How I earned 20,000 American Airlines Loyalty Points with 1 flight

In my never-ending pursuit to retain my American Airlines elite status, I am always on the lookout for ways to earn more Loyalty Points. I have been a loyalty member since 1994 (back when it was US Airways) and have held Gold, Platinum and Executive Platinum statuses over the years.

I prefer the American Airlines AAdvantage loyalty program over other U.S. carriers because it remains straightforward, using Loyalty Points as its primary currency for elite status, while other airlines use a more complicated formula.

At the end of 2025, American Airlines launched a mid-tier cobrand credit card with Citibank, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Globe™ Mastercard® (see ), with a $350 annual fee and a few unique perks (more on that shortly).

It fits nicely between the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® (see ) with its $99 annual fee ($0 intro annual fee for the first year) and the premium Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Legend Mastercard® (see ) with its $695 annual fee.