American Airlines Aadvantage Screwing Members Again
Let the game brainstorm! As of January 1st, 2022, American Airlines has moved to a new mode for members to earn elite condition. The old EQMs and EQDs are gone. Now, we can earn aristocracy status simply by earning lots of Loyalty Points. The exciting thing well-nigh this is that Loyalty Points can be earned non but by flying only also through credit carte spend, shopping portal rewards, SimplyMiles rewards, and more. Ready to play?
Helpful Tools:
- Cheat sail (what works, what doesn't): How to earn American Airlines Loyalty Points without flight.
- Proceed score: AA Loyalty Game Scorecard
Why Pursue AA Loyalty Points?
Those who wing American Airlines a fair chip should be stoked by these changes. For those willing to do a combination of flying and spend-related games, it should exist like shooting fish in a barrel to earn a college level of condition than ever earlier, or to get to top tier status more than easily. And once y'all have high level status, you lot'll be eligible for more upgrades (even on Basic Economy tickets), free preferred seat selection, amend point earnings on flights, etc.
Then there are people like me. I don't wing AA enough to care much nearly getting upgrades on AA. I mean, I'd be thrilled to go upgraded if/when I wing AA, just I wouldn't normally go out of my way to earn status for that potential benefit. That said, in that location are some benefits that people like me who don't normally fly AA might value:
- OneWorld Elite Status: If you become AA's Platinum Pro status or higher, y'all'll qualify for OneWorld Emerald condition. This means that when flying a OneWorld carrier, you would get access to both kickoff and concern class lounges (except for AA'south own lounges if you earn OneWorld Emerald through AA), OneWorld showtime class check-in, priority boarding, extra complimentary luggage.
- Status Matches: When lucrative elite status matches are available, having high level AA aristocracy condition may be your key to getting a nifty match to an airline that you'll wing more often.
- Amend Basic Economic system on AA: Sometimes AA offers amazingly cheap Basic Economy prices. With elite status, there'south less downside to booking these. Aye, they're still non-changeable and non-refundable, but those flights earn Loyalty Points and with elite status you tin can select your seat, bank check bags for free, and authorize for upgrades.
- Elite Perks on Alaska and JetBlue: When flying JetBlue you tin can get priority check-in, security, and boarding; priority bag delivery; free checked bags; and a status mileage bonus. When flying Alaska, you can get all of the above plus preferred seating, free same-day flight change, complementary Premium Class seats, complementary upgrades to first class (Platinum Pro and higher).
As attractive every bit the above benefits might be, my real motivation for wanting to earn AA elite status is that I want to play the game. This is my warped thought of fun! I'g betting that there volition be many opportunities to stack shopping deals in order to earn AA miles and elite status extremely cheaply. In fact, I already institute some promising opportunities (as detailed in the examples afterwards in this post).
The Game
The AA Loyalty Indicate Game can be played solitary or with any number of friends. Each actor'due south goal is to earn enough Loyalty Points to reach a meaningful level of elite status. In 2022, we have 14 months to earn enough points (January 2022 through February 2023) but in futurity years we'll take simply 12 months (March through February). This goal would be easy to achieve if cost was no object, but I'1000 calculation a key restriction: the value of redeemable miles and Loyalty Points earned must outweigh fees and rewards not earned due to passing up more lucrative options.
How to Win (AKA how to earn AA elite condition)
Before starting the game, decide which elite level you're going for. You win if yous reach the targeted level earlier time is up (before March 1, 2023) and if y'all control costs appropriately. Hither are the target levels to choose from (personally I'chiliad going for Platinum Pro):
| AAdvantage elite condition | Gold | Platinum | Platinum Pro | Executive Platinum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loyalty Points Required | 30K | 75K | 125K | 200K |
| Mileage Bonus | 40% | 60% | fourscore% | 120% |
| Preferred Seating | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Main Cabin Extra Seating | Upgrade at Bank check In | Y | Y | Y |
| Domestic First Grade Upgrade | 24 hr window | 48 hour window | 72 hour window | 100 hour window |
| Upgrade on Alaska Airlines | Due north | Northward | Y | Y |
| Free checked numberless | one | 2 | three | 3 |
| Loyalty Choice Rewards* | 0 | 0 | Choose 1 | Choose ii |
| OneWorld Status | Cherry: Access to biz class cheque-in, preferred seating | Sapphire: Access to OneWorld Business Class lounges | Emerald: Admission to OneWorld Showtime and Business organization Grade lounges | |
* Loyalty Option Rewards are granted only after completing xxx or more qualifying flight segments during the aristocracy membership year
| Loyalty Option Rewards | 125K Loyalty Points | 200K Loyalty Points | 350K Loyalty Points | 550K Loyalty Points | 750K Loyalty Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # Choices | 1 | 2 | two | ii | 2 |
| Systemwide Upgrade | 1 | 2 | i | 1 | one |
| Bonus Miles | 20K1 | 20K2 | 25K | 25K | 25K |
| Admirals Club Ane-Day Passes | six | 6 | half-dozen | 6 | 6 |
| Admirals Club individual membership | N/A | Y requires 2 choices | Y requires ii choices | Y requires 2 choices | Y requires 2 choices |
| $200 AA Trip Credit | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Carbon emissions offset | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| $200 Charity Donation | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| One-fourth dimension award rebate | fifteen% | N/A | N/A | Due north/A | Due north/A |
| Gift AAdvantage status | Golden | Golden | Gold | Platinum requires 2 choices | Platinum requires 2 choices |
| Bang & Olufsen premium product | N/A | Y requires ii choices | Northward/A | N/A | Due north/A |
one) AAdvantage® credit card members receive an boosted five,000 bonus miles for a total of 25,000 miles 2) AAdvantage® credit card members receive an boosted ten,000 bonus miles for a total of 30,000 miles
Accounting for Costs
Near opportunities to earn Loyalty Points without flight crave making purchases. So, in that location are 2 types of purchases to account for:
- Purchases you lot would take fabricated anyhow: Account for rewards not earned. When buying things you would have bought anyway, the central is to account for the fact that you could have earned cash back (or other rewards) instead. For example, if you pay with an AA card that earns 1 mile per dollar instead of a card that earns two% cash back, then your price is 2 cents per mile. Similarly, if you store through the AA eShopping portal to earn 3 points per dollar instead of a cash back portal that offers 9% greenbacks back, then your price is 3 cents per mile.
- Purchases you brand only for the Loyalty Points: Sometimes there are deals that are so good that it'due south worth paying for something even if you don't want information technology. For example, information technology's not unusual for people to sign upwards for something like LifeLock just for the rewards (and so to cancel their subscription soon afterwards). In those cases, you tin can simply account for your costs straight. If y'all pay $100 and get 5,000 miles then your cost is $100/5000 = $0.02 (2 cents per mile).
How much should you pay for Loyalty Points and redeemable miles? In many cases, the number of Loyalty Points and redeemable miles y'all earn will be the aforementioned. For instance, if shopping through the AA eShopping Portal for an offering that advertises 1,500 points, you should become both 1,500 Loyalty Points and 1,500 redeemable miles. However, when the same portal as well offers a special promotion for bonus miles (eastward.g. 300 bonus miles with $100 spend across all portal purchases), those will most probable but be redeemable miles.
LoyaltyMiles: When you lot earn both Loyalty Points and redeemable miles at the aforementioned charge per unit (which is the norm), allow's call those LoyaltyMiles (I made that up).
How much are LoyaltyMiles worth to you? Before playing this game, it's important to determine how much LoyaltyMiles are worth to you lot. One rough manner to do this is to add the amount you lot would pay per mile to buy AA redeemable miles plus the amount y'all would pay for Loyalty Points (if you could buy them). For case, mayhap you know that you lot can e'er get significantly more 1 cent per point value from your AA miles, then you would pay 1 cent per mile to buy redeemable miles. Plus, lets say your target elite condition is Executive Platinum (requiring 200K Loyalty Points) and you lot would exist willing to purchase that level of status for $1,000 (a fabricated-up number). In that instance, yous would be willing to pay $ane,000 / 200K = one-half a cent per Loyalty Point. Taken together, LoyaltyMiles and so are worth ane.5 cents each to you. In other words, y'all would exist fine with paying one.5 cents per LoyaltyMile earned.
In my case, since AA condition isn't very meaningful to me and since I already have over a one thousand thousand AA miles, I'll pay no more than than one-half a cent per Loyalty Betoken and half a cent per redeemable mile. In other words, I don't want to pay more than 1 cent per LoyaltyMile. This ways that, unless an AA credit card is offer a large promotion, I shouldn't e'er put spend on an AA card. With my Bank of America Premium Rewards card I earn ii.62% cash back on all spend and so using an AA credit card that earns only 1 LoyaltyMile per dollar is similar paying 2.62 cents per LoyaltyMile (considering I could have earned 2.62% cash back instead of earning 1 LoyaltyMile). That's way in a higher place my budget of 1 cent per LoyaltyMile.
Tools for Earning Loyalty Points
As we reported separately, the following non-flight activities earn Loyalty Points:
- AA credit carte du jour spend (In most cases, earn one Loyalty Point per dollar even if earning more than 1x due to a category bonus or promo)
- General Shopping and dining: AAdvantage eShopping, SimplyMiles, AAdvantage Dining
- Merchant specific shopping: FTD, NRG Energy, Reliant Free energy, Shell Fuel Rewards, Vinesse, Vivid Seats, WeWork, Xoom
- Miscellaneous: Miles for Opinions
- Hotel Bookings: Rocketmiles, BookAAHotels.com, Hyatt (including miles earned through the AA/Hyatt partnership), Marriott, IHG, Marriott Vacations
- Rental Cars: You can book rentals through American Airlines, or book through most of the major rental motorcar companies and credit rewards to your American Airlines account.
- Vacations and cruises: aavacations.com, bookaacruises.com
One Mile at a Fourth dimension reports that the following DO Not earn Loyalty points:
- Buying, gifting, or transferring miles
- Government taxes, fees, and other charges associated with buying airline tickets
- Conversion of some other program currency to AAdvantage miles
- AAdvantage credit menu welcome bonuses don't qualify, and neither practise accelerators such as extra miles for category bonuses
- Miles earned with Bask Banking company
Getting Started
- Choose an elite level target (e.g. Exec Platinum for 200,000 points, Platinum Pro for 125,000 points, Platinum for 75,000 points, or Gilded for 30,000 points)
- Decide how much you're willing to "pay" (see Accounting for Costs, above) for LoyaltyMiles (Loyalty Points + Redeemable miles). Equally a very crude rule of pollex I'd propose the following:
- 1 cent per LoyaltyMile: You're merely doing this for fun and don't really care that much nearly earning elite status or AA miles
- 1.five cents per LoyaltyMile: You value AA miles more 1 cent each and y'all do expect to get good value out of AA elite status.
- 2 cents per LoyaltyMile: You value AA miles AND you very highly value AA elite status. You plan to earn Platinum Pro or Executive Platinum status. And, you lot expect to fly 30 or more than AA segments per year and then that yous'll besides earn Choice Rewards Benefits (such as Systemwide Upgrades).
- Look for deals and stacking opportunities amongst the tools for earning loyalty points. For case, in some cases merchants bachelor through AAdvantage eShopping are likewise available through SimplyMiles, and in most cases those offers will stack together to earn many more LoyaltyMiles per purchase.
Update: Please run across our game cheat sheet here: How to earn American Airlines Loyalty Points without flying.
Examples
A couple of days ago I searched for examples of deal stacking opportunities that would let me buy LoyaltyMiles for less than 1 cent each. Hither are a couple of deals I found…
Byte (Earn miles and a profit)
Byte sells teeth straightening kits. Yous offset by ownership an Impression Kit and so can sign upwards for a much more expensive program for straitening your teeth. Byte got my attending initially through SimplyMiles where I had an offering on my account for iv,650 miles on a purchase of $100 or more:
In that location was also an offer to get 2,500 miles through the eShopping portal. This should stack with the SimplyMiles offer:
What actually sealed the deal for me, though, was that I found the same merchant on Citi Merchant Offers for my Citi Double Greenbacks carte. I don't however know if the SimplyMiles offering and the Citi Merchant Offer will stack together (both are card-linked offers where the payout is triggered by charges appearing on the bill of fare), merely both are then good that the bargain would exist worth pursuing if either i pays out on a $100 purchase.
I enrolled my Double Greenbacks card in the offer both within SimplyMiles and Citi Merchant Offers and then went to click through from the AA portal. Start, though, I checked CashBackMonitor to see if there was a better portal offer than AA'southward 2,500 miles. Sure enough, TopCashBack was offering $45 back:
Since the portal pick is between earning $45 or 2,500 miles, it would cost me $45/2500 = 1.8 cents per LoyaltyMile to use the AA portal. That'southward way above my one cent per point threshold so I went with TopCashBack.
After clicking through the portal to Byte, I was confronted with a trouble. I couldn't immediately find a way to spend $100 (which is necessary for triggering the card-linked offers). The impression kit was on sale for merely $fourteen.95 and that seemed like the only option for an initial purchase:
Since $14.95 wouldn't be enough to trigger the carte-linked offers from SimplyMiles or Citi, I added the Impression Kit to my cart and then removed the discount code at bank check out. This increased the cost to $95. After Michigan sales revenue enhancement was applied, the full price came to $100.lxx. Perfect! Do note, though, that the card linked offering terms state "Offer excludes taxes." That said, the bill of fare-linked programs tin can't unremarkably tell the difference betwixt the primary purchase and the sales tax portion and and so it is probable to work anyway.
If everything pays out, then I should earn the post-obit on my $100.70 in spend:
- $145 cash back ($100 from Citi Merchant Offers and $45 from TopCashBack)
- $2.01 back from my Citi Double Cash carte du jour.
- 4,650 AA miles from SimplyMiles
- Overall, I'll earn a small profit (almost $46) and I'll be 4,650 / 125K = 4% of the fashion to Platinum Pro status!
Early on, TopCashBack reported that the buy has tracked, only information technology was too soon to hear from the menu-linked programs.
What if Citi Merchant Offers and AA SimplyMiles don't stack?
- I should earn $45 from TopCashBack regardless, so my internet cost would be $55.70
- If I earn iv,650 AA miles, but not the $100 from Citi, then that's like buying miles for $55.lxx / 4,650 = 1.2 cents each. That'southward more I wanted to spend, but not horrible.
- If I earn the $100 from Citi, simply not the 4,650 AA miles, then I'll accept earned a small profit, merely no AA miles.
Every bit I write this, my Citi Double Greenbacks bill of fare shows the $100.70 buy pending. Until it moves to an actual charge, the card-linked offers won't be triggered. Even then, I might not know immediately if they both worked. I'll update this post once I learn either manner.
Update 3/1/2022: The SimplyMiles offer never paid out (simply I practise have a support ticket in to them and so there'due south still some hope). Fortunately, almost 3 months after the purchase, the Citi $100 offer finally paid out. Combined with $45 paid out from TopCashBack, this was a small-scale money maker for me even though it hasn't still resulted in any AA miles or loyalty points.
Update 3/2/2022: SimplyMiles emailed to say that my miles tracked and will post soon! This means that all components of the bargain worked! Amazing!
Example: Spot & Tango (buy miles very cheaply)
Spot & Tango is a meal delivery subscription service for dogs. I saw this offset on the AA eShopping portal where they were offering 2,500 miles for a purchase. I then also constitute Spot & Tango on SimplyMiles where they offered 930 miles, and on Citi Merchant Offers where they offered $xx back. Each of the latter two offers required a purchase of $25 or more.
Later on determining that the AA eShopping portal actually was the best deal, I clicked through from there and ran into a problem: It was hard to find a subscription plan where the first purchase cost less than $55. Finally, I stumbled upon the solution: I inverse my fictional canis familiaris's weight downwards to 10 pounds. I played around with different options until I found an society that came to $24.25. Afterwards Michigan sales taxation, the total came to $25.71.
Another problem I faced is that this society required signing up for recurring dogfood deliveries that I didn't desire. So, immediately after placing the order, I went into my account and changed the next commitment to be iii months abroad. That will give me plenty of time to cancel the subscription after the rebates post. I also set up a reminder to myself for a couple of weeks from now to cancel the subscription.
So far (updated i/6/22), all of the "stacks" have posted!
- The AA eShopping portal tracked the purchase and shows 2,500 miles pending (I have no idea why it thinks the eligible amount was simply $15.xvi, but the portal didn't have a minimum spend requirement so that should be OK).
- SimplyMiles tracked the purchase and shows 930 miles awaiting.
- Citibank Merchant Offers tracked the purchase and shows $xx pending.
Bold each of the pending rewards go through and pay out, so I should earn the following from my $25.71 in spend:
- $20 cash back from Citi Merchant Offers
- 51 cents back from my Citi Double Cash carte du jour
- three,430 AA miles (two,500 miles from the AA eShopping Portal + 930 from SimplyMiles)
- Overall, my cost will exist $5.20 / 3430 = 0.15 cents per LoyaltyMile. That's excellent!
Update 1/ten/22: All 3,430 AA miles accept posted to my AA account. All are shown as "base miles". I take that as confirmation that they will count equally Loyalty Points.
Update 3/1/22: All components of the bargain ($20 dorsum from Citi + 2,500 miles from AA eShopping + 930 miles from SimplyMiles) take paid out. Solid deal!
Fulton Fish Market
This is a deal that I decided not to pursue, but information technology might be of interest to those who want to sign up for fish delivery. Through SimplyMiles, I found a ii similar offers for Fulton Fish, each offering 1,500 miles on a purchase of $100 or more. I was able to activate both offers, then would I get 3,000 miles on a $100 purchase if I met the terms of each? I don't know. I also found $30 back on a purchase of $100 or more through Citi Merchant Offers. And then, if information technology is possible to brand a $100 buy, the following might be possible:
- Get $30 back from Citi Merchant Offers (internet cost: $100 – $thirty = $seventy)
- Earn either ane,500 or three,000 miles from SimplyMiles
- LoyaltyMile cost either:
- $70 / 1500 = 4.7 cents per LoyaltyMile
- $70 / 3000 = two.33 cents per LoyaltyMile
Fifty-fifty if it all works, 2.33 cents is more than than I'thousand willing to pay per LoyaltyMile. You can exercise a fiddling better by starting with a portal, but I didn't run across any amazing portal rates and so they wouldn't make a huge departure. Overall, this deal is only worthwhile if you lot want to order fish anyway.
Warning
Play this game only if you are comfy with the risks…
Things tin and will go wrong. Some purchases may non track correctly. Assumptions about what deals volition stack may be wrong. You might forget to employ a credit carte du jour linked to SimplyMiles (for example) when making a purchase. You lot may forget to cancel an ongoing subscription and therefore pay manner more than for your miles than intended.
What works? What doesn't?
This department volition be updated regularly based on my ain experiment results and info from readers…
What works (confirmed)
- Two like SimplyMiles offers. Sometimes you'll run across multiple offers on SimplyMiles for the aforementioned merchant just with slightly different terms. If you can meet the terms of both offers with one buy, yous'll go both bonuses. People take reported success with this with Best Buy.
What works (pending)
The following appear to work based on pending payouts. I'll update in one case they motility from awaiting to actual payouts:
- Stack SimplyMiles carte du jour linked offer with Citi Merchant Offers for same merchant.
- Stack AA eShopping portal with SimplyMiles (and with Citi Merchant Offers).
- Meet SimplyMiles spend requirement with sales taxation even if terms say no to taxes. Tested successfully with the following merchants: Spot & Tango
What doesn't work
This section will be filled in once nosotros have relevant datapoints.
Play Forth
If you're interested in playing the game described above, please do the following:
- Subscribe to the comments of this mail service. That way, you'll receive an email when people report useful information.
- Search for your own deals!
- In the comments below, report any peachy deals you've constitute
- In the comments beneath, report your success (or lack of success) in stacking deals. In the future, I intend to add a section to this post with info about which deals stack and which do not, besides as when terms like "excludes taxes" are enforced and when they are non.
Who's ready to play?
Update: Please see our game cheat canvass here: How to earn American Airlines Loyalty Points without flying.
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Source: https://frequentmiler.com/aas-loyalty-point-pursuit-game-earn-status-w-out-flying/
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