For whatever reason, there’s a not-insignificant portion of the frequent flyer community that finds invitation-only status with US airlines to be sexy. I’ve gotta be honest, I don’t really get it. Is there any other context in which overpaying for the pleasure of indulging in American’s domestic first class catering, lounge cubed cheese, and cheap chardonnay, is considered appealing?
Arguably the most well known invitation-only airline status is American Airlines’ Concierge Key, as it was a major theme of the popular 2009 movie “Up In The Air,” starring George Clooney.
What is Concierge Key status really? How do you earn Concierge Key, and what are the benefits? How many Concierge Key members are there? The truth is that there’s little published information out there about the status, but lots of data points.
In this post I wanted to attempt to answer some of the most common questions about Concierge Key status to the best of my ability. If you’re interested in details of invitation-only elite status with other airlines, check out my posts about Delta 360 and United Global Services.
In this post:
What is American Concierge Key status?
On the most basic level, Concierge Key is American’s invitation-only elite status level. There’s no published criteria to earn it, and it has to be renewed every year, so you can earn it one year and lose it the next.
Going back several years, Concierge Key was completely separate from the AAdvantage program, but that’s no longer the case. Nowadays Concierge Key is a formal part of the AAdvantage program, and it’s a tier above Executive Platinum status (American’s highest published elite tier).
How do you earn American Concierge Key status?
The criteria to earn Concierge Key is not published, but generally there are a few ways to earn it.
One way is to spend a ton on American Airlines travel. We’re talking $50,000+ of spending per year. That’s not to say that spending $50,001 will get you Concierge Key status, but rather that if you spend less than that, don’t assume you have any real chance of being invited. So you absolutely can earn Concierge Key purely through your own travel, and that’s probably the most common way it’s earned.
We don’t fully know what American looks for in this regard, though. Does the airline care purely about the dollar amount you spend, the typical fare classes you fly in (consistently full fare first class, for example), or something else? There are also some indications that the qualification criteria vary based in markets, so you have a better chance of earning it if you’re not living in a major hub city of American.
Keep in mind that nowadays American Airlines elite status is based on the Loyalty Points program, so you can even earn elite status through credit card spending. So, does non-flying activity similarly count toward Concierge Key status? The reports I’ve seen suggest that it does, but you need to engage with the program a lot. For example, I’ve heard of people earning Concierge Key through credit card spending, but we’re talking about millions of dollars per year in spending on cards.
You can also earn Concierge Key through the influence you have over others’ travel. Sometimes American Airlines will give Concierge Key nominations as part of a big corporate contract, or to key travel planners who have influence over a lot of others’ travel.
American Airlines is even known to comp Concierge Key to some “influencers.” For example, going back several years, YouTuber Casey Neistat was comped Concierge Key status and was really unhappy when it was taken away.
For avoidance of doubt, I’ve never been offered Concierge Key status, and I’m totally fine with that. 😉
What are the benefits of American Concierge Key status?
Concierge Key has quite a few published benefits, but some would argue the biggest benefit of the status is better “soft” treatment in the event of irregular operations.
The benefits of American Airlines Concierge Key include the following:
- Upgrade priority over all other AAdvantage elite tiers (complimentary upgrades start clearing 120 hours out, compared to the 100 hour window for Executive Platinum members)
- An Admirals Club membership
- Access to Flagship Lounges, even when traveling domestically
- Two Flagship First Dining passes annually, though this has been an unofficial benefit
- Two additional systemwide upgrades, beyond the ones that are ordinarily earned with the Loyalty Point Rewards program
- Co-pays waived on international mileage upgrades
- A dedicated phone number and email address with 24/7 support
- Access to Flagship First Check-In, even when traveling domestically
- Priority boarding before everyone else
- Assistance during irregular operations
Assistance during irregular operations is probably both potentially the most valuable perk, and also the most inconsistent one. On a good day, Concierge Key members may get proactive rebookings when flights are canceled and delayed.
American even has a fleet of cars at hubs for Concierge Key tarmac transfers, so during a short connection you may be picked up planeside and driven to your connecting flight. At the same time, there are also instances where you’ll likely be disappointed, because Concierge Key agents aren’t going to deliver 100% of the time.
If you’re looking to at least get Concierge Key levels of airport support with a particular trip, keep in mind that American offers Five Star Service, which is a paid program for more attentive service at the airport.
How many American Concierge Key members are there?
American Airlines understandably hasn’t revealed how many Concierge Key members there are, so the best we can do is speculate. If I had to guess, I’d say there are somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 Concierge Key members. To be more exact, my assumption is that the number is roughly in the middle of that range.
In 2019 there was a clue — American worked with a company to send out chocolate to Concierge Key members, and the company posted that 11,300 packages had been prepared. Now, not all Concierge Key members received this chocolate, suggesting to me that there are more members than that.
If you’re curious how other elite ranks compare, I’d guess the number of Executive Platinum members is maybe 4-5x as high as the number of Concierge Key members. Again, that’s purely speculation on my part.
Bottom line
Concierge Key is American Airlines’ invitation-only elite status. It gives you priority over Executive Platinum members for just about everything, lounge access, extra systemwide upgrades, and also (hopefully) proactive help in the event of irregular operations. However, don’t expect it to earn it if you don’t spend at least $50,000 per year on American Airlines flights, and even then it’s not a sure bet.
Is the status life changing? While I’ve never had it, I’m inclined to say “no.” But others certainly may disagree…
If you’re a Concierge Key member (or have been one in the past), what has been your experience with the status? How does it compare to Executive Platinum status?
Just saw a post by the wife of Air Supply lead singer Russell Hitchcock on complementing AA's Concierge Key service. They do fly alot - 100+ shows a year and a ton internationally so likely that clears the 50K mark but also minor celebrity status might influence the invitation.
I've been CK for almost seven years. Frankly, there is not much difference at all vs EXP besides the proactive IRROPS support, the tarmac transfer in LHR (useful as it's my main Europe entry point) and pre boarding before Group 1 when the gate agents actually call and give you more than two seconds before they call Group 1.
I've had a couple of CKs tell me that being a involved in a corporate travel department as a decision maker no longer gets you CK. For what that's worth. Honestly the only 2 benefits I see that I would consider valuable over EXP is the use of FL lounge for all travels (MIA, LAX, DFW, ORD and maybe one day PHL) and preboarding avoiding the people in F that have to clog up the...
I've had a couple of CKs tell me that being a involved in a corporate travel department as a decision maker no longer gets you CK. For what that's worth. Honestly the only 2 benefits I see that I would consider valuable over EXP is the use of FL lounge for all travels (MIA, LAX, DFW, ORD and maybe one day PHL) and preboarding avoiding the people in F that have to clog up the boarding lane even when Group 1 has not yet been called. Maybe the cart if I'm trying to make a connection which is very rare as I never do a connection under 1.5 hours. Preferably 2-3 hours.
Thanks for breaking this down! Concierge Key Status offers such an exclusive level of service. It's fascinating to see what makes it so special.
Then why are you so obsessed with obtaining Executive Platinum status?
I think that Lucky/Ben is much more about acquiring platinum status with Air France and Gold status with British Airways.
I’d only come out of retirement for two reasons. If Kamala asks me to rap during inauguration or BOOM overture begins service. I’ll fly SFO-TYO 200 times a year for like 5 years.
Agree with BRC. originally this blog provided some useful information, now it's more for clickbait and the writing is not professional, and these fricking ads and the silly video box.
Like others have said before about Ben reposting his articles, it could be new for new readers. It is also a good reminder about what’s what in the travel industry. Another reason is what Ben has pointed out in the last part of his article is about any readers who have or had these status levels.
There may very will be a new reader who just happens to be a CK, 360, or GS...
Like others have said before about Ben reposting his articles, it could be new for new readers. It is also a good reminder about what’s what in the travel industry. Another reason is what Ben has pointed out in the last part of his article is about any readers who have or had these status levels.
There may very will be a new reader who just happens to be a CK, 360, or GS with the airline or CC with Hyatt or Cobalt with Marriott. They can share their experiences and give new data points. If Ben wants to write about these kinds of articles what would make it even more interesting is to write about invitation only memberships with other airlines such as with Emirates’ iO and Cathay Pacific’s Diamond Plus. He can also write about elite status with other airlines or hotels instead of talking about the same ones again and again.
Throw in the VFTW-type articles and it's becoming not my thing. Adios.
I know someone will reply ‘you’re not interested in the post, then don’t read it’, but I struggle seeing the value in these repeat posts. I think there’s value in updating posts when there’s new developments, but this is a case of ‘been there, read that already’. I get that it’s difficult to churn out a handful of posts every day that are interesting, but basically re-posting what has been posted already every few months … dunno ♂️.
Yep there's a lot of recycled content with little to no changes in wording/info.
It's obviously done to drive traffic and engagement on his site, which makes sense from a business perspective.
But from a content consumption experience, it's pretty dry.
Agreed for long time, regular readers that this content may be less useful. But there’s two benefits for these reoccurring post: this may be brand new information new followers of the blog; and having a new timestamp makes it’s more relevant from a search optimization standpoint.
I’ve read this blog for a long time and it’s been incredibly tedious lately with these 5-10+ a day repeat articles, or “slow news day, let me make up something really random to write about” articles. I’d much prefer fewer, but higher quality, articles and trip reports.
This is the feedback I shared as well, good to know I'm not the only one that feels this way.
He really lashed out at me the last time I said something along these lines.
On this note what happened to all the other contributors who used to write for the blog as well. I really enjoyed them.
I had it once for a year (when you only got EXP status for upgrades). The main benefit was reaccommodation. On a LAX-DCA, cancelled 10 minutes before departure. Rreaccommodated on LAX-IAD (when that flew) and was only one to get an F seat. Other F passengers got Y.
Flagship Checkin at LAX - no big deal - takes longer then just going through regular. Only thing, agent takes you to TSA to cut in line.