American Airlines Simplifies AAdvantage

American Airlines loyalty programme, AAdvantage offers some great savings on award travel to, from and within North America. Yet, whilst it is one of the most popular frequent flyer clubs in the world, it has also become one of the most complex. 

AA has finally recognised this and is implementing a simplified process for members to progress through the status tiers within AAdvantage. 

US-based airlines have a penchant for making the basic levels of their loyalty clubs sound fancier than they really are and that won’t change with American’s new plans. The second tier after basic membership remains Gold, followed by Platinum, Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum, each level upcoming with enhanced travel perks and rewards. 

What will become more straightforward are the qualifying rules for each tier. Previously an AAdvantage member, seeking the benefits of a higher tier in the scheme, had to keep track of Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs), Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQDs) and Elite Qualifying Segments (EQSs). 

In addition to this jumble of three-letter acronyms, members earned AAdvantage Miles for flying with American American, on its partner airlines or when they purchased goods and services from over 1,000 retail partners, based mainly in the US. Participants earned roughly 5 Miles for every dollar spent, as basic members, with elite members earning as many as 7-11 Miles for each dollar spent with the airline and its partners.

Now American Airlines is simplifying AAdvantage, bringing it into closer alignment with other loyalty programmes operated by Oneworld alliance airlines, such as the British Airways Club.

Introducing AAdvantage Loyalty Points

From January 1 2022, Elite Qualifying Miles, Elite Qualifying Dollars and Elite Qualifying Segments will be all replaced by a single status metric: Loyalty Points.

AAdvantage Miles will be awarded in the same way as before but will now also determine the number of Loyalty Points a member receives. They will receive one Loyalty Point for every eligible AAdvantage Mile they earn. Eligible Miles can be earned by flying on Loyalty Point qualifying airlines, including American Airlines, any flight ticket bought with an AA flight code, Oneworld airline alliance members and JetBlue. Miles earned for Basic Economy tickets on American and status bonuses earned when flying on American Airlines and eligible partner airlines also qualify.  Miles earned by spending with an AAdvantage credit card and those gained through shopping online or dining with AAdvantage partners also qualify for Loyalty Points.  

In fact, the only AAdvantage Miles that won’t generate Loyalty Points are bonus Miles earned from special offers, Miles that have been purchased with cash, Miles that have been gifted or transferred, Miles converted from other programmes and promotional or bonus Miles awarded by AAdvantage credit card partners. Miles generated from credit card spending outside the US won’t be awarded Loyalty Points either.

Under the revamped scheme AAdvantage members can achieve Gold status with 30,000 Loyalty Points, Platinum status with 75,000, Platinum Pro status with 125,000 and Executive Platinum Status with 200,000 Loyalty Points.

Gold membership offers a 40% miles bonus for qualifying flights, Platinum +60%, Platinum Pro +80% and Executive Platinum members receive a massive 120% AAdvantage Miles bonus on flights. Therefore, making it simpler to achieve status also makes it simpler to earn and redeem American Airlines reward flights.

"Loyalty should be simple, and we have reimagined our AAdvantage programme to a single point system that provides a clear path to earning status for our members," commented Alison Taylor, Chief Customer Officer for American Airlines. "For our loyal members, the message is simple: Earn AAdvantage miles, earn status- whether that's by flying on American or by spending on everyday activities."

Status Extensions

AA has also taken the decision to extend the existing status tier of Elite AAdvantage members. All members with loyalty status set to expire on January 31, 2022, have been extended to March 31, 2022. AAdvantage participants who have already achieved status in the 2021 qualification year will see their status extended to March 31, 2023, by the end of March 2022.  In future, members will qualify for status from March through February, every membership year, with their status valid through to March 31 of the following year.

This decision has been taken as US travel has picked up, but business travel remains significantly below 2019 levels. Business travel traditionally represents a high proportion of American’s passenger traffic and without it, many members will struggle to retain their desired status level in AAdvantage.  AA will also allow its loyalty programme members to “double-dip” in January and February, accruing loyalty points for both 2022 and 2023. 

Loyalty Choice Rewards

In a further change, American is revising the formula it uses for qualification to its Loyalty Choice Rewards programme. Next year, AAdvantage members will become eligible for Loyalty Choice Rewards if they achieve Platinum Pro status and fly at least 30 flights on American or a qualifying partner airline. These rewards were formerly called Elite Choice Rewards and offer qualifying AAdvantage members a choice of perks, such as Admirals Club day passes, flight upgrades or bonus AAdvantage miles.

In Summary

The changes to AAdvantage provide a welcome simplification to what had become one of the world’s most complicated airline loyalty programmes. On the face of it, the switch to a reward currency and a points system determining status is similar to the frequent flyer clubs of many European airlines. However American has chosen to award Loyalty Points for a wider range of qualifying spend than just flights. In principle that makes it easier to earn status than with the status “Tier Points” awarded by other Oneworld airlines like British Airways. Easier access to status, which with its significant mileage bonuses, will also make it easier than earning an American Airlines reward flight, whilst taking fewer flights to earn the reward.

In a post-pandemic world, with less business travel taking place in the short term and a longer-term trend towards taking fewer flights, for the sake of the environment, this could be a sign of things to come.