The Guide to American Airlines Elite Status

American Airlines offers an incredibly valuable elite status program, with its AAdvantage loyalty program ranking highly among NerdWallet's best airline loyalty programs.

The airline offers a solid domestic route network and flies internationally to several continents. It's also part of the Oneworld alliance, with access to partners that can get its flyers to almost anywhere in the world. Given its wide coverage, the American Airlines AAdvantage program might be the frequent flyer program of choice for many travelers.

If you're often on an American flight, you're probably close to — or at least thinking about — attaining elite status on the airline. Here's everything you need to know about the AAdvantage program's elite status levels, which are:

1. AAdvantage Gold.

2. AAdvantage Platinum.

3. AAdvantage Platinum Pro.

4. AAdvantage Executive Platinum.

Not to mention a semi-secret fifth level, American Airlines ConciergeKey.

American Airlines AAdvantage, like most frequent flyer programs, is free to join; you’ll just have to hand over some personal information like your name and email. So even if you only fly American occasionally, it’s almost always worth signing up.

Once you have a membership, you’ll be able to earn AAdvantage miles. Even if you’re an infrequent flier, miles can be slowly accumulated and redeemed for free flights (just don’t let them expire, which happens if you go two years without any account activity).

Loyalty Points aren't exactly the same as miles, but they go together like peanut butter and jelly. That's because one Loyalty Point is earned per one eligible AAdvantag mile. And those Loyalty Points are exactly what you need to become a VIP in the eyes of American. More Loyalty Points means higher levels of AAdvantage elite status.

Your status for that year is based on flying and spending with American and its partners in a 12-month period starting on March 1 of each year. Once you've earned status, your AAdvantage status is valid through March 31 of the following year.

Here are the four tiers of American Airlines elite status, their top benefits (and value) and how to earn it:

AAdvantage Gold

Gold is the lowest of the elite status tiers, but it’s still useful to those who hold it. Benefits include:

• Unlimited complimentary domestic upgrades (including award tickets).

• Complimentary Preferred seats.

• Complimentary Main Cabin Extra at check-in.

• One free checked bag.

• Priority check-in, security and boarding.

• Same-day standby priority.

• AAdvantage Gold service desk access.

• Oneworld Ruby benefits.

How to earn: Earn 40,000 Loyalty Points.

Estimated value of benefits: $2,158.

Cost to earn: $7,595.

Bonus miles earned for spending on base flight miles traveled with American or partners: 7 miles per dollar spent (a 40% bonus).

Earning rate per dollar spent on American: 28%.

AAdvantage Platinum

Platinum is where your status starts to take off, as you’re now in the running for complimentary upgrades to the premium cabin.

Benefits include:

• Complimentary Main Cabin Extra.

• Complimentary Preferred seats.

• Unlimited complimentary upgrades (including award tickets).

• Two free checked bags with priority handling.

• Priority check-in, security and boarding.

• Same-day standby priority.

• AAdvantage Platinum service desk access.

• Oneworld Sapphire benefits.

How to earn: Earn 75,000 Loyalty Points.

Estimated value of benefits: $7,500.

Cost to earn: $18,987.

Bonus miles earned for spending on base flight miles traveled with American or partners: 8 miles per dollar spent (a 60% bonus).

Earning rate per dollar spent on American: 40%.

AAdvantage Platinum Pro

Not only does Platinum Pro get unlimited complimentary upgrades on domestic flights when available, but it’s more than likely any available upgrades will go to you.

If multiple elite status holders are on the flight, then American gives it to the person with the most Loyalty Points. And since Platinum Pro is among the highest levels of elite status, that upgrade is likely to go to you.

Benefits include:

• Unlimited complimentary domestic upgrades (including award tickets).

• Complimentary Main Cabin Extra.

• Complimentary Preferred seats.

• Three free checked bags with priority handling.

• Priority check-in, security and boarding.

• Free same-day flight change and standby priority.

• AAdvantage Platinum Pro service desk access.

• Oneworld Emerald benefits.

How to earn: Earn 125,000 Loyalty Points.

Estimated value of benefits: $15,153.

Cost to earn: $31,646.

Bonus miles earned for spending on base flight miles traveled with American or partners: 9 miles per dollar spent (an 80% bonus).

Earning rate per dollar spent on American: 48%.

AAdvantage Executive Platinum

Benefits include:

• Unlimited complimentary upgrades within North America (including award tickets).

• Complimentary Main Cabin Extra.

• Complimentary Preferred seats.

• Three free checked bags with priority handling.

• Complimentary food and drinks in the Main Cabin.

• Free same-day flight change and standby priority.

• Priority check-in, security and boarding.

• AAdvantage Executive Platinum service desk access.

• Oneworld Emerald benefits.

How to earn: Earn 200,000 Loyalty Points.

Estimated value of benefits: $29,008.

Cost to earn: $50,633.

Bonus miles earned for spending on base flight miles traveled with American or partners: 11 miles per dollar spent (a 120% bonus).

Earning rate per dollar spent on American: 57%.

American Airlines ConciergeKey

American Airlines also has a fifth unpublished, elite status level called ConciergeKey. It’s a secret club of sorts, and there aren’t even any published requirements on how to earn it (some say you have to spend $50,000 or more on American Airlines flights to get invited to ConciergeKey).

With this ultra-fancy tier of status comes lavish privileges like membership for you and guests to Admirals Club lounges, Flagship Lounge access, a dedicated customer service line and the highest upgrade priority.

There are plenty of waived fees, and rumor has it that American Airlines sends customers not only appreciation gifts like chocolates, but even invites them to an annual gathering.

Elite status is earned through Loyalty Points. You earn one Loyalty Point per eligible AAdvantage mile earned. And given how many ways there are to earn American Airlines AAdvantage miles, there are plenty of opportunities to in turn earn Loyalty Points.

How many Loyalty Points do you need to earn status with American Airlines?

Here’s how many loyalty points you’ll need to get into each status tier:

Can you buy your way to American Airlines elite status?

In a sense, yes. While you can’t outright hand American Airlines cash in exchange for status, you can earn elite status through spending on things that aren’t necessarily flights.

That includes using your AAdvantage credit card for your everyday spending or shopping with American Airlines partners. Those activities can help you quickly rack up Loyalty Points outside of flying.

The best ways to earn Loyalty Points

Ways to rack up Loyalty Points to boost your ranks in the airline's elite status program include:

1. Purchasing something with an American Airlines credit card.

2. Flying with American, Oneworld or any other American Airlines partner airline.

3. Booking vacation packages through American Airlines Vacations.

4. Online shopping through the AAdvantage eShopping portal.

5. Shopping in store with a credit card linked to a SimplyMiles account.

6. Dining at restaurants that participate in AAdvantage Dining and paying with a linked credit card.

7. Staying at partner hotels, including Marriott and IHG with a linked American Airlines account.

With enough Loyalty Points, you’ll earn elite status which then unlocks perks like seat upgrades, lounge membership and more. Here's a deeper dive into some of those ways to earn Loyalty Points:

Spending on American Airlines AAdvantage credit cards

Most AAdvantage credit cards earn 1 base mile per $1 spent on eligible purchases (though some earn 0.5 base miles, while others earn an even-better 1.5 or 2 miles). One base mile equals one Loyalty Point toward elite status.

There are several American Airlines AAdvantage credit cards to choose from, each offering different earn rates, annual fees and welcome offers.

Even if your credit card earns bonus miles for certain categories (for example, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® earns 2 miles per $1 spent at restaurants and gas stations), you’ll still only earn one base mile off that purchase. So, a $10 dining purchase would net you 20 miles toward your next free flight, but only 10 Loyalty Points toward elite status.

Welcome bonus offers on credit cards also won’t count toward elite status.

» Learn more: The best American Airlines credit cards

Shop with American Airlines partners

When you shop with American Airlines partners, you can earn Loyalty Points. Understand the terms of each program, as you’ll typically have to either link your AAdvantage account to the company you’re booking through by handing over your membership number to them, or you might have to shop through a link accessed via American’s site.

Partners vary, but usually include:

• American Airlines shopping programs: American Airlines Vacations, AAdvantage eShopping, AAdvantage Dining, SimplyMiles.

• Hotels: bookaahotels.com, Hyatt, Marriott International, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Marriott Vacations, RocketMiles.

• Rental cars: aa.com/car, Avis, Budget, Payless, Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty, Alamo, National, Sixt.

• Cruises: bookaacruises.com.

• Retail partners: Shell, NRG Energy, Reliant Energy, Xoom, Miles for Opinion.

Learn more about earning AAdvantage miles, which can usually be converted to Loyalty Points, here.

Other benefits offered to status holders include one-offs or goodies for hitting certain thresholds. Here are the best of them:

Loyalty Point Rewards grant extra goodies like lounge passes

The AAdvantage program offers a Loyalty Point Rewards program to incentivize flyers to earn Loyalty Points — even if they're not chasing status or don't think they'll reach a higher elite level.

Starting with 15,000 Loyalty Points, AAdvantage members can receive certain perks and choose from a list of rewards that best fit their travel habits.

The more Loyalty Points you have, the more choices of rewards you get to pick. Here’s the breakdown:

Million Miler perks

Fly a million miles, and consider yourself American Airlines royalty.

• Once you’ve flown 1 million qualifying miles, you’ll earn Gold status for the life of the program, plus 35,000 bonus miles.

• At 2 million, you get lifetime Platinum status.

• At 4 million, you get lifetime Platinum Pro status.

• At 5 million, you get lifetime Executive Platinum status.

• Earn four one-way systemwide upgrades at 2 million miles and every additional million miles after that.

Despite the change in the way elite status is earned, you still need to fly to earn Million Miler status.

» Learn more: Complete guide to the American Airlines AAdvantage program

How long do you hold American Airlines elite status and how do you requalify?

American Airlines AAdvantage members qualify for status based on the 12-month period starting on March 1 of each year. Then, status lasts through March 31 of the following year.

What about expiring AAdvantage miles?

AAdvantage miles expire after 24 months of account inactivity, but you don't necessarily have to fly to remain active. That means you have to have earned or redeemed at least one mile within that two-year window.

You can certainly do that by flying on American, either earning miles for a flight purchased with cash or redeeming miles to book that flight for free.

Though, there are tons of easy ways to maintain activity without actually flying, such as participating in American’s dining rewards program.

How are upgrades determined on American Airlines?

Upgrade priority is based on the number of Loyalty Points earned. So, the more points you earn, the higher are your chances of getting upgraded.

For example, if you’re a Gold elite with 40,000 Loyalty Points, but there’s another Gold elite on the same flight who earned 45,000 Loyalty Points, that person will have upgrade priority over you.

» Learn more: How American Airlines upgrades work

What are American Airlines miles worth?

According to our valuations, American AAdvantage miles are worth about 1.3 cents each. When thinking about the value you could extract from your miles, a good rule of thumb is to use your miles on redemptions that meet or exceed that valuation.

How to status match with American Airlines

There are a few American Airlines status matching opportunities with other loyalty programs, which allow you to claim American status, even if you’ve never set foot on an American airplane ever in your life.

Oneworld alliance

Earning AAdvantage elite status also gives you perks when flying with the other Oneworld airlines, which include Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Qantas and Qatar Airways.

Once you earn AAdvantage elite status, you don't need to do anything to receive Oneworld status. By having elite status with American, you'll automatically have Oneworld elite status. Here’s how status levels map between the two programs:

With Ruby status, you’ll enjoy priority check-in and standby. Sapphire level adds on priority boarding on American, plus access to expedited security lanes and Oneworld business class lounges. Emerald gives you access to first class lounges — the only alliance that does so — and an extra bag allowance.

» Learn more: The complete guide to American Airlines partners

World of Hyatt

American Airlines has a partnership with Hyatt hotels that gives you benefits with both brands. Link your account by entering your World of Hyatt number when logged into your American Airlines account.

You'll need to link your accounts in order to redeem Hyatt-related Loyalty Point Rewards. ConciergeKey members get World of Hyatt's top-tier Globalist status.

However, if you're more loyal to Hyatt than you are to American, you can leverage your hotel status and points for benefits on American through Hyatt's Milestone Rewards program, including:

• Preferred and Main Cabin Extra seat coupons on American (starting at 20 and 40 nights, respectively).

• AAdvantage Gold (starting at 70 nights) or Platinum status (starting at 100 nights).

Hyatt elites with Explorist or Globalist status can redeem Hyatt points to receive AAdvantage status for a day. Both can redeem for Gold or Platinum benefits, while Globalists can redeem points to get Platinum Pro status for a day.

» Learn more: Your guide to the World of Hyatt loyalty program

The value of American Airlines AAdvantage elite status depends on factors including how often you fly, how much you use the perks and the value you place on upgrades.

The value of benefits includes variables including the cost to otherwise check bags and the estimated value of upgrades. Perhaps the biggest variable in that number is the elite earning rate.

While Members (which is your tier automatically granted by joining) earn just 5 miles per dollar spent on American, you earn bonus miles once you climb the elite status ladder.

Gold members get a 40% bonus, while Executive Platinum members get an incredible 120% bonus. Consider it the airline version of "the rich get richer." Since those miles can then be poured into more free flights, the higher tiers of status have an especially high value of benefits.

Of course, status doesn’t come for free. Before making it your mission to earn the highest tier of status, realize that — unless someone like your employer is paying for these flights for you — earning status comes at an enormous cost, whether it’s paying for airfare or paying the annual fee on airline credit cards.

Earning elite status at American Airlines isn’t easy, but the many thousands of dollars in value it offers to frequent travelers can be worth it. And even if you don’t earn elite status, joining the AAdvantage program still makes sense for people who fly on the airline occasionally, as you’ll earn miles that can slowly accumulate enough to book a free flight.