Four Changes from American Airlines’ AAdvantage Update

This weekend, American Airlines announced some changes to its AAdvantage loyalty program, which it said will help more of its members earn and use loyalty points by flying with American.

“We’re creating a more meaningful travel rewards program for our AAdvantage members,” said Vasu Raja, American’s Chief Commercial Officer.

“Only our members will have access to everything American has to offer. Achieving status will unlock an even wider world of unique experiences with the airline and our partners. With these and other innovations to come, we are continuing to deliver on our commitment that travel is better when you’re an AAdvantage member.” 

Here are four of the changes American is making over the next year:

1. Rewards Before Status
The biggest change is that passengers will now be able to earn perks before they have status. Once an AAdvantage member reaches 15,000 loyalty points, which is before the 40,000 AAdvantage Gold threshold (more on that below), they’ll be able to board with Group 5 for the rest of the year.

Those who reach 15,000 points will also be able to also choose between priority check-in, security, and Group 4 boarding for one trip or five preferred seat coupons.

JetBlue made a similar change during its recent TrueBlue Loyalty program update.

2. No Limit on Miles Earned on a Single Trip
AAdvantage members will now be able to earn more than 75,000 points on a single trip—previously, American had placed a 75,000-point limit per trip (the points earned are based on both the ticket price and AAdvantage status).

American will also allow members to earn two miles per dollar spent on Basic Economy fares for tickets issued starting on Jan. 1, 2023, for travel starting March 1, 2023.

3. New Status Thresholds
American is upping what it takes to earn Gold status—previously America had set the first-tier Gold status threshold at 30,000 points, but it is now increasing to 40,000.

Gold will then be followed by Platinum at 75,000, Platinum Pro at 125,000, and Executive Platinum at 200,000.

After Executive Platinum, members will still be able to earn more benefits and rewards including systemwide upgrades, Admirals Club One Day Passes, trip credits, award rebates for flights purchased with miles, and more, at 550,000 points, 750,000, 1 million, 3 million, and more.

4. New Ways to Use Points
Starting in March 2023, AAdvantage members will be able to book and redeem miles for American Airlines Vacations packages, including for flights, hotels, and car rentals.

Those who have an AAdvantage Mastercard will be able to redeem miles on Mastercard Priceless Experiences such as private dinners, sporting events, food festivals, theatrical performances, and more.