After having American AAdvantage’s (published) top-tier Executive Platinum status for 14 years, I’ve come to terms with the fact that my run will end a few weeks from now. As a matter of fact, I’ll drop all the way down to AAdvantage Gold… and I feel totally fine about it. I’m just going to start taking a different strategy, so let me explain.
I’ll drop from AAdvantage Executive Platinum to Gold
Nowadays, American uses the Loyalty Points system for status qualification. This means you can earn status through a variety of means, including credit card spending. Status doesn’t follow the calendar year, but rather the status year runs from the beginning of March through the end of February of the following year.
That means the current status year ends at the end of February, which is just a few weeks from now. So, where do I stand? I’m at just over 61,000 Loyalty Points. That’s short of the Platinum level (75,000 Loyalty Points), less than half of what’s required for Platinum Pro (125,000 Loyalty Points), and less than one-third of what’s required for Executive Platinum (200,000 Loyalty Points).
I don’t have any more plans to fly American on a revenue ticket before the end of the month, so this is likely where I’ll end my elite status year with the airline.
Just for some context on the Loyalty Points I earned, I haven’t spent a dime on an American co-branded credit card this status qualification year. I’ve also been redeeming a lot of AAdvantage miles for domestic travel, and those flights don’t count toward status.
I also don’t go out of my way to fly American. Living in Miami, it is typically the most convenient airline, but I don’t fly American much on long haul flights, and I also fly the airline that offers the best all around value (in terms of schedule, price, and product). As y’all know, I also redeem a lot of miles for travel on a variety of airlines. 😉
My more efficient American AAdvantage strategy
In the past, I used to be blindly loyal to American, and the thought of not earning Executive Platinum wouldn’t have been something I’d even consider. I would’ve either done mileage runs at the end of the status year, or would’ve ensured I had enough credit card spending to requalify.
But my loyalty has gone from being blind to being transactional. After all, the game has changed. Transactional loyalty is a two-way street — just as American sells elite members upgrades for cash when they’re on the upgrade list, I’m also crunching the numbers on my “loyalty.” To be clear, I don’t blame American for doing that, but I’m also not going to act irrationally in the way that I used to.
I’m simply planning on using a more efficient strategy, and that consists of two things.
I’ll earn Platinum Pro rather than Executive Platinum
With American AAdvantage, Platinum Pro status requires earning 125,000 Loyalty Points, while Executive Platinum status requires 200,000 Loyalty Points. Both tiers offer the single status perk that I value the most nowadays — oneworld Emerald status.
I’ve gotta be honest, I’d have a hard time giving up oneworld Emerald status in the long run, because I adore the amazing lounges that oneworld Emerald affords access to. I see value in having the status. That being said, for my purposes, I see little incremental value in Executive Platinum over Platinum Pro.
For one, I barely clear upgrades anymore as an Executive Platinum, because American sells a vast majority of premium seats. If I want a first class seat, I’ll either pay for it, or I’ll take one of American’s (often cheap) paid upgrades after booking an economy ticket.
So for my purposes, there’s not much difference between those tiers. I also sometimes use the same day confirmed change feature, and that works equally for both tiers as well. But that really doesn’t leave much else in the way of incremental value, at least for my purposes.
Also, since American introduced the Loyalty Point Rewards program and decoupled those benefits from the status threshold, it’s not as rewarding in terms of being able to earn perks like systemwide upgrades.
I’ll qualify for elite status every two years
Here’s the second part of my strategy. I’d like to keep earning oneworld Emerald status, but rather than completing a bunch of spending now (before the end of the status qualification year), I’ll instead prioritize American credit card spending at the beginning of the next status qualification year.
In other words, come March 1, I’ll be putting spending on my American credit card, and will try to qualify for Platinum Pro as quickly as possible. I’ll put things like tax payments on the card, until I earn the status.
What’s the advantage of that? Well, if I earned Platinum Pro now, it would be valid through March 2026. If I want until March to earn it, it’ll be valid through March 2027. So if I take this strategy, I can simply qualify for status every two years, rather than every year, and have a brief period every two years where my status drops.
Having the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Legend Mastercard® (review) makes it a bit easier to earn Loyalty Points. The card offers up to 40,000 bonus Loyalty Points per year; get 10,000 Loyalty points after passing 50,000, 90,000, 165,000, and 240,000 Loyalty Points, in a membership year.
Bottom line
As of March, I’ll be dropping from AAdvantage Executive Platinum status all the way down to Gold. I stayed on the hamster wheel for a long time and almost just instinctively requalified, but that’s no longer the case.
That doesn’t mean I’m giving up on status altogether. I still hope to earn AAdvantage Platinum Pro status, since I value oneworld Emerald. But I’m going to be more efficient, and try to earn status every two years rather than every year, especially with the ability to efficiently earn status through credit card spending that way.
When you combine these two changes, I’ll go from having to earn 400,000 Loyalty Points every two years, to having to earn just 125,000 Loyalty Points every two years. Of course my strategy may evolve over time, but that’s the plan as of now.
Has anyone else evolved their AAdvantage elite status strategy?
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