American Airlines’ Loyalty Program Is Changing for the Better in 2024

09.01.2024 - 17:48 / afar.com

While many loyalty programs run on the calendar year, the qualifying year for elite status on American Airlines AAdvantage begins on March 1 annually and runs through the end of February the following year. In anticipation of the end of one qualifying year and the dawn of another, the program has announced a series of upcoming changes—and they’re all for the better. In short, elite status and reward levels will remain the same, but AAdvantage members will have more avenues for earning rewards and redeeming them. Also, AAdvantage will start rewarding all its members from the get-go, regardless of their elite status, with access to exclusive members-only benefits. After speaking with AAdvantage Director Chris Isaac, here’s what we know so far.

While other airline programs are focusing on rewarding their biggest spenders, AAdvantage seeks to offer benefits for members at any level, beginning in 2024. “We are making it easy to be our best customer,” said Isaac in an interview with AFAR. “In the past, [benefits] required hitting a status level. Now we are really turning historical loyalty programs on their head this year and making membership mean something from day one by granting benefits right at the point of enrollment.”

AAdvantage membership, which is free and requires a one-minute sign-up process, will roll out the following benefits throughout 2024. Some are brand-new, while other existing benefits currently available to everyone—like American’s 24-hour trip hold—will become member-exclusive perks.

During the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, the AAdvantage program implemented major changes, moving to a single metric for elite status: Loyalty Points. Though they often overlap, Loyalty Points and AAdvantage miles differ in that the former is tallied for elite status while the latter is the number of miles banked for redeeming awards.

Loyalty Points allow AAdvantage members to earn status by flying American and its airline partners—as well as without ever leaving the ground. Points accrued from partners through AA’s cobranded credit cards as well as proprietary shopping, dining, hotel, and events platforms all are fair game for climbing the status ladder. Additionally, in 2024, members can earn both Loyalty Points and AAdvantage miles when paying with cash to upgrade to a premium cabin (currently purchased upgrades do not qualify for either).

“We wanted to make our program simple and easy to understand and bring more people in,” Isaac said. American Airlines is now seeing record numbers of new members.

Last year, the AAdvantage program began awarding elite-like perks with Loyalty Rewards, gifted upon reaching 11 thresholds: the first being 15,000 Loyalty Points, which is far earlier than the 40,000