American Airlines elite status: What it is and how to earn it

If you fly with American Airlines and its partners, you may have American Airlines elite status.

In early 2022, American AAdvantage revamped how you earn elite status. After these changes, Loyalty Points are the sole metric you must focus on when striving for a specific elite status tier in the American Airlines AAdvantage program.

Here’s what you need to know about American Airlines elite status and how to earn it.

What is American Airlines elite status?

American Airlines elite status gives perks to AAdvantage members who interact with the program and its partners. Unlike airline loyalty programs in which flying is the primary activity needed to earn status, American AAdvantage lets you earn Loyalty Points toward elite status through many activities unrelated to travel, including shopping, dining and spending on cobranded American Airlines credit cards.

Man using a laptop and holding a credit card — PIXELSEFFECT/GETTY IMAGES

You can earn each American Airlines elite status tier by accumulating a set amount of Loyalty Points during the elite-qualification year that runs for 12 months from March 1 through the end of February. The status you’ve earned based on the Loyalty Points accumulated by the end of each February will be valid through the end of the following March.

American Airlines elite status tiers

You’ll find four published tiers of American Airlines elite status that you can earn via accumulating Loyalty Points during the 12 months starting each March 1:

Gold: 40,000 Loyalty Points
Platinum: 75,000 Loyalty Points
Platinum Pro: 125,000 Loyalty Points
Executive Platinum: 200,000 Loyalty Points

American Airlines 787 — ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

In addition to these tiers, there’s also the exclusive, invite-only Concierge Key status. However, American AAdvantage doesn’t publish any specific requirements for this status.

You’ll also earn Loyalty Point Rewards as you reach specific Loyalty Point thresholds. You’ll earn your first Loyalty Point Rewards choice after earning just 15,000 Loyalty Points within the 12-month qualification period following March 1.

How to qualify for American Airlines elite status

To qualify for American Airlines elite status, you must earn the required number of Loyalty Points during each 12-month qualification period following March 1. As discussed, you’ll need to earn 40,000 Loyalty Points for Gold status, 75,000 for Platinum, 125,000 for Platinum Pro and 200,000 for Executive Platinum each qualification period.

Woman using a laptop — MINISERIES/GETTY IMAGES

We have a full guide to earning Loyalty Points. But, in short, you'll earn two types of American Airlines miles: base and bonus. And while both base and bonus miles are redeemable, base miles also give you Loyalty Points. So, each time you earn a base mile with American AAdvantage, you’ll also earn a Loyalty Point.

You can earn American AAdvantage base miles through many different activities. Here’s a noncomprehensive list of some ways you can earn base miles (and hence Loyalty Points):

Flights sold by Aer Lingus, American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia and JetSmart: Earn base miles based on your ticket’s base fare and carrier-imposed fees.
Flights sold and operated by other Oneworld airlines or Gol Airlines: Earn base miles based on flight distance and the fare class of your ticket.
AAdvantage eShopping portal: Earn base miles when you click through the AAdvantage eShopping portal before making purchases with select merchants.
SimplyMiles: Earn base miles when you enroll in select SimplyMiles offers with participating merchants and then make eligible purchases.
AAdvantage Dining: Earn base miles when you use an enrolled card to pay at participating AAdvantage Dining restaurants, bars and clubs.
Hotels: Earn base miles when you book hotels through AAdvantage Hotels or credit Hyatt, Marriott or IHG stays to AAdvantage

There are many other ways to earn American Airlines miles. However, check whether you’re earning base or bonus miles before you get too excited about how many Loyalty Points you’ll earn. Bask Bank mileage accounts are one example of an activity earning only bonus miles — hence, no Loyalty Points.

American Airlines elite status benefits

American Airlines elite status comes with some valuable benefits. Here’s a look at some of the most noteworthy benefits, including how they differ by status tier.

Upgrades and better seats

American Airlines elite members get complimentary upgrades from Main Cabin or premium economy to the next class of service (business or domestic first) on select American-marketed and -operated flights.

These upgrades are unlimited and automatically requested but are based on availability and only apply to flights within North America. The upgrades include award tickets and can also apply to a companion traveling with you on the same flight.

American Airlines Boeing 737 — ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

American will start processing these upgrades at different times depending on your American Airlines elite status tier. Executive Platinum members may have their complimentary upgrade cleared as early as 100 hours before departure, Platinum Pro members as early as 72 hours, Platinum members as early as 48 hours and Gold members as early as 24 hours.

American Airlines prioritizes upgrades — including complimentary upgrades, mileage award upgrades and systemwide upgrades — in the following order:

AAdvantage status tier (Executive Platinum, Platinum Pro, Platinum and then Gold)
Type of upgrade (handled independently until at the airport, where systemwide upgrades and mileage award upgrades come before complimentary upgrades)
12-month rolling Loyalty Points (updated daily)
Booking code
Date and time of the request

American Boeing 737 First Class — ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

Members with American Airlines elite status — and up to eight passengers traveling with you on the same reservation — can select Preferred seats without any extra fees during booking or anytime after booking (based on availability). Preferred seats have standard legroom but are located in more desirable locations throughout the economy cabin.

Main Cabin Extra seats with up to 6 inches of additional legroom are also available to AAdvantage elite members — and up to eight companions traveling with you on the same reservation — for free (based on availability). However, AAdvantage Gold members will have to wait until check-in to select these seats free of charge (if available).

Mileage bonuses

American Airlines elite members get a mileage bonus as follows when flying on eligible flights:

Gold: 40%
Platinum: 60%
Platinum Pro: 80%
Executive Platinum: 120%

The mileage bonus is treated as base miles, so you’ll also earn Loyalty Points. As such, it’s easier for higher-tier AAdvantage elite members to qualify for a specific American Airlines elite status tier based on flights than a traveler with lower-tier or no AAdvantage status.

Benefits at the airport

AAdvantage elite members enjoy — when available — Priority access at check-in, security and boarding before American Airlines flights. Specifically, Executive Platinum members board in Group 1, Platinum Pro in Group 2, Platinum in Group 3 and Gold in Group 4. Boarding with any of these groups usually means there’s still space in the overhead bin for your carry-on suitcase.

Boarding American Airlines — KYLE OLSEN/THE POINTS GUY

AAdvantage status members also get priority when standing by for a different American Airlines flight on the same day of travel (and can standby for a later flight the same day) when flying to, from or within the U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Executive Platinum and Platinum Pro members — and companions in the same reservation — can enjoy complimentary same-day confirmed flight changes on American when flying to or from the U.S., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada and the Caribbean, and between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and London's Heathrow Airport (LHR).

AAdvantage elite members also enjoy complimentary checked bags when flying American Airlines: Gold members get their first checked bag free, Platinum members get their first two checked bags free, and Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum members get their first three checked bags free. Best of all, this checked baggage allowance is also offered to up to eight passengers traveling with the status member on the same reservation.

Other benefits

American Airlines elite status offers a variety of other perks, including the following:

Perks on Alaska Airlines: Complimentary space-available access to Premium Class seats and first-class upgrades
Oneworld status: Gold gets Oneworld Ruby, Platinum gets Sapphire, and Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum get Emerald
Executive Platinum perks in Main Cabin: Executive Platinum members traveling in the Main Cabin can enjoy a complimentary alcoholic beverage and a snack (which includes any food item offered for sale in the economy cabin on that flight) on American Airlines flights with full drink service

Loyalty Point Rewards

Finally, although Loyalty Point Rewards aren’t tied to American Airlines elite status, they are tied to specific Loyalty Point milestones that you’ll inherently meet as you progress toward AAdvantage elite status.

Woman using a laptop at home — 10'000 HOURS/GETTY IMAGES

Here’s a look at the Loyalty Point Rewards you could choose as you progress toward the 200,000 Loyalty Points required for Executive Platinum status:

15,000 Loyalty Points: Group 5 boarding for the membership year and one choice of a personalized luggage tag, 1,000 Loyalty Points, five Preferred Seat coupons, priority privileges and Group 4 boarding for a trip or two inflight food and beverage coupons for use on flights where service is offered
60,000 Loyalty Points: Avis Preferred Plus status and a 25% Loyalty Point bonus when you spend with American Airlines Vacations, SimplyMiles, AAdvantage eShopping, AAdvantage Cruises, AAdvantage Dining and AAdvantage Hotels within six months after qualifying
100,000 Loyalty Points: Avis President’s Club status and World of Hyatt Discoverist status
175,000 Loyalty Points: One choice of World of Hyatt Explorist status, 5,000 Loyalty Points, two systemwide upgrades, 20,000 bonus miles (25,000 bonus miles if you’re an AAdvantage credit card member), a $200 trip credit ($250 if you’re an AAdvantage credit card member), a $250 credit toward American Airlines Vacations packages, a 75-gallon sustainable aviation fuel allocation, a $250 donation to select nonprofit organizations, two gifts of AAdvantage Gold status, one AAdvantage Exchange gift or 35,000 AAdvantage miles toward a Mastercard Priceless Experience (only available to AAdvantage credit card members)

If you earn 250,000 Loyalty Points or more during your 12-month qualification period following March 1, you can select additional Loyalty Point Rewards. Check out the AAdvantage Loyalty Point Rewards page for more details on these high-threshold tiers.

Can a credit card help earn American Airlines elite status?

Having a cobranded American Airlines credit card is extremely helpful if you want to earn American Airlines elite status. Although the sign-up and category bonuses provide bonus miles — which won’t give you Loyalty Points — you’ll earn 1 Loyalty Point per dollar spent with most AAdvantage credit cards. This means you can boost your Loyalty Point balance as you use your card for purchases and even qualify for American elite status from credit card spending alone.

Woman enrolling in hotel elite status — GORICA POTURAK/GETTY IMAGES

If you value getting Admirals Club access, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Legend Mastercard® (see rates and fees) is an excellent choice. But I like the AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Silver Mastercard® — which I got by upgrading my AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® — since it lets me earn up to 15,000 additional Loyalty Points when I meet specific spending thresholds within my status qualification period. Unfortunately, Citi will take over the Barclays AAdvantage card portfolio in 2026 and likely convert the Aviator cards into its own AAdvantage products.

The information for the Aviator Red and Aviator Silver cards has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Is American Airlines elite status worth it?

American Airlines elite status is worth it for some travelers. I've held Platinum Pro or Executive Platinum status since 2016 because I value the domestic upgrades, waived checked bag fees, Priority check-in lines and Oneworld Emerald status these tiers provide.

American Airlines Priority Check-in — BENJI STAWSKI/THE POINTS GUY

But, after reconsidering what I value in American Airlines elite status, I've only strived to qualify for Platinum Pro in recent years. In short, I decided the incremental value of Executive Platinum over Platinum Pro didn’t justify the extra costs I’d incur to earn the higher status.

It’s important to consider how much you’ll use your AAdvantage perks and the cost of earning American Airlines status. If you’ll organically earn American Airlines status through flights, then it’s likely worth earning. But if you’ll have to earn a significant number of Loyalty Points through other means, such as using the AAdvantage eShopping portal or spending on an AAdvantage credit card, there’s an opportunity cost to doing so.

Finally, if you’ll only use your American Airlines elite status perks occasionally or only need a specific perk, consider whether you can get what you seek through booking premium-cabin fares or applying for a new credit card.

Bottom line

American Airlines offers four elite status tiers you can earn by accumulating Loyalty Points: Gold, Platinum, Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum. These tiers offer perks including Preferred seating, complimentary space-available upgrades on American Airlines and Oneworld perks on select partner airlines.

If you frequently fly with American Airlines, British Airways or Iberia on expensive paid fares or spend a significant amount on American Airlines credit cards or when shopping through the AAdvantage eShopping portal, you’ll likely find it easy and worthwhile to earn American Airlines elite status. Otherwise, it's smart to consider whether the value you'll get from American Airlines status is worth the cost you'll incur to earn it.