What is American Elite Status worth?

Flyers who achieve elite status with an airline can enjoy additional perks. You may wonder how much American Airlines elite status is worth if you frequent fly American Airlines.

NerdWallet evaluated elite status benefits offered by multiple airlines to determine the value.

You’ll find below more information about the estimated value for each American elite status tier so that you can decide whether it’s worth it.

AAdvantage gold: Value estimated at $2,158

You must earn 30,000 loyalty points within 12 months beginning March 1, each year, to become an AAdvantage gold member. Here are some of the most important benefits of AAdvantage Gold.

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  Priority check-in, security, and boarding
  

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  When available, complimentary Preferred seats
  

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  You can get complimentary upgrades in North America up to 24 hours prior to your departure
  

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  Earn 40% More Miles
  

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  Priority for same-day standby
  

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  One free checked bag
  

AAdvantage Gold: Value estimated at $7,500

You must earn 75,000 loyalty points within 12 months beginning March 1, each year, to become an AAdvantage platinum member. Here are some of the most valuable Platinum benefits.

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  Priority check-in, security, and boarding
  

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  You can get complimentary upgrades in North America up to 48 hours prior to your departure
  

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  Earn 60% more miles
  

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  Priority for same-day standby
  

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  Two checked bags are free
  

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  Benefits of Oneworld Sapphire
  

AAdvantage Pro: Value estimated at $15,153

You must earn 125,000 loyalty points within 12 months beginning March 1, each year, in order to become an AAdvantage Platinum Pro Member. Here are some of the most important benefits of AAdvantage Platinum Pro.

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  Priority check-in, security, and boarding
  

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  Complementary Main Cabin Extras and Preferred Seats
  

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  As early as 72 hours before your departure, you can receive complimentary upgrades in North America.
  

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  Earn 80% more miles
  

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  Same-day standby priority.
  

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  No charge for same-day flight changes
  

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  Three checked bags free
  

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  Oneworld Emerald benefits
  

AAdvantage Platinum: Value Estimated at $29,008

You must earn 200,000 loyalty points within 12 months beginning March 1, each year, to become an AAdvantage Executive Platinum Member.

Here are some of the most important benefits of AAdvantage Executive Platinum.

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  Priority check-in, security, and boarding
  

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  Complementary Main Cabin Extras and Preferred Seats
  

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  As little as 100 hours prior to departure, receive complimentary upgrades in North America.
  

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  Earn 120% more miles
  

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  Same-day standby priority.
  

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  No charge for same-day flight changes
  

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  Three checked bags free
  

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  Oneworld Emerald benefits
  

The American Miles Value

You might wonder how many American miles you can earn if you want to achieve American status. According to NerdWallet, they are worth about 1.5 cents per mile toward main-cabin travel.

Comparison of American elite status with other countries

Can I get elite status with American Airlines in this year’s season?

Many frequent American Airlines flyers might wonder if elite status is worth it. American Airlines has many partners airlines around the world and flies to almost 350 destinations. This means that there are lots of ways to earn miles or Loyalty points.

American, however, announced late 2022 that significant changes were being made to its elite status program. This included making it harder to attain Gold status. These changes will result in more earning opportunities for big spenders, and fewer opportunities for those who fly less often.

If you live near an American hub and are interested in a American Airlines card , it may be worth your while to attain elite status. This is because there will be more flight options, which gives you the opportunity to enjoy high-value perks.

How can I earn American Airlines status?

American Airlines offers many ways to earn loyalty points, which is required to attain elite status. You’ll earn Loyalty points as you earn AAdvantage American Miles. These are some of the best ways you can earn American Airlines status.

Flying on American Airlines flights can help you earn loyalty points as you work towards elite status. Your AAdvantage status will determine the amount of Loyalty points you earn. Below is a breakdown of the points you will earn for every dollar you spend on your flight.

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  General member: 5 loyalty points per dollar
  

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  AAdvantage member: 7 loyalty points per dollar
  

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  AAdvantage platinum member: 8 loyalty points per dollar
  

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  AAdvantage Platinum member: 9 loyalty points per dollar
  

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  AAdvantage Platinum member: 11 loyalty points per dollar
  

American Airlines has many travel partners, including the Onewold alliance. These partners can make it worth the effort. American Airlines status holders who fly with Oneworld partners or other travel partners earn the same amount of points as if they flew American with their particular status level.

American Airlines is a member of the Oneworld Alliance. AAdvantage members who fly on Oneworld airlines will be able to earn loyalty points that can be used towards elite status with American. Here is a list with Oneworld partner airlines.

You can also earn loyalty points by flying with partner airlines, in addition to earning them when you fly on American Airlines and Oneworld partner flights.

Here’s a list of American Airlines’ other airline partners:

Earning Loyalty points with American Airlines credit cards can help you achieve elite status. As you spend, you’ll earn Loyalty points. American Airlines credit card holders will receive one loyalty point per mile they spend on their American Airlines credit cards. This applies to cards such as:

Booking eligible reservations with partners (including participating hotels and car rental agencies) is another way to attain elite status with American Airlines.

Each partner will have a different loyalty point and mile amount. Do not miss these additional opportunities to achieve elite status earlier.

The bottom line

It may be worth it if you are loyal to America. There are valuable benefits that can elevate your flying experience.

The American elite status ranges from $2,158 up to $29,008. It all depends on the status tier.

You now have an idea of how much American Airlines elite status is worth. This will help you decide if you are interested in achieving elite status at American Airlines.

Methodology

We considered only those perks that have a clear value to determine the value of each elite status level. Luxury benefits, such as dedicated phone lines, were not taken into consideration. We considered:

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  Earned bonus miles.
  

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  Bag fee offsets.
  

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  Premium seating upgrades.
  

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  First class upgrades.
  

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  Upgrade certificates.
  

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  Waiver of Fees
  

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  Additional program perks that have clear value.
  

This table explains the benefits and the assumptions that were used to calculate their value.

These are the estimated raw values for each program level:

Airlines have different thresholds to achieve each status tier. These can be divided into two categories:

1. 
   Mileage flown.
   

2. 
   Other factors, including elite qualified dollars spent.
   

No. We will calculate the cost to achieve each tier at:

The number of miles required to reach tier multiplied with the median cost per mile (12 cents ). A separate analysis was donespan type=”_2GMChG_3-to_p “>).. Hawaiian, for example, requires 20,000 miles to achieve Gold status. This means that the cost of this tier is $2,400.

No. 2. We will calculate the cost to achieve each tier as follows:

Divide the number of elite-qualifying dollars by the fare to-cost ratio. Fare-to-cost is a percentage value that indicates the average airfare cost from “base fare” (83% according to our separate analysis). For example, AAdvantage Gold status is worth $3,000 EQDs. This means that the cost to achieve this tier would be $3,000 / $0.83 = $3614.

A combination of the Nos. We used No. 2. We used 2 because it is more difficult to earn. It is rare to meet the minimum spending requirement while still meeting the mileage requirement.

This is the estimated cost for each status tier:

(Featured Image courtesy American Airlines)

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