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AA Offering Complimentary Status to Hilton Elites

Feb. 19, 2016
2 min read
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AA Offering Complimentary Status to Hilton Elites
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What's better than earning status? Getting it for free. And American has been offering lots of travelers free status recently. Last week, American sent email and mail invitations to certain AAdvantage members inviting them to try out status through May 31, 2016 — with a free challenge to keep this status through February 2017.

Yesterday, some Hilton elites received a similar offer. American Airlines is offering targeted, complimentary American Airlines Gold or Platinum status through June 17th.

Make sure to register for the promotion if you were targeted!

Requirements:

  • The terms state that this is an "exclusive offer only for members who receive this email directly from Hilton." So, check your email inbox first to see if you were targeted.
  • Register by 11:59pm CDT on February 25th.
  • To keep the status through January 2018, you must earn 7,000 Elite-Qualifying Miles (EQMs) between March 7 and June 17.

If you didn't get the targeted email, you can try your luck registering for the Gold status promotion using this link. After all, it's worth a minute to check if you can get status which we value at $1,155!

If you weren't targeted, you'll likely end up with the same error as me.

I currently have Hilton HHonors Silver status and didn't receive the invitation email. Even though I already have American Airlines Gold status, I tried to register for this promotion, but ended up with a friendly error. (It even says "FriendlyError" in the url!)

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Bottom Line

Promotions like this can be a bummer for existing lower-tier elites — such as myself — as it creates more competition for Main Cabin Extra seats and domestic upgrades, but it's a good opportunity for American to introduce its product to a larger group of business travelers.

If you were one of the Hilton elites targeted to get free American Airlines status, certainly jump on the chance! Then, take advantage of a flight deal — like this to one China — to keep this status through January 2018. In addition to the other perks of status, you'll earn 25% (Gold) to 100% (Platinum) bonus American Airlines miles thanks to this free offer!

H/T: FlyerTalk

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  • Intro Offer

    LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles
  • Annual Fee

    $395
  • Recommended Credit

    740-850
    Excellent

Why We Chose It

The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)

Pros

  • The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
  • In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
  • Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.

Cons

  • The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
  • Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
  • LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
  • Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
  • Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
  • With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
  • Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
  • Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
  • Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
  • Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
  • Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
  • This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month
  • Top rated mobile app