12 activities that earn Loyalty Points toward American Airlines AAdvantage elite status

American Airlines shook up the travel rewards world when it introduced Loyalty Points as its sole elite status metric in 2021. This move means that elite status can now be earned by spending with almost any AAdvantage partner.

In other words, everything from credit card spending to dining out and even completing surveys gets you closer to your elite status goals. In fact, you can earn American elite status without stepping foot on an airplane

Interested in pursuing American Airlines elite status from the comfort of your own home? These activities earn Loyalty Points toward AAdvantage elite status, helping you to travel more comfortably with benefits and perks on future flights.

How many Loyalty Points do you need for AAdvantage elite status?

Before jumping into how you can earn Loyalty Points, it’s important to first understand how many of them you’ll need in order to reach your elite status goals. You can earn AAdvantage elite status after reaching 40,000 Loyalty Points and get top-tier Executive Platinum status at 200,000 points.

The qualification period starts on March 1 and ends on Feb. 28 of every year. Once you earn elite status, it’s valid through March 31 of the following year, but you only have between March 1 and Feb. 28 to qualify or requalify.

Here’s how many Loyalty Points you’ll need for each level of AAdvantage elite status.

In March 2023, American Airlines introduced Loyalty Choice Rewards, which rewards members with additional perks as they earn their way toward elite status. The rewards range from Admirals Club lounge passes to systemwide flight upgrades, bonus miles, the ability to gift status and more.

Activities that earn Loyalty Points for AAdvantage elite status

American made it easy to earn on varying kinds of spending beyond just flights. Ultimately, it’s the flexibility in earning options that many travelers find appealing about the Loyalty Points scheme.

Here are the most popular ways that you can earn Loyalty Points toward AAdvantage elite status.

Earn Loyalty Points by flying with American

Perhaps the most obvious way to earn Loyalty Points toward status is to fly with American Airlines. When flying with American Airlines or on most tickets booked with American Airlines, you’ll earn five Loyalty Points per dollar spent on airfare, excluding taxes and fees.

If you already have AAdvantage status, you’ll earn Loyalty Points on flights at higher rates, making it easier to fast-track to requalifying or earning toward your next level of elite status. AAdvantage elite status members earn Loyalty Points at the following rates for American Airlines flights.

Earn Loyalty Points by flying American’s partners

Flying with American’s partners on tickets booked outside of?aa.com?can be a lucrative strategy for earning more Loyalty Points on international flights. While booking partner tickets through?aa.com?is an option, it sometimes results in earning fewer miles and Loyalty Points than booking directly with the partner airline.

When you book a ticket with a Oneworld partner (except for British Airways and Iberia which, like American, earn Loyalty Points based on the price of your ticket), you earn based on the distance, fare class and airline partner that operates your ticket. You can see how many miles and Loyalty Points you’ll earn with each partner airline on American’s website.

This approach is exemplified by booking international business class trips with partners like Finnair, Qatar Airways and Japan Airlines instead of American, which can lead to significant Loyalty Points earnings. To earn Loyalty Points and miles on partner flights, just add your AAdvantage number to your reservation when you book with a partner carrier.

Earn Loyalty Points through credit card spending

American Airlines has a portfolio of airline-branded credit cards. And, for those interested in earning elite status, you’ll be pleased to know that AAdvantage credit card spending counts toward elite status.

With most AAdvantage credit cards, every dollar spent earns one Loyalty Point. Unfortunately, credit card welcome bonuses do not count toward AAdvantage elite status, and nor do category bonuses.

For example, the Citi? / AAdvantage? Platinum Select? World Elite Mastercard? earns two miles per dollar spent at gas stations. If you charge $50 in gas to the card, you’ll earn 100 redeemable miles and 50 Loyalty Points.

It’s worth noting, too, that the Citi? / AAdvantage? Executive World Elite Mastercard? offers an additional 10,000 Loyalty Points after earning 50,000 Loyalty Points each qualifying year. Plus, card members can earn another 10,000 Loyalty Points bonus after reaching 90,000 Loyalty Points in the same status qualification year.

Here’s a look at the American Airlines-branded credit cards on offer that will earn you Loyalty Points.

Earn Loyalty Points at hotels

American has its own AAdvantage Hotels portal where you can earn American miles and Loyalty Points for each eligible booking. Members who already have American Airlines’ elite status or have an American Airlines credit card will enjoy increased rates or promotional bonuses when making hotel reservations through AAdvantage Hotels.

That said, booking hotel stays through this portal generally means you won’t earn hotel points on your stay or be able to use hotel elite status benefits offered by most hotel loyalty programs.

However, you can accumulate Loyalty Points and hotel elite nights by booking directly with popular hotel chains like?Hyatt,?Marriott?and?IHG and adding your AAdvantage account to your stay. This will usually let you take advantage of any hotel elite benefits you’re eligible for.

For example, linking your American Airlines AAdvantage and World of Hyatt elite status accounts can unlock extra rewards, including bonus American miles for eligible Hyatt stays and bonus World of Hyatt points for qualifying American Airlines flights if you have elite status.

By ensuring your American and Hyatt accounts are linked, you may also receive fast-track opportunities for elite status in the partner program, making it a simple yet rewarding process that enhances your benefits and privileges with both airlines.

When you opt to earn AAdvantage miles instead of hotel points and select American Airlines as your preferred airline with Marriott and IHG, you’ll earn one or two Loyalty Points and AAdvantage miles per $1 spent on qualifying hotel stays.

Earn Loyalty Points through American Airlines Vacations

American Airlines has its own vacation booking platform wherein you can find deals on hotels and bundled vacation packages. You can use this to book a rental car, hotel and flights — or a mixture of the three — in one package.

The American Airlines Vacations page offers accruals on the total vacation package value excluding taxes, fees and mileage redemption. AAdvantage members without status earn one AAdvantage mile and Loyalty Point per dollar, while members with elite status earn five miles and Loyalty Points per dollar regardless of their status tier.

Earn Loyalty Points through rental car bookings

Taking a road trip can get you closer to your AAdvantage status goals if you book a rental car through the dedicated American car rental platform. You’ll earn 500 bonus miles and two miles and Loyalty Points per dollar spent.

Just be sure to compare rates against direct bookings to ensure you’re not paying more to earn rewards. You may get a lower rate by booking directly with the rental car company.

Earn Loyalty Points through cruise bookings

If you’re eyeing a cruise as your next vacation, you can earn Loyalty Points toward AAdvantage elite status just for booking. If you book your next cruise through American Airlines Cruises, you’ll earn one Loyalty Point per dollar spent in addition to one AAdvantage mile per dollar.

Through Dec. 31, 2024, AA Cruises is offering AAdvantage credit card holders an extra Loyalty Point and AAdvantage mile per dollar spent, up to 20,000 bonus miles, when booking a cruise on the platform with your eligible AA credit card. With cruise bookings, you can make significant progress toward your AAdvantage status and mileage-earning goals.

Earn Loyalty Points through the AAdvantage shopping portal

Earning Loyalty Points and redeemable miles is icing on the cake when it comes to doing your online shopping. The AAdvantage shopping portal has more than 1,200 stores — from Apple to Nike, Macy’s and more — where you can earn Loyalty Points and redeemable miles on every purchase.

For every AAdvantage mile that you earn through AAdvantage Shopping, you’ll earn one Loyalty Point in return. These Loyalty Points can add up quickly if you’re doing lots of online shopping with lucrative bonuses.

Earn Loyalty Points through SimplyMiles

SimplyMIles is an exclusive program that lets Mastercard credit card holders earn extra miles and Loyalty Points at select retailers. Members generally earn between one and 2.5 extra miles and Loyalty Points per dollar spent at popular retailers like Amazon, Levi’s, J.Crew, The Body Shop and others.

To earn rewards with SimplyMiles, you’ll need to register using your AAdvantage username and qualifying Mastercard credit card number. Once you’re registered, simply add offers that interest you to your card. When you make a qualifying purchase with your registered card, you’ll earn bonus miles and Loyalty Points toward elite status.

Earn Loyalty Points through AAdvantage dining rewards

The AAdvantage dining rewards program is a great way to earn Loyalty Points when you eat at your favorite restaurants. The program is free to join and you’ll earn up to five Loyalty Points and AAdvantage miles per dollar spent at participating restaurants.

To earn miles and Loyalty Points, simply sign up and add a debit or credit card to your account. You’ll earn AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points when you pay for your meal with a registered card at a participating restaurant.

All members earn one Loyalty Point and mile per dollar spent, which increases to three Loyalty Points and miles if you opt-in to receive email communications from AAdvantage Dining. After 11 dines in a calendar year, you’ll be upgraded to VIP status and earn five Loyalty Points and miles per dollar spent.

Earn Loyalty Points at Shell gas stations

Aside from maximizing credit card category bonuses, you can earn Loyalty Points at the pump with Shell Fuel Rewards. Simply link your AAdvantage account to your Fuel Rewards account. You’ll start earning two Loyalty Points and AAdvantage miles per dollar spent on up to 20 gallons per fill-up.

Earn Loyalty Points on utilities

One silver lining to paying your utility bills is earning American Airlines elite status faster. Other than charging your bills to your AAdvantage credit card, you can earn Loyalty Points and redeemable miles with select energy partners, depending on where you live.

With NRG Energy, you can earn up to 15,000 bonus Loyalty Points and miles (12,500 for switching electricity, 2,500 for switching natural gas) for switching to NRG, plus two miles per $1 spent on monthly service.

With Xoom Energy, you can earn 10,000 bonus miles for switching your electrical account to Xoom Energy or 5,000 miles for natural gas. In addition, you’ll earn two Loyalty Points and miles per dollar spent on monthly service.

You can earn 15,000 AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points for signing up for Reliant Secure 24 plan and 500 bonus miles and Loyalty Points each month for the next 24 months.

Regardless, make sure pricing through these companies is comparable to your current utility provider. In some cases, it might make sense to switch temporarily for the bonus and then switch back to your old provider if American’s partner provider is more expensive.

Earn Loyalty Points by filling out surveys

Filling out surveys for miles isn’t the most efficient way to earn miles and Loyalty Points. But if you want a way to pass the time, it’s a productive option. You can earn Loyalty Points and redeemable AAdvantage miles for filling out surveys with e-Rewards and Miles for Opinions.

Payouts vary by survey, but you’ll typically earn between 50 and 250 Loyalty Points per completed survey. You’ll also earn rewards for partial surveys if you fill out the preliminary questions and don’t qualify for the entire survey.

Activities that don’t earn Loyalty Points for AAdvantage elite status

Unfortunately, not everything that earns AAdvantage miles also earns Loyalty Points. In general, bonus point activity will not count towards elite status on American Airlines.

For example, credit card welcome bonuses, category bonuses and bonus miles on AA Vacations don’t qualify for bonus Loyalty Points. Additionally, donations to organizations like Stand Up to Cancer earn 10 miles per $1 spent but don’t award Loyalty Points.

Some other activities that typically award bonus AAdvantage miles but don’t earn Loyalty Points include buying miles, transferring points from Marriott Bonvoy and miles earned for having an account with Bask Bank.

Bottom line

You don’t have to spend hours flying in a plane for thousands of miles to earn American Airlines elite status. In fact, you can earn elite-qualifying Loyalty Points for activities right from the comfort of your home.

From filling out surveys to dining at your favorite restaurants, there are plenty of ways to start earning Loyalty Points toward elite status perks and benefits.

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