American Airlines Announces Changes to AAdvantage Loyalty Program

American Airlines made the announcement on Thursday that changes were on the horizon for its AAdvantage loyalty program. The goal of implementing these changes is to achieve simplicity, according to AAdvantage Managing Director, Heather Samp. 

Starting in March, AAdvantage members will have the opportunity to achieve certain perks before reaching the lowest level of elite status. 

According to USA Today, “Once a member accrues 15,000 Loyalty Points, they will be able to board with Group 5 for the rest of the membership year. They’ll also have the choice to bump up to Group 4 along with other priority privileges for one trip, or receive five preferred seat coupons.”

With an accumulation of 200,000 points, flyers are awarded Executive Platinum status. Members keep achieving higher status with each number of accumulated points. The program reaches 3-million-point thresholds and higher. 

American Airlines is increasing the number of points it takes to achieve the lowest level of elite status. It will take 40,000 points to become a Gold status member compared to the previous amount of 30,000 points. 

AAdvantage members earn points by flying American Airlines and its partners as well as through “shopping portals, hotels, rental cars, cruises through AA and retail outlets. In addition, members can earn Loyalty Points through spending on their cobranded MasterCard,” per USA Today. 

Enrolling in the AAdvantage loyalty program is completely free and can be done on American Airlines’ website.