American Airlines Eyes Delta and United Customers With New Status Match Offer

01.11.2023 - 16:47 / travelandleisure.com / Delta Air Lines / Delta

American Airlines has released a new status match program, targeting the most “elite of the elite” flyers from its two major competitors: Delta Air Lines and United Airlines.  

“For a limited time, American is introducing a special status match challenge through its Instant Status Pass™ promotion for select members from certain other airline loyalty programs,” American Airlines wrote in a statement shared with T+L. “Available now, members can apply on aa.com and if they meet the status match requirements – they’ll unlock this special opportunity to experience award-winning AAdvantage® status immediately.”

American will instantly match a traveler’s status for four months if they currently hold equivalent status with legacy airlines Delta or United. Current Delta Platinum Medallion or United Premier Platinum members will receive American Platinum Pro status, while top-tier Delta Diamond Medallion or United Premier 1k members will receive American Executive Platinum status. 

Travelers can then extend their elite status by four-month increments — to receive status for an entire year — by meeting reduced Loyalty Point thresholds.

The offer comes after Delta announced sweeping changes to its loyalty program — changing how travelers earn elite status — the airline received backlash from its most loyal flyers. JetBlue and Alaska Airlines have launched their own status matching programs to win over a share of these travelers, while low-cost carriers like Frontier and Spirit hope to capture a few, too, with offers of their own.

However, unlike the others, American is the only carrier to limit its status match program to top-tier elites on the legacy airlines.

Loyalty Points are American’s sole elite status qualification metric. Travelers can earn one Loyalty Point for every dollar spent on flights with American and its Oneworld alliance partners, its lineup of cobranded credit cards, AAdvantage shopping and dining programs, and more. 

American’s top Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum elite status normally require travelers to earn 125,000 and 200,000 Loyalty Points, respectively, within a qualification year. Upon reaching these status levels, travelers will enjoy benefits including free upgrades and Main Cabin Preferred and Extra seats upon booking.

To apply, customers must log in with their AAdvantage frequent flyer number and fill out a form online.