Changes are coming to the American Airlines AAdvantage frequent flier loyalty program to become effective as of March of 2023 — and although the marketing nomenclature in this official announcement from the airline is predictably euphemistic, some aspects of the changes will impact some members negatively.
Notable Changes Coming to American Airlines AAdvantage Membership Program in 2023
Along with the good news and bad news about the changes is some commentary — and except as noted, the following changes which are explained in greater detail become effective as of Wednesday, March 1, 2023.
Basic Economy Earnings Reduced by 60 Percent
Instead of the current five miles earned per dollar spent for flights which are marketed and operated by American Airlines and eligible partner airlines, AAdvantage members who purchase Basic Economy fares will earn only two miles per dollar spent for all tickets which are issued on or after Sunday, January 1, 2023 for travel starting on Wednesday, March 1, 2023 — which represents a reduction in the number of AAdvantage miles earned by 60 percent.
At least the AAdvantage membership program of American Airlines did not blindly follow the draconian lead of the SkyMiles membership program of Delta Air Lines, which completely eliminated the option of earning anything altogether — SkyMiles and Medallion Qualification Miles as two examples — for passengers who purchase Basic Economy fares, which became effective as of Saturday, January 1, 2022.
Earning Gold Elite Status to Become More Difficult By Greater Than 33 Percent
Loyalty Points were introduced to the American Airlines AAdvantage membership program in October of 2021 as a simplified way of earning elite status — eliminating the days of accruing Elite Qualifying Miles, Elite Qualifying Dollars, and Elite Qualifying Segments to qualify for elite status — and they became effective as of Saturday, January 1, 2022. With some exceptions, Loyalty Points can be earned for every purchase which is associated with American Airlines and its official partners.
Apparently, earning Gold elite status became too simplified, as the number of Loyalty Points needed to achieve Gold elite status will increase by 10,000 — or by greater than 33 percent.
| AAdvantage Status | Loyalty Points 2022 | Loyalty Points 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | 30,000 | 40,000 |
| Platinum | 75,000 | 75,000 |
| Platinum Pro | 125,000 | 125,000 |
| Executive Platinum | 200,000 | 200,000 |
Gold elite status is equivalent to Ruby elite status in the oneworld airline alliance.
The good news is that the number of Loyalty Points to earn any other tier of elite status in the American Airlines AAdvantage membership program are not changing in 2023.
Platinum Pro Elites and Executive Platinum Elites to Lose Loyalty Choice Options
In what is being considered a devaluation, members of the AAdvantage program are required to earn 50,000 more Loyalty Points in 2023 than they need in 2022 to achieve either Platinum Pro elite status or Executive Platinum elite status while simultaneously losing the choice of one or two extra rewards.
Effective as of Wednesday, March 1, 2023, members of the AAdvantage program who earn:
- 175,000 Loyalty Points will be given Platinum Pro elite status
- 250,000 Loyalty Points will be given Executive Platinum elite status
Currently, members of the AAdvantage program who earn:
- 125,000 Loyalty Points are given Platinum Pro elite status and a choice of one or two extra rewards
- 200,000 Loyalty Points are given Executive Platinum elite status and a choice of one or two extra rewards
Earnings Limit To Be Eliminated
The limit of earning AAdvantage miles will be eliminated — meaning from that date on, you can earn as many miles as you like with no cap.
Currently, you can only earn a maximum of 75,000 AAdvantage miles on a single ticket no matter how much money was spent on it, which is ridiculous and inexplicable. This bizarre rule meant that customers had less of an incentive to purchase more expensive fares — such as for an international business class ticket.
Who knows why that policy was implemented in the first place…
MileSAAver Awards and Anytime Awards To Be Eliminated
MileSAAver awards and AAnytime awards are expected to be eliminated some time in 2023 — although no specific date has been officially set — which means that the flexibility to redeem fewer AAdvantage miles for award travel will eventually be gone.
MileSAAver awards are best when your plans are flexible, as they are currently available for as few as 7,500 AAdvantage miles each way plus any applicable taxes and carrier-imposed fees. MileSAAver awards have no blackout dates, but may have limited availability.
AAnytime awards can be used for any seat on an American Airlines flight or American Eagle flight for as few as 20,000 miles each way plus any applicable taxes and carrier-imposed fees. AAnytime awards have no blackout dates.
Fully Dynamic Mileage Awards
The announcement that a frequent travel loyalty program is switching to dynamic awards is almost never good news, as dynamic pricing is generally a “one-way street”: the amount of miles or points to be redeemed increases when cash prices increase — but those redemption amounts are rarely reduced when cash prices decrease…
…but American Airlines announced that its AAdvantage membership program will become fully dynamic with a “simplified” award chart, which is unusual at best, as dynamic awards typically do not include award charts — let alone award charts that are “simplified”.
What does that even mean, anyway? Well, the details have not been announced as of yet; so that is unknown as of now…
More Loyalty Point Reward Levels — and More Rewards, Too
New opportunities to earn rewards and receive benefits more often will be introduced by American Airlines, with the first Loyalty Point Rewards — which was formerly known as Loyalty Choice Rewards — level starting at 15,000 Loyalty Points and before earning any elite level status in the American Airlines AAdvantage membership program. In addition to the new 15,000 Loyalty Point Rewards tier, two other tiers are also being introduced at 60,000 Loyalty Points and at 100,000 Loyalty Points. Achieving several American Airlines flight segments will no longer be required to unlock specific award levels.
In comparison, the current Loyalty Choice Awards can be chosen when an AAdvantage member earns 125,000 Loyalty Points, 200,000 Loyalty Points, 350,000 Loyalty Points, 550,000 Loyalty Points, and 750,000 Loyalty Points during a membership year.
The new Loyalty Point Rewards tiers and their rewards are as follows:
- 15,000 Points — Get Group 5 Boarding privileges and choose one extra reward from the following:
- Priority privileges and Group 4 boarding for a single trip
- 5 Preferred Seat coupons
- 60,000 Points — Get Avis Preferred Plus elite status, 20 percent more Loyalty Points when spending with American Airlines Vacations, SimplyMiles, AAdvantage eShopping, AAdvantage Dining, and American Airlines Hotels.
- 100,000 Points — Get Avis Presidents Club elite status, 30 percent more Loyalty Points when spending with American Airlines Vacations, SimplyMiles, AAdvantage eShopping, AAdvantage Dining, and American Airlines Hotels.
- 175,000 Points — Choose one reward from the following:
- 2 systemwide upgrades
- 20,000 bonus miles
- Holders of AAdvantage co-branded credit cards can choose 25,000 bonus miles
- 6 Admirals Club one-day passes
- A $200.00 trip credit
- Holders of AAdvantage co-branded credit cards can choose a $250.00 trip credit
- A carbon offset
- A $250.00 donation to a select nonprofit organization
- A 15 percent rebate on an award booking
- 2 gifts of AAdvantage Gold elite status
- 35,000 AAdvantage miles toward a “Mastercard Priceless Experience” — only open to holders of American Airlines AAdvantage Mastercard credit cards in the United States
- 250,000 Points — Choose two rewards from the following:
- 2 systemwide upgrades
- 20,000 bonus miles
- Holders of AAdvantage co-branded credit cards can choose 30,000 bonus miles
- 6 Admirals Club one-day passes
- Admirals Club membership — requires two choices
- A $200.00 trip credit
- Holders of AAdvantage co-branded credit cards can choose a $250.00 trip credit
- A carbon offset
- A $250.00 donation to a select nonprofit organization
- 2 gifts of AAdvantage Gold elite status
- A choice of Bang & Olufsen products — requires two choices
- 1 Flagship Lounge single-visit pass
- Holders of AAdvantage co-branded credit cards can choose 2 Flagship Lounge single-visit passes
- 35,000 AAdvantage miles toward a “Mastercard Priceless Experience” — only open to holders of American Airlines AAdvantage Mastercard credit cards in the United States
- 400,000 Points — Choose two rewards from the following:
- 1 systemwide upgrades
- 25,000 bonus miles
- Admirals Club membership — requires two choices
- A $200.00 trip credit
- Holders of AAdvantage co-branded credit cards can choose a $250.00 trip credit
- A carbon offset
- A gift of AAdvantage Platinum elite status
- A choice of Bang & Olufsen products — requires two choices
- 2 Flagship Lounge single-visit passes
- 1 Flagship First Dining visit pass
- 40,000 AAdvantage miles toward a “Mastercard Priceless Experience” — only open to holders of American Airlines AAdvantage Mastercard credit cards in the United States
- 550,000 Points — Choose two rewards from the following:
- 1 systemwide upgrades
- 25,000 bonus miles
- Admirals Club membership (requires two choices)
- A $200.00 trip credit
- Holders of AAdvantage co-branded credit cards can choose a $250.00 trip credit
- A carbon offset
- A gift of AAdvantage Platinum elite status
- A choice of Bang & Olufsen products — requires two choices
- 2 Flagship Lounge single-visit passes
- 1 Flagship First Dining visit pass
- 40,000 AAdvantage miles toward a “Mastercard Priceless Experience” — only open to holders of American Airlines AAdvantage Mastercard credit cards in the United States
- 750,000 Points — Choose two rewards from the following:
- 1 systemwide upgrades
- 25,000 bonus miles
- Admirals Club membership — requires two choices
- A $200.00 trip credit
- Holders of AAdvantage co-branded credit cards can choose a $250.00 trip credit
- A carbon offset
- A gift of AAdvantage Platinum elite status
- A choice of Bang & Olufsen products — requires two choices
- 2 Flagship Lounge single-visit passes
- 1 Flagship First Dining visit pass
- 40,000 AAdvantage miles toward a “Mastercard Priceless Experience” — only open to holders of American Airlines AAdvantage Mastercard credit cards in the United States
- 1,000,000 Points — Choose one reward from the following:
- 4 systemwide upgrades
- A carbon offset
- A gift of AAdvantage Platinum Pro elite status
- Up to 100,000 miles back on award redemptions made in the membership year
- 150,000 AAdvantage miles toward a “Mastercard Priceless Experience” — only open to holders of American Airlines AAdvantage Mastercard credit cards in the United States
- 3,000,000 Points — Choose one reward from the following:
- 6 systemwide upgrades
- A carbon offset
- A gift of AAdvantage Executive Platinum elite status
- Up to 300,000 miles back on award redemptions made in the membership year
- 350,000 AAdvantage miles toward a “Mastercard Priceless Experience” — only open to holders of American Airlines AAdvantage Mastercard credit cards in the United States
- 5,000,000 Points — Choose one reward from the following:
- 10 systemwide upgrades
- A carbon offset
- A gift of AAdvantage Executive Platinum elite status
- Up to 500,000 miles back on award redemptions made in the membership year
- 550,000 AAdvantage miles toward a “Mastercard Priceless Experience” — only open to holders of American Airlines AAdvantage Mastercard credit cards in the United States
Other Changes
Other changes that were announced include:
- American Airlines AAdvantage Mastercard credit card holders in the United States can redeem AAdvantage miles toward Mastercard Priceless experiences.
- Members of the AAdvantage program will have exclusive access to American Airlines Vacations for even better deals on packages
Final Boarding Call
The American Airlines AAdvantage frequent flier loyalty program has essentially become the American Airlines DisAAdvantage frequent spender membership program for those members who hold official AAdvantage credit cards, as you can earn elite status without ever boarding an airplane. That may be great for people who spend a lot of money but rarely travel by airplane — but certainly not for frequent fliers for the most part.
I will have to experience the AAdvantage program myself to see if it will have actually improved in 2023 — but I am currently skeptical…
All photographs ©2018, ©2019, and ©2021 by Brian Cohen.
