Check your account: Earn American Airlines Loyalty Points on award flights (targeted)

Attention, American Airlines members: If you're chasing elite status with the carrier, you should check your American Airlines AAdvantage account, as you may be targeted for an end-of-the-year promotion. A few TPG staff members were targeted with a new American Airlines promotion to earn Loyalty Points on award flights.

The offers:

• Earn 100 Loyalty Points per 1,000 AAdvantage miles you redeem (up to 20,000 Loyalty Points).
• Earn 50 Loyalty Points per 1,000 AAdvantage miles you redeem (up to 20,000 Loyalty Points).

The offer terms:

• Register and book travel by Oct. 7, 2024.
• Complete travel by Dec. 31, 2024.
• Only award flights on American and American Eagle qualify for this promotion.
• Earn a maximum of 20,000 Loyalty Points.
• Loyalty Points will be posted within six to eight weeks of your completed travel.

To check, log in to your AAdvantage account. Under "Rewards hub," click on "Promotions" to see if your account has the offer available. Unfortunately, if you were not targeted for this offer, you will not be able to register for the promotion.

Related: Chasing American Airlines elite status? Here are 15 ways to earn Loyalty Points

It seems American Airlines made this a very targeted promotion, as most TPG staff members did not have this offer in their accounts. However, Clint Henderson, TPG's managing editor of news and a current AAdvantage Executive Platinum member, and Eric Rosen, TPG's director of travel content and a current AAdvantage Gold member, were targeted.

American Airlines loyalty program changes

American's loyalty program has undergone some changes within the last year, and it seems like the airline is targeting a select few to test if earning Loyalty Points on award flights will affect how consumers plan, book and spend with the carrier.

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In August, American implemented the opportunity for AAdvantage members to finally earn miles and Loyalty Points on upgrades purchased on American-operated flights.

"Until now, the airline hasn't allowed loyalty members to earn miles and status credits from upgrades. For me, that's been a reason to generally avoid these buy-up offers and instead change my ticket to a business- or first-class fare if it becomes more reasonable over time," Zach Griff, a senior reporter at TPG, noted in his article. "But now, I will be more tempted to buy an upgrade with American the next time I find a reasonable offer."

Related: Best uses of American Airlines AAdvantage miles

So, could this September targeted promotion be a potential kickoff to a larger program implementation?

As of now, AAdvantage members earn Loyalty Points by flying on American-operated flights (and with American's partners), via credit card spending, through the AAdvantage Dining program, by making purchases via the AAdvantage online shopping portal and from partnerships through hotel brands, car rentals, cruises and more.

However, when members book an award flight and redeem their AAdvantage miles, they do not earn Loyalty Points. Will American make this a permanent program change in 2025?

In 2022, Delta Air Lines officially implemented the awarding of Medallion Qualification Dollars on award flights. On your award tickets, you'll earn 1 MQD per 100 SkyMiles redeemed.

Additionally, fellow competitor United Airlines allows program members to earn Premier qualifying points based on the number of miles redeemed at an earning rate of 1 PQP per 100 miles.

Bottom line

While it seems few were targeted for American's latest promotion, it is interesting that the airline appears to be "testing" how consumers may respond to the chance to earn additional Loyalty Points before the end of the status qualification year (Feb. 28, 2025).

Though fellow competitors United Airlines and Delta Air Lines have already implemented the ability to earn elite qualifying points in their programs, American's determination to continue to roll out changes to its loyalty program within the past year makes us think this could be part of yet another program upgrade — at least, a welcomed one — in 2025.

Related reading:

• Best credit cards for American Airlines flyers
• Maximize your airfare: The best credit cards for booking flights
• The best credit cards to reach elite status
• Everything you need to know about flying basic economy on American Airlines