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Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
Guides
Last-minute strategies for earning American Airlines elite status
Katie Genter is a digital nomad who has traveled full time since June 2017. She writes and edits stories about points and miles, and loyalty programs, often letting her personal experiences color these stories.
November 20, 2025 • 10 min read
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Editorial note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.
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Quick summary
AAdvantage members have until the end of February each year to earn enough Loyalty Points for their desired elite status tier.
Loyalty Points are earned through base miles from flights, eligible credit card spending, shopping portals, hotel stays, car rentals and dining programs.
Elite status is retained through the end of the following March if the required Loyalty Points are achieved within the qualification period.
Some activities may take several weeks to post, but as long as the activity date is before March, points will count for the current year.
What to consider
Bonus miles do not count toward Loyalty Points—only base miles and qualifying activities are eligible.
Certain partner airlines and hotel bookings may have different earning rules or post dates, so check terms before relying on these for last-minute points.
Some earning methods, such as shopping portals or car rentals, may have delays of up to 10 weeks before points appear in your account.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed breakdown of strategies and timing tips to maximize Loyalty Points before the qualification deadline.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
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.
American Airlines AAdvantage members have until the end of each February to earn enough Loyalty Points for their desired American Airlines elite status. So, if you want to earn more Loyalty Points to secure a specific AAdvantage elite status tier during the current qualification period, you still have some time. This being said, now is a good time to act.
If you haven’t done so already, log in to your AAdvantage account and check how many Loyalty Points you have compared to how many you need for your desired elite status tier. Then, assuming you haven't yet reached your goal, keep reading for ways you can earn enough Loyalty Points by the end of February.
AAdvantage elite status overview
In 2022, American Airlines began using Loyalty Points as its metric for earning elite status. You earn Loyalty Points when you earn base American Airlines miles. Bonus miles, on the other hand, won’t get you Loyalty Points. So, consider whether you’re earning base or bonus miles on your flights, credit card spending and other partner activities.
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You need to earn the following numbers of Loyalty Points during the 12 months between the start of March and the end of February to qualify for AAdvantage elite status:
If you earn enough Loyalty Points for your desired elite status within these 12 months, you’ll keep your status through the end of the following March. So, if you earn your desired status by the end of February 2026, you’ll keep your status through March 31, 2027.
You'll also earn Loyalty Point Rewards when you reach certain Loyalty Point thresholds. So even if you’ve earned enough Loyalty Points for your desired status, it’s worth checking what Loyalty Point Rewards thresholds might be within reach if you earn more Loyalty Points before the end of February.
You have until the end of February to earn Loyalty Points for the current qualification period, since — in most cases — Loyalty Points are posted to your account based on the activity date.
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This means that even if you don't have enough Loyalty Points showing in your account when Feb. 28 ends, your balance may still grow as activities that occurred by the end of February post to your account with backdated activity dates. After all, some activities take up to 10 weeks from the activity date to post.
With this in mind, here are a few ways to earn Loyalty Points.
Fly on American Airlines or its partners
The most reliable way to earn Loyalty Points is by flying with American Airlines or its partners. If you plan ahead, you can hopefully earn the Loyalty Points on flights you want or need, rather than needing to go on a mileage run.
ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY
If time permits and you can find a compelling fare, inexpensive long-haul premium-cabin travel on American Airlines’ partners — excluding Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, JetSmart, Fiji Airways, Level and Oman Air, which credit based on the ticket price — may provide more Loyalty Points for the cost paid. In particular, you’ll likely find AAdvantage’s earning charts for partners Finnair, Cathay Pacific and Qantas appealing since most premium economy fare classes earn at least 100% of the flight distance in base miles.
Regardless of what you book, ensure you'll complete your travel by the end of Feb. 28.
Spend on an AAdvantage credit card
Another reliable way to earn Loyalty Points is by spending on American Airlines credit cards. However, you’ll only earn 1 Loyalty Point per dollar spent, regardless of bonus categories, with most cards. Credit card welcome offers and spending bonuses earn bonus miles that aren’t eligible for Loyalty Points.
As we've noted, purchases that post to your AAdvantage credit cards by Feb. 28, 2026, will earn Loyalty Points that count toward the current qualification year, while purchases that post in March will earn Loyalty Points toward the next qualification year. It may take up to 10 weeks from the time your March credit card statement closes for the Loyalty Points to post to your AAdvantage account.
Three AAdvantage credit cards offer the option to earn extra Loyalty Points when you meet specific thresholds.
The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Legend Mastercard® (see ) offers four tiers of Loyalty Point bonuses. If you reach 50,000 Loyalty Points during a qualification year (earned in any way), you’ll automatically receive 10,000 more Loyalty Points. And if you reach 90,000, 165,000, and 240,000 Loyalty Points, you’ll receive another 10,000 Loyalty Points at each level.
Meanwhile, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Globe™ Mastercard® (see ) lets you earn additional Loyalty Points via its Flight Streak bonus. You'll get a Flight Streak bonus of 5,000 additional Loyalty Points after every four qualifying American Airlines flights, up to three times each status qualification period. Qualifying flights are flight segments you fly during the status qualification year that are marketed or operated by American Airlines or American Eagle and earn AAdvantage miles.
Finally, the AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Silver Mastercard® (no longer accepting applications) lets you earn up to 15,000 additional Loyalty Points each qualification period through purchases on your card. You’ll get 5,000 additional Loyalty Points after $20,000 in net purchases within a status qualification period, another 5,000 Loyalty Points after a total of $40,000 in net purchases, and yet another 5,000 Loyalty Points after a total of $50,000 or more in net purchases.
The information for the AAdvantage Aviator Silver Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Using the AAdvantage shopping portal is one of the easiest ways to earn Loyalty Points. Whether you’re hundreds or thousands of points shy of your desired AAdvantage elite status, making one or more purchases after clicking through this online shopping portal could help you earn the points you need.
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Loyalty Points earned through the end of February via the AAdvantage eShopping portal count toward the status-qualifying year that ends Feb. 28. However, note that many types of transactions tracked by the AAdvantage eShopping portal, including hotel bookings, base the activity date on the fulfillment date. So, carefully consider whether the purchase you make after clicking through the AAdvantage eShopping portal will have an activity date of Feb. 28 or earlier.
Use SimplyMiles
Another easy way to earn Loyalty Points if you have a Mastercard is to utilize SimplyMiles offers. These offers let shoppers with an enrolled Mastercard earn American miles and Loyalty Points when shopping with select merchants for which they’ve enrolled in an offer.
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To get started, enroll in SimplyMiles, link your Mastercard cards to your account and enroll in SimplyMiles offers you think you might use. Then, when you make an eligible purchase with an enrolled card at a participating merchant, you’ll earn Loyalty Points.
Your activity date for SimplyMiles offers is usually either the purchase or shipping date. However, AAdvantage usually takes 10-15 business days to post miles and Loyalty Points earned from SimplyMiles offers to your account. As with the AAdvantage eShopping portal, consider whether your activity date will be Feb. 28 or earlier before relying on SimplyMiles to obtain the remaining points you need.
Earn Loyalty Points on hotel stays
You can also pick up some extra Loyalty Points on hotel stays. There are several ways to earn Loyalty Points from hotel stays, including:
AAdvantage Hotels: Earn Loyalty Points for stays booked through this platform (up to 15,000 base miles per reservation).
Credit Hyatt stays to AAdvantage: Earn 500 Loyalty Points per stay.
Credit Marriott or IHG stays to AAdvantage: Earn up to 2 Loyalty Points per dollar spent on qualifying charges.
While you’ll likely get elite night credits and benefits when you book through the final three methods, you’re unlikely to get them when you book through AAdvantage Hotels.
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However, you'll want to check out of your stay on or before Feb. 28 to ensure it counts toward the current qualification period. Although the activity date should be backdated to no later than your checkout date (AAdvantage Hotels stays are backdated to your check-in date), it usually takes weeks for these stays to be posted to your AAdvantage account.
Rent through AAdvantage Cars
Especially if you don’t get much value from car rental loyalty programs, you may want to earn Loyalty Points when renting cars.
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You can book Avis or Budget rental cars through AAdvantage Cars and earn 2 to 5 base miles and Loyalty Points per dollar spent. Your earning rate will vary based on your American Airlines elite status level.
Returning your rental car on or before Feb. 28 should count toward the current qualification period. Even so, it may take up to eight weeks for the miles and Loyalty Points to be posted to your AAdvantage account.
Dine with AAdvantage Dining
You can also earn Loyalty Points through the American Airlines AAdvantage Dining program. To do so, enroll in the AAdvantage dining rewards program, add your favorite rewards cards to your AAdvantage dining program account and then use an enrolled card to pay at participating restaurants, bars and clubs.
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Depending on your status with the AAdvantage Dining program — different from your AAdvantage status — you’ll earn between 1 and 5 Loyalty Points per dollar spent. The restaurant should register your transaction within five days of your purchase; you should then see the miles and Loyalty Points in your AAdvantage account one to two weeks later.
Bottom line
It's best not to wait until the final days of your qualification period to earn the Loyalty Points you need. After all, your activity might not post as you expect — so now is a good time to figure out how you'll earn the final Loyalty Points you need before the end of this qualification period.
It's also worth watching for an offer to buy the American status you want. However, these offers are usually rather expensive, so it's almost always better to find a way to earn the Loyalty Points you need instead.
