If you haven’t reached your desired American Airlines AAdvantage elite status yet, the qualification deadline of Feb. 29 is rapidly approaching. Although you still have the rest of February to earn Loyalty Points toward your desired status, American AAdvantage is already sending out opportunities to use miles or cash to buy elite status valid through March 31, 2025.
I received an email from the American Airlines AAdvantage program Feb. 1 titled “Kathryn, secure your AAdvantage® status for 2024” with a link to check my offer.
Even if you didn’t get an email, you could go to the AAdvantage status offer landing page and log in to see whether you have an offer (and if so, the details of your offer).
According to the terms and conditions, the status buy-up offers for targeted members are “based upon the expiration of their AAdvantage® status membership level on March 31, 2024 and/or their 2023 status qualification process”. As such, even if you find your current offer compelling, I recommend waiting until you’re done earning Loyalty Points for this qualification period before purchasing an AAdvantage buy-up status offer.
Now, let’s look at what you should know about these offers and some of the offers TPG staffers have seen in their accounts.
Related: Last-minute strategies for earning American AAdvantage elite status
I’ve held Executive Platinum status with American AAdvantage since 2016. But, so far this qualification period, I’ve earned 111,175 Loyalty Points, which is 13,825 Loyalty Points short of what I’ll need for Platinum Pro. As a result, I received a Platinum Pro offer to pay $2,059 or 206,000 miles to secure the status through March 31, 2025.
I have flights booked for travel before the end of February that will get me the Loyalty Points I need for Platinum Pro. As such, I expect I’ll get a new offer for Executive Platinum status once this travel is posted to my account. But I expect the new offer will be for far more money or miles than I’d be willing to pay, especially since I’ve decided to only strive for Platinum Pro status going forward.
TPG cruise team lead Gene Sloan currently has Platinum Pro status and has accrued 189,001 Loyalty Points during this qualification period. He was given an offer of $1,025 or 102,500 miles for Executive Platinum status. However, he said he’s planning to focus his attention on United Airlines MileagePlus this year, where he’s currently a top-tier Premier 1K elite member, so he’s likely going to skip the offer.
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TPG senior hotels reporter Tanner Saunders currently holds Platinum status and has earned 49,830 Loyalty Points this qualification period (25,170 Loyalty Points short of what he’d need to keep Platinum status). He said he received an offer to keep Platinum status for $1,449 or 145,000 miles. However, when I asked him about his offer, he said, “I’ve found that I’ve gotten a great number of upgrades on the routes I fly frequently, but it’s not anything more than I’ve gotten in the past with just Gold.” So, it seems Tanner will not take American up on its offer.
TPG editor Kristy Tolley also got an offer for Platinum status. She currently has Gold status and has earned 48,692 Loyalty Points so far this qualification period (and is 26,308 Loyalty Points short of earning Platinum status). Her Platinum status offer is for $1,715 or 171,500 miles.
TPG senior credit cards editor Matt Moffitt currently holds no status with American AAdvantage but has the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees). Matt says he’s earned 18,848 Loyalty Points this qualification period, meaning he is 21,152 Loyalty Points away from AAdvantage Gold status. He received an offer of $1,579 or 158,000 miles for AAdvantage Gold status, but when I asked him whether he’d consider the offer, he told me, “I already get Admirals Club access, a free checked bag, priority check-in and priority boarding (Group 4) with my Citi/AA Exec World card, so this offer is not worth it to me.”
TPG travel news reporter Tarah Chieffi doesn’t hold any AAdvantage status and has earned 5,320 Loyalty Points this qualification period, putting her 34,680 Loyalty Points away from Gold status. She received an offer for Gold status by paying $1,665 or redeeming 166,500 miles.
Finally, some AAdvantage members may not have an offer. For example, TPG newsletter editor Becky Blaine didn’t see an offer but noted she’d requalified for Platinum two weeks ago.
Related: Chasing American Airlines elite status? Here are 15 ways to earn Loyalty Points
In most cases, it won’t make sense to accept your AAdvantage buy-up status offer even if you want the perks of the status. For example, consider my offer for $2,059 or 206,000 miles to secure Platinum Pro. I’ve earned 111,175 Loyalty Points this qualification period and need 13,825 more to qualify organically for Platinum Pro status.
I have Executive Platinum status currently, so I earn 11 Loyalty Points per qualifying dollar spent on American, British Airways and Iberia. As such, I could book and fly on flights costing at least $1,257 for base fares and carrier-imposed fees before the end of February to earn the required Loyalty Points. In doing so, I’d get to go on one or more trips and earn at least 13,825 miles on these flights, worth about $207 based on TPG’s valuations.
If I couldn’t travel more by the end of February, earning Loyalty Points through the AAdvantage eShopping portal is also relatively easy. Let’s assume I find a merchant offering 10 base miles per dollar spent. In this case, I could earn the 13,825 Loyalty Points I need with a qualifying purchase of $1,383. I’d get products I need from the merchant, and I could earn even more base miles and Loyalty Points if I used an AAdvantage credit card or happened to find a SimplyMiles offer for that merchant.
So, I recommend considering the many other ways to earn Loyalty Points before paying money or miles for an AAdvantage buy-up status offer. But, if you decide to purchase a buy-up offer, the next decision is whether to use miles or cash. TPG values AAdvantage miles at 1.5 cents each, so our valuations would recommend you pay cash. However, if you have a large stash of AAdvantage miles you don’t think you’ll even spend, you may want to redeem American miles for the buy-up offer.
If you purchase a status buy-up offer, your account will show the new status within five business days of the purchase if you accept an offer for a higher status than you currently hold. But, if you purchase a status level that is the same or lower than your current one, your account will gain the status April 1 (or within five business days of your purchase if you complete the purchase after that date).
Finally, note that you won’t be eligible for Loyalty Point Rewards if you pay for an offer. Instead, you’ll only earn Loyalty Point Rewards if you meet the published criteria for these rewards, which means you’ll need to meet the specified Loyalty Point thresholds.
Related: American Airlines credit card spending now earns Loyalty Points based on purchase date
The American AAdvantage status buy-up offers I’ve seen haven’t been compelling. As I showed in the previous section, there are better ways to earn more Loyalty Points and secure status. Most travelers will find flights, AAdvantage credit cards and the AAdvantage eShopping portal are the most lucrative ways to earn the Loyalty Points they want.
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