American AAdvantage is the best program for earning status beyond simply flying. It has the best partner award redemption pricing. But there’s one area where American AAdvantage has lagged behind all of its competitors: rewarding customers with lifetime elite status.
Starting March 1, 2025 they’re revamping the AAdvantage Million Mile program. Currently,
- 1 million flown miles earns lifetime Gold and 35,000 miles.
- 2 million flown miles earns lifetime Platinum and 4 systemwide upgrades
- Each subsequent million miles flown earns 4 systemwide upgrades
Going forward, they’re adding:
- 4 million flown miles earns lifetime Platinum Pro
- 5 million flown miles earns lifetime Executive Platinum
Platinum Pro is very much a sweet spot in the program, with oneworld emerald status and nearly all of the benefits of Executive Platinum. Adding this will be big for long-time loyal members.
Back in August I suggested that there seemed to be “renewed attention to the million miler program” at American. That turned out to be correct.
Lifetime status is something so meaningful to members. It’s a long-term goal and a commitment. It marks something truly personally significant in a relationship that’s otherwise unidirectional. George Clooney’s moment crossing 10 million miles with American was depicted in the film Up In The Air (2009), where the airline’s chief pilot comes out to greet him at the exact moment.
American did have some reports of in-person recognition of million mile status over the summer, but it’s really United that’s become really good at celebrating customer milestones inflight.
Here’s how American, United, and Delta will now compare in lifetime status. American, while offering much more than before, will still be less generous than competitors.
| American | United | Delta | ||||
| 1 Million | Lowest Tier | Second Tier | Second Tier | |||
| 2 Million | Second Tier | Third Tier | Third Tier | |||
| 3 Million | Fourth Tier | Fourth Tier | ||||
| 4 Million | Third Tier | Invite-Only Tier | ||||
| 5 Million | Fourth Tier | Invite-Only Tier |
I asked Chris Isaac, who’s Director of AAdvantage, about the thinking around million mile thresholds greater than competitors in offering similar upper-tier statuses, and in not offering their unpublished, invitation-only tier as part of this the way that United and Delta do, as well as keeping qualification based on flying only while annual status is so much broader.
Isaac offered that they “felt it was really important to lean into that road warrior in a special way in the program” and that this is a way for the airline to “really give the people on our planes day in and day out” special recognition. Even as the day to day focus is broader, lifetime loyalty is something for the regular flyer.
And he pushed back at comparisons to United and Delta, arguing that “AAdvantage is not a copycat of anyone else’s program.” They ask, “what is best for our member and how can we deliver best for everyone in our program?” Their focus has been on “the right way to add more to the million mile program while delivering benefits and rewards that everybody is expecting.” He did offer as well that they “have other ideas” and will “keep looking at this,” noting that the approach and benefits could change and see additions in the future.
I also recognize that lifetime miles totals in each program aren’t exactly equal. Until December 1, 2011 all miles earned counted towards American’s lifetime status, now it’s flight miles only. By the same token, until last year Delta counted qualifying miles (including credit card, bonuses) but now uses flight miles only.
Nonetheless, it takes 3 million miles to hit lifetime Delta Diamond and lifetime United 1K, while it takes 5 million miles for lifetime Executive Platinum with American and that’s a big difference. That would earn lifetime 360 and Global Services at the other airlines.
Furthermore, members flying on their lifetime loyalty – instead of earning current status each year – at at the bottom of their AAdvantage status tier on wait lists. That’s because American prioritizes lists for things like upgrades based on most recent 12-month total of loyalty points earned. So higher lifetime status is needed.
In contrast, Alaska Airlines made huge improvements to their lifetime status program last year, offering lifetime elites upgrade priority over those with similar status; extending a lifetime elite member’s status to their partner (which United also does); and giving lifetime members a head start towards earning higher status each year in the program so that lifetime status doesn’t discourage current business.
While I’d have personally liked to see even more here, also including extending partner status to lifetime elites like United does, this is still a big step forward.
Meh, 1 MM on AA is still going to be fairly worthless.
As you point out, AA used to count all miles towards lifetime. Now it’s flight miles only, and they don’t have the data to make that retroactive. I think this is a huge challenge for the designers of AA’s lifetime status program.
There must be lots of lifetime mile multimillionaires who accumulated most of that total under the old rules from credit card spend and bankdirect accounts. Lower threshold, and you’ve suddenly got a whole lot of newly minted lifetime EXPs.
On the other side, for someone just joining the program now, 5 million is an insane amount of miles to fly. That’s EXP-level travel (100K/yr under the old EQM system) for 50 years – five full decades.
Oh well. I am over 5.0 million miles flown since 1990. Now retired and will get nothing. That sucks
My next flight on AA will bring me to 3 million miles. What a letdown. would love to have lifetime EP.
I’m at 850k. Should be there within 2 years, so hopefully they still have it going.
And…. It is a big deal. I still like traveling. My very first flight was on American at 9 years old from CVG-DFW in 1981. It was awesome, and back then, traveling with my sister who was 13, we connected by ourselves, ate at one of the fast food places, and overall were “junior adults” in a very adult world….
And without a cell phone, lol.
So that is a core memory,.and personally, I wouldn’t mind getting a little bit of celebration when I cross the mark.
They should paint your name on a plane on something actually cool if you have flown 5-10 million miles.
Still way behind DL and UA. I have right at 3 million miles and was hoping that got lifetime Platinum Pro since DL gives lifetime Diamond (equivalent to Platinum Pro) at 3 million but no such luck. Oh well retired now, lifetime elite on DL, UA and AA so fly who I want and fly whomever I want so really doesn’t matter (buy first or pay for upgrades if I want that) but would have been nice
I passed 1MM with AA last week, and I’ll I got was an email!
When I read the email from AA this morning, I couldn’t believe my eyes. For me, it feels like a huge millstone rem oved from around my neck. I am at 5.8 million and counting, all this since joining the program on May 15, 1985. So, that’s loyalty. And this loyalty is finally being recognized after having been devalued bit-by-bit over the past decade or so. No more having to strategize how to collect those 200,000 LPs, no more not being able to use award miles when I want because I need yet another revenue flight. EP does have advantages, but there have been moments when I have been asking myself whether these benefits were really worth the struggle. Well, no more. As others have pointed out, maybe not perfect, maybe not exactly what you want or need, but for me this is the best news from American coming in a decade or more. Thanks you, AA, for finally giving us loyalists recognition. And yes, of course I will continue to work for 6-million miler status!
I have been an AAdvantage member since 1987 and will never hit MM because, since 2021, all my OW flights are credited to Alaska. This update convinced me I made the right decision, and like my Gold 100K status more than I liked being EP. As a United MM, my wife loves receiving the benefits of all my flying.
JFK-LHR is about 7k miles round-trip. Do that every week and you’re at 364k for the year. Do that for 14 years and you’re at 5M. Where does one sign up?
They needed to update the program. In 2023 I reached 3 million miles and was excited by the systemwide upgrades but when I tried to redeem them I was given a run around for 6 months and eventually I got 2 segment upgrades. After all the haggling and limited results I quit flying AA.
@gary : I’m just about the worst customer UA could imagine, cuz even my 1MM crossover flight was TPAC hidden city ticketing spanning 3 nations.
Been lifetime platinum since before there was platinum pro. That downgrade was a kick in the balls. 5.5 million now, nice to get EP but it seems like I always get it anyways.