Loyalty Points are incorrectly posting for some members, but don't panic
American Airlines' new elite qualification system is here. Now, you'll earn status based solely on how many Loyalty Points you earn.
The new currency officially launched on March 1, but as a part of a special double-dip period for this year only, American also awarded Loyalty Points for qualifying activities in January and February. The catch was that transactions didn't initially appear on any frequent flyer accounts.
American has now completely revamped the AAdvantage interface and also begun posting Loyalty Points balances. Many TPG staffers and readers have seen their accounts updated over the last 24 hours.
Not all accounts have been updated yet, though. A number of AAdvantage members, including myself, still have a zero balance, despite having qualifying transactions.
Meanwhile, some accounts are showing incorrect balances. For example, TPG points and miles editor Andrew Kunesh has earned over 3,000 base miles this year, but only has 500 Loyalty Points reflected in his account.
If you find yourself in either of these scenarios, there's no reason to be concerned yet.
While American's goal is obviously to update account balances as quickly as possible, it's a gradual rollout.
When you sign into the new interface, there's a message that reads, "Loyalty Points and Loyalty Choice Rewards activity will post to your account between March 1 and March 5." So, there's no need to file any missing miles forms just yet.
For members whose accounts have been updated, Loyalty Points-accruing activity from January and February was posted as one "promotion bonus." This makes it harder to calculate how many points were awarded for each individual transaction. However, a number of members reported receiving fewer points than expected.
Again, these balances will likely continue to be updated through Saturday, March 5. However, if the number still seems off after that, double-check your recent activity and reach out to AAdvantage if there are any mistakes.
Related: American Airlines Loyalty Points are now posting
As a reminder, Loyalty Points are only earned on the base AAdvantage miles that you accumulate. Sign-up bonuses, bonus miles earned from special promotions, as well as miles that were purchased, gifted or transferred between accounts or from partners are not eligible.
For a detailed guide on what types of activities do and do not count toward earning Loyalty Points, see this guide.
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