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American Airlines announced lots of news this morning. Earlier today, I wrote about how the airline is improving its Million Miler program with higher levels of lifetime elite status on offer. The Dallas-based carrier also shared that elite qualification thresholds will remain the same in 2025 for 2026 qualification as they are this year.
AAdvantage members will not see any increases to the thresholds needed to earn the various status levels pictured above. They will also continue to receive rewards before, between, and beyond each status level. These are known as Loyalty Point Rewards and they start at only 15,000 Loyalty Points.
Scott Chandler, American’s Senior Vice President of Revenue Management and Loyalty, said:
We’ve evolved the AAdvantage program over the last few years to be easy to understand and to engage with, all with the goal of delivering the best and most rewarding experience possible for our members. We’ve heard fantastic feedback from our members about the creative ways we’ve given them to earn and redeem miles, and we’re continuing to do so.
We take our commitments to our members seriously, which includes ensuring that we’re able to deliver on all the benefits that come with each status level and Loyalty Point Reward. Our members love tracking their progress toward status and rewards, so we know they’ll be pleased that levels will remain the same moving into the new year.”
Loyalty Points Rewards will offer more choices in 2025. These include:
- The option to select a personalized, collectable luggage tag when the member reaches 15,000 Loyalty Points. This choice is in addition to several other options like Preferred Seat coupons, Priority boarding privileges, and more.
- As I wrote about in October, AAdvantage® members who link their World of Hyatt® accounts will be able to choose awards at various levels in Loyalty Point Rewards including the ability to redeem miles for World of Hyatt® Free Night Awards.
- The option to support the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel in the airline’s operation begins at 175,000 Loyalty Points. This choice replaces the previous carbon offset choice.
AAdvantage members will also soon have more ways to use their miles. These include:
- Redemptions for inflight Wi-Fi on most of the airline’s narrowbody aircraft and some widebody aircraft.
- AAdvantage Platinum Pro® status holders and above can redeem miles for access to American’s Flagship® First Dining ahead of eligible flights.
- Admirals Club® One Day Pass or Flagship® Lounge single visit passes can be purchased with miles.
- AAdvantage members can also enjoy unique experiences and events by using miles to purchase tickets for concerts and professional sporting events.
Systemwide Upgrades will also see a positive change as they’re now available throughout the same time period that status is valid. This is in addition to the recent update that allows members to apply their Systemwide Upgrades online.
Anthony’s Take: I see nothing but good news for American AAdvantage elite members next year. With no increases and more benefit choices as well as the changes to Million Miler, American did a solid for its members.
(Image Credits: American Airlines.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
