over 90%. Now, there's minimal value in booking Rocketmiles stays with AAdvantage. So you're generally better off crediting Rocketmiles bookings to other valuable airline programs like Air Canada Aeroplan and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan.
Our managing editor, Clint Henderson, tested out American's hotel portal, which was revamped around the same time the airline devalued Rocketmiles. In addition to offering far fewer redeemable miles than Rocketmiles, Clint found American doesn't offer status-qualifying Loyalty Points when you add miles at checkout.
AADVANTAGEHOTELS.COM
On the other hand, Rocketmiles offered Loyalty Points (in addition to redeemable miles) when you selected this option at checkout.
But even when you're traveling on American metal, the airline has room to improve. Since you earn Loyalty Points for flights based on your current status, it's difficult for non-status members to qualify for status. Here's a look at the potential rewards on a $1,500 ticket:
General member (5 LPs per base dollar)
7,500 Loyalty Points
Gold (7 LPs per base dollar)
10,500 Loyalty Points
Platinum (8 LPs per base dollar)
12,000 Loyalty Points
Platinum Pro (9 LPs per base dollar)
13,500 Loyalty Points
Executive Platinum (11 LPs per base dollar)
16,500 Loyalty Points
My focus remained on earning at least AAdvantage Platinum last year since earning 8 Loyalty Points per dollar makes it much easier to retain or upgrade status. It doesn't feel right for top-tier American members to earn Loyalty Points 120% faster than general members, as the program is currently designed. It's disheartening for beginners and ultimately hinders loyalty.
You're eligible for dual accrual if you hold Hyatt and American elite status. By linking your accounts, you'll earn 1 Hyatt point for every eligible dollar spent on qualifying American Airlines flights and 1 AAdvantage mile and Loyalty Point for every eligible dollar spent on qualifying Hyatt stays and experiences.
Best of all, this is in addition to standard American and Hyatt accruals.
Katie observes that there's room to enhance this partnership, however. Hyatt could credit more than 1 mile/Loyalty Point per dollar spent on stays, or American could add Hyatt to its shopping portal. Other major hotel brands, including Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Choice, Radisson and Best Western, are currently on the American shopping portal.
If American wants to send its customers to Hyatt, including Hyatt on the shopping portal would make sense.
TPG Senior Vice President of Content Jamie Page and Director of Content Operations Andrea Rotondo hold American Platinum Pro status. They'd both like to be able to gift or transfer Loyalty Points similar to the way American lets you transfer miles to another member.
Although you may be able to gift status as a Loyalty Choice Reward, Jamie observes that if someone is within 5,000 Loyalty Points of achieving their next status, she'd welcome the ability to transfer excess Loyalty Points to them.
Boost Loyalty Points opportunities on lackluster earning programs
American Airlines business class. CLINT HENDERSON/THE POINTS GUY
Finally, when American launched Loyalty Points, the airline gave its members a laundry list of ways to earn them. These include AA Cruises, AA Vacations, AAdvantage Dining and SimplyMiles.
Last year, I earned over 8,000 miles and Loyalty Points with SimplyMiles (a portal that lets you earn miles and Loyalty Points when shopping in-store and online) largely due to its generous Uber and Uber Eats promotions. But the program hasn't offered the same advantageous earning opportunities it offered last year. Most TPG staffers have only received offers for second-tier retailers and lackluster earning rates.
Similarly, the overall attitude is that earning rates should be better on its cruise, vacation and dining portals.
American Airlines' Loyalty Points program has lost its appeal for many members due to slashed earning rates, limited opportunities and inconsistencies in crediting points. To enhance the program and regain enthusiasm, American should look hard at finding ways to better drive value for its members.
There's a real opportunity here with the ongoing frustration from Delta travelers over how the carrier will change its elite status qualification metrics in 2024. By addressing these issues, American Airlines can renew loyalty, improve the overall member experience and regain the trust and enthusiasm of its loyal customers — all while capturing travelers who are suddenly in the market for a new primary airline.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
