In this guide, you will learn how to earn Loyalty Points through Flying
How to Earn
Kids and family can earn also earn award miles & Loyalty Points when flying. Sign them up for their own AAdvantage account.
For business owners with 3+ employees, you can also earn separately through American’s Business program.
When flying American Airlines, award miles and Loyalty Points are based on base fare and any carrier-imposed fees. For illustration purposes, if the base and fare with carrier-imposed fees is $200, the earnings would be:
| AAdvantage Level | Dollar Multiplier | Award Mile Earnings | Loyalty Point Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Member | 5x | 1,000 | 1,000 |
| Gold Status | 7x | 1,400 | 1,400 |
| Platinum Status | 8x | 1,600 | 1,600 |
| Platinum Pro Status | 9x | 1,800 | 1,800 |
| Executive Platinum Status | 11x | 2,200 | 2,200 |
If you are starting from scratch and hypothetically want to earn status through flying only, the total cost would be $27,583 in air fare:
| AAdvantage Level | Spend | Loyalty Points Earned | Total Loyalty Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold Status | $8,000 | 40,000 | 40,000 |
| Platinum Status | $5,000 | 35,000 | 75,000 |
| Platinum Pro Status | $6,250 | 50,000 | 125,000 |
| Executive Platinum Status | $8,333 | 75,000 | 200,000 |
Note that if there are multiple segments on the trip, miles and Loyalty Points are not equally split. One segment could have a higher fare cost basis and earn more miles and Loyalty Points. For illustration purposes, a round-trip DFW-MIA as Executive Platinum with an airfare of $400 (without taxes) would earn:
| DFW-MIA | MIA-DFW | |
|---|---|---|
| Award Miles | 1,500 | 2,500 |
| Loyalty Points | 1,500 | 2,500 |
| Million Miler | 1,121 | 1,121 |
Miles and Loyalty Points can also be earned through a co-branded card for the purchase of travel.
Earning with Partner Airlines
You can find a list of American Airlines partners, as well as their earning charts on aa.com.
Upgrades
As of August 14, 2024, you also earn Loyalty Points when you purchase an upgrade (instant upsell) to a premium cabin on American Airlines.
Award Travel
Award travel does not earn award miles or Loyalty Points. Purchased upgrades (instant upsells) on award travel earn award miles and Loyalty Points.
Frequently Asked Questions
Flight or trip credits are the same as cash and earn Loyalty Points.
- AA American Airlines
- AAH AAdvantage Hotels
- ACS AAdvantage Customer Service
- Co-terminal Clusters of airports in a geographic region that can be interchanged (LGA, JFK, EWR) (FLL, MIA) (SFO, SJC) (LAX, ONT, BUR, SNA) (HOU, IAH)
- CK Concierge Key is the highest elite level, primarily by invite-only and generally determined by annual spend on AA metal
- EF ExpertFlyer is a paid travel information service for frequent flyers and business travelers. It provides access to in-depth flight/travel research. It allows you to set alerts for award space, upgrades, or specific seats.
- EP Executive Platinum is the top-earned status on American Airlines
- F / J / P / Y are fare classes that represent cabins: First / Business / Premium Economy / Economy, respectively
- LP Loyalty Points are how status progress is measured on American Airlines
- MCE Main Cabin Extra
- MCT Minimum Connection Time
- ORC Original Routing Credit
- PP Platinum Pro is the second highest earned status level on American Airlines
- RM Rocketmiles
- SM SimplyMiles
- SWU System Wide Upgrades are a loyalty choice award beginning at 175,000 loyalty points
Use the Loyalty Point Calculator to calculate how many miles and loyalty points you’ll earn by flying.
Points are considered posted when they appear in your AAdvantage account. Unless otherwise noted, the activity date will be the date of the transaction, regardless of when it is posted.
By program:
- Paid Surveys Online: Almost immediately (as long as 24 hours)
- Fuel Rewards: up to 7 business days after the sale (usually post overnight Thursday to Friday)
- Flights on AA: points post within 24 hours after completing the travel (usually within 1 hour after arriving). Purchases for flights with an AA co-branded card post after the close of your billing cycle each month. The activity date is the departure date of each segment.
- AAdvantage Hotels: 5-7 business days after the stay for prepaid bookings. In some cases, it can take up to 6 weeks. Allow up to 10 weeks for non-prepaid bookings. The activity date will be the check-in date.
- SimplyMiles (SM): users have reported that it varies significantly. Some earnings are posted the next day, others take a week or two, or longer.
- AAdvantage eShopping
- It will depend on the terms. Some post in a day, others in a week, or even after a 60-day period. With some merchants, you must wait until the order is picked up or delivered. Regardless, you will have to give at least 15 days. If it doesn’t post within 15 days, you submit a request for credit. Cartera will research the request and it may take 6-8 weeks to resolve (up to 6 months in extreme cases).
- Merchants typically don’t report earnings back to Cartera until the purchase has shipped, is picked up, or is completed. With some merchants, earnings may be split if items are shipped at different times.
- Information found under “Recent transactions” and “Recent store visits” should not be used to determine whether an activity has been correctly tracked or will post
- Days to Post information is available on some merchant pages (often is not reflective of actual time to post)
- Bonus miles via AAdvantage eShopping: bonus miles from promotions can take up to 10 weeks to post
- Hotels via AAdvantage eShopping: If you booked a hotel through AAdvantage eShopping, the booking date will be the transaction date.
- AAdvantage Dining: you will receive an e-mail within a day or two
- AA co-branded Cards: points earned through American Airlines co-branded credit cards are posted after the statement closes each month. Purchases that are made on or before February 28/29 will count for that program year. It may take up to 6 weeks for split billing points to post. Ensure that your AAdvantage # is added to your account
- AA Vacations: miles will post within 2 weeks after travel is complete. A mileage credit may appear in your account after travel for 0 miles but this is not the final amount.
Examples:
- If you book a hotel stay through AAdvantage Hotels for the future, the activity date will be the check-in date
- If your flight took place on February 28 and it doesn’t post until March 5, it counts towards the previous program year
- If you place a Blue Apron order on January 10 but it isn’t delivered until January 25, it will post with the January 10 date
- If you book a Viator activity on February 10, and the activity is in July, it will post with the February 10 date (after the completion of the activity)
The AAdvantage status earning program year starts March 1 and ends on the last day of February.