American Airlines won't raise elite thresholds in 2025, but other changes are coming

12.12.2024 - 14:33 / thepointsguy.com

American Airlines has some positive updates for its AAdvantage loyalty program members.

On Dec. 12, the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier announced its annual loyalty changes that'll come into effect during the 2025 membership year, and the good news is that things are only getting better.

Here's everything you need to know about American's loyalty plans for 2025.

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Great news for those on the elite status hamster wheel: American won't be changing the thresholds needed to attain status and earn Loyalty Point Rewards.

American's status year runs from March 1, 2025, through Feb. 28, 2026, and you'll need to earn the following number of Loyalty Points during that time period to attain or requalify for status.

Last year, American introduced some new Loyalty Point Rewards, and those are all coming back for the 2025 program year.

It's interesting that American is emphasizing that it's not changing the goalposts for status, especially in a year when a chief competitor, United, announced that it'll make it much harder to earn status. (Delta already made it even harder to attain Medallion status last year.)

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At some point, I'd imagine that American will copy its competitors, but 2025 won't be that year.

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In addition to enjoying the benefits of status, American's Loyalty Point Rewards program lets travelers pick their favorite perks as they rise the elite ranks.

Historically, popular choices have included systemwide upgrades and bonus miles, and while those picks are returning next year, the Loyalty Point Rewards will also include a few new picks in 2025.

This includes the option to select a personalized, collectable luggage tag when reaching 15,000 Loyalty Points.

Furthermore, American will swap the carbon offset credit at the 175,000 Loyalty Point threshold with a donation to support the use of sustainable aviation fuel.

Finally, as previously announced, American reaffirmed that it'll introduce World of Hyatt awards as part of the Loyalty Point Rewards program next year.

The airline has already shared all the details for this next phase of the Hyatt partnership (which comes at the expense of reciprocal mileage and point earning), so be sure to check out TPG's detailed guide to those changes.

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American's systemwide upgrades — one of the airline's most sought-after benefits — have historically expired one year from when they were picked as a Loyalty Point Reward.

But, starting March 1, 2025, all newly issued systemwide