American Airlines announced major changes for its AAdvantage® Loyalty Program, shifting to award miles based on the price of a ticket. The AAdvantage program will also make changes to how members qualify for elite status and introduce a new elite level in 2017.
Earning Award Miles
For travel beginning August 1, 2016, flights marketed by American will earn award miles based on the price of the ticket purchased. Elite members will earn even more miles based on their status level.
| Elite Status Level | AAdvantage member |
Gold | Platinum | Executive Platinum |
| Miles earned per USD spent† | 5 | 7 (40% bonus) |
8 (60% bonus) |
11 (120% bonus) |
Award miles for travel on most flights marketed by partner airlines will be based on a percentage of the flight distance and the booking code purchased.
Beginning later this month, customers will be able to see an estimate of the number of miles and elite-qualifying credits they will earn for a chosen itinerary when booking their trip on aa.com.
Sample calculation
AAdvantage® member flying round-trip on an American marketed flight from Dallas (DFW) to London-Heathrow (LHR):
| Elite status | Base fare (USD) | Carrier-imposed fees (USD) | Award miles/USD | Award miles earned |
| AAdvantage® member | $1,436 | $458 | 5 | 9,470 |
| Gold | $1,436 | $458 | 7 | 13,258 |
| Platinum | $1,436 | $458 | 8 | 15,152 |
| Executive Platinum | $1,436 | $458 | 11 | 20,834 |
Minimum mileage guarantee
Effective August 1, minimum mileage guarantee on shuttle flights is going away for AAdvantage® members. The elite member minimum mileage guarantee is also going away, but the 500-mile EQM minimum will still be awarded on eligible flights.
2017 Program Changes
New Elite Level
On January 1, 2017, the AAdvantage program will add a fourth elite level for customers.
Platinum Pro – members can begin qualifying for this new level in 2017. Placed between Platinum and Executive Platinum levels, members will receive benefits, including:
- Complimentary auto-requested upgrades on all eligible flights within North America and between the U.S. and Central America
- Earn 9 award miles/U.S. dollar (80% bonus)
- Two free checked bags
- oneworld® Sapphire status
Effective January 1, 2017, Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQD) will be added to the elite-qualification requirements.
Members can earn elite status by reaching the EQD threshold, and either the Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM) or Elite Qualifying Segments (EQS) requirement.
| Gold | Platinum | Platinum Pro | Executive Platinum |
| 25k EQMs Or 30 EQSs |
50k EQMs Or 60 EQSs |
75k EQMs Or 90 EQSs |
100k EQMs Or 120 EQSs |
| $3k EQDs | $6k EQDs | $9k EQDs | $12k EQDs |
Changes to Upgrade Benefits
Later in 2017, AAdvantage members will see changes to how upgrade requests are prioritized along with a new benefit for Executive Platinum members:
- Upgrade priority will be based on a 12-month rolling EQD total, sorted by elite status level.
- Executive Platinum members will be able to use their complimentary 500-mile upgrade benefits on AAdvantage award tickets for travel on American from Main Cabin to the next class.
The way your upgrade request is prioritized will change later in 2017. You’ll be listed according to your elite status level followed by the number of EQDs earned in the last 12 months.
500-mile upgrade windows
| Status | Upgrades confirmed before departure (as early as) |
| Executive Platinum | 100 hours |
| Platinum Pro | 72 hours |
| Platinum | 48 hours |
| Gold | 24 hours |
Starting later in 2017, Executive Platinum members can use their complimentary 500-mile upgrade benefits on AAdvantage® award tickets for travel on American from Main Cabin to the next class.
Additional details about the 2016 AAdvantage program are available at aa.com/aadvantage2016.
