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How Do You Achieve American Airlines Elite Status?

American Airlines

One of the best airlines in the world is American Airlines. It flies approximately 350 locations in 50 nations on an average of 6,700 trips daily. American Airlines as well as its Oneworld allies provide a total of 14,250 flights each day to 1,000 destinations in 150 countries on the basis of the Oneworld alliance. Traveling with American Airlines, the country's largest airliner, may be the most suitable option, especially if you are close to one of their facilities. If you travel internationally enough, you can gain elite status, which includes benefits such as automatic upgrading, free checked baggage, and seat selection. Being a member of an airline's elite program is a terrific way to gain rewards and privileges that make flying more enjoyable. American Airlines is a leader in its industry and a frequent flyer for many of us. With several destinations serviced, American Airlines is likely to be able to get you there or at least near your destination. Your journeys will be more pleasant and entertaining as a result of your elite status.

How does the American Airlines elite status work

American Airlines, like many other airlines, does have its own incentives and loyalty program called AAdvantage. Signing up for such a free program if you frequently fly American is a sensible option. You may earn valuable AAdvantage miles as a subscriber, which you can use for reward flights, upgrade, priority boarding among other benefits.

Clients can earn either:

  • Gold
  • Platinum
  • Platinum Pro
  • Executive Platinum

According to Up Grade Points, to get to these statuses, one has to achieve the basic requirements for:

Elite qualifying miles (EQMs)

Airline professionals calculate EQMs, or Elite Qualifying Miles as a proportion of total miles traveled and vary by airline and reservation code. However, they exclude Basic Economy. Fortunately, each trip will net you at least 500 EQMs, but flights below 500 miles can earn 500 EQMs. For a class of service, elite bonuses purchased miles, or any other bonus miles do not count toward the effort of Elite Qualifying Miles.

Elite qualifying dollars (EQDs)

On American Airlines-marketed flights, one can earn Elite Qualifying Dollars based on the price of the ticket bought (basic fare + carrier-imposed costs, discounting government fees, and taxes). On Oneworld alliance flights, you can earn the EQDs based on the flight mileage and fare class booked, rather than the total value.

Elite qualifying segments (EQSs)

These are airline segments earned on American Airlines or its allies' valid bought tickets. The new AAdvantage membership comes in after you meet the requirements. For several members, having a chance at a complimentary upgrade is by far the most appealing reward.

How to earn American Airlines Elite Status

According to Million Mile Secrets, to achieve elite status, you must first create a free AAdvantage account and obtain an AAdvantage number. That number is essential for American Airlines to monitor your travels and transactions in order to reward "miles" for each. The more you travel and purchase air tickets, the more miles you'll accumulate. After you have created an American Airlines account, you will be able to accumulate AA miles as well as elite status credit. As mentioned earlier you'll receive incentives such as higher checked bags, seat upgrades when available, and mileage incentives based on which one of four elite status levels you attain. It's worth noting that Basic Economy tickets don't receive any of these benefits. When traveling in economy class, however, elites can receive elite status perks. Although EQMs and EQSs can be used to earn elite status, American Airlines also needs you to spend a specific amount on air tickets (excluding taxes and fees), known as EQDs. Once you reach the top, each level will cost you an extra $3,000 in expenditures. You'll need to expend about $6,000 to reach the following level, Executive Platinum, for just a sum of $15,000. The EQMs, EQDs, and EQSs will refresh annually, whereas your American Airlines credits will lapse after 1 year and 6 months of inactivity. It is vital to note that if you spend $30,000 through an approved American Airlines payment method in 2021, you can reduce the EQD restrictions for Gold, Platinum, and Platinum Pro levels.

The Gold status

This is where it all begins for everyone after accumulating 30 EQSs or 25,000 EQMs with American Airlines. For each and every 12,500 EQMs acquired, Gold and Platinum members receive four 500-mile enhancements. For every 500 miles traveled, you can use one enhancement, which is always scaled up to the following 500 miles. If your trip is 1,220 miles, for instance, you'll need three 500-mile enhancements to switch to first class. While upgrading may be difficult to come by, particularly at American Airlines hubs, you might get fortunate if you fly off-peak or on a less-traveled route.

Platinum-level membership

Platinum is the following step after Gold. With Platinum status, you'll get everything you had at Gold level. When you travel, you'll get a bit extra here. Enhancements will take precedence, you'll gain more miles, and the entire experience will be more convenient and faster. Also, beginning at this level, you'll be allowed to use associate lounges.

Platinum Pro status

This is the next step after Platinum. You've probably boarded American Airlines and its allies a lot by now. You will receive all of the previously mentioned advantages. According to Award Wallet, you won't have to worry about 500-mile enhancements at this level because first-class upgrading will clear instantly up to three days in advance. Aside from that, it isn't a significant upgrade from Platinum, because you'll have more options if you'd like to take an earlier or later flight since same-day changes are free.

Final Thoughts

If you frequently fly American Airlines, you owe it to yourself to investigate AAdvantage elite membership. Meeting the requirements isn't easy and you won't be greeted with a red carpet immediately after you earn AA Gold. However, if you fly frequently enough, all of the advantages no matter how minor they may appear can add up to a significant difference. You should definitely take full advantage of the privileges since they can radically transform your flying experience. If you only travel American Airlines several times a year, you might want to enroll for an AA co-branded credit card. For a lot less effort, you'll get a lot of the same rewards.

Lily Wordsmith

Written by Lily Wordsmith

Lily Wordsmith is a freelance writer who has had a love affair with the written word for decades. You can find her writing blog posts and articles while sitting under a tree at the local park watching her kids play, or typing away on her tablet in line at the DMV. In addition to her freelance career, she is pursuing ebook writing with an ever-growing repertoire of witty ebooks to her name. Her diversity is boundless, and she has written about everything from astrobotany to zookeepers. Her real passions are her family, baking desserts and all things luxe.

Read more posts by Lily Wordsmith

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