BA Executive Club Alternatives: American AAdvantage Scheme
Hello, big spender...
So last week we talk about the Alaska Airlines scheme. This week we are talking about American Airlines AAdvantage Scheme. Like BA’s new club, this is largely based on expenditure, though it has advantages compared to the BA scheme.
You earn status in the AAdvantage scheme by earning Loyalty Points, which you can earn with flights and credit cards USUALLY based on how much you spend.
What is superior to the new BA scheme is that how many Points you earn is boosted up by your current status:
AAdvantage® member Earns 5 miles per dollar
AAdvantage Gold® Earns a 40% bonus, 7 miles per dollar
AAdvantage Platinum® Earns a 60% bonus, 8 miles per dollar
AAdvantage Platinum Pro® Earns an 80% bonus, 9 miles per dollar
AAdvantage Executive Platinum® Earns a 120% bonus, 11 miles per dollar
This means it will be easier to retain your status (or something close). These figures apply for American Airlines flights, BA, Aer Lingus, Jetblue and Iberia that you credit to the AAdvantage scheme (Jetblue is a partner airline outside Oneworld that American has some codeshares with). Other Oneworld and partner airlines earn Loyalty Points based on mileage and a multiplier based on the class of flight.
Not all airfares with Oneworld or partners will earn points, so it’s worth checking beforehand: https://www.aa.com/i18n/aadvantage-program/miles/partners/partner-airlines.jsp
To earn AAdvantage Platinum® which has Oneworld Sapphire status (equivalent of BA Silver status) you need to earn 75,000 Loyalty Points, and to earn AAdvantage Platinum Pro® which has Oneworld Emerald status (equivalent of BA Gold status) you need to earn 125,000 Loyalty Points.
Who is the scheme good for?
If you spend a lot of money on flights and on one of the American Airlines credit cards then this scheme is definitely good for you, especially if you already have status.
There are also a lot more upgrade promises than many of the status schemes, with upgrades on American and Alaskan flights being offered from a fairly low level.
Like Alaska’s scheme, though, you won’t get access to lounges in the US if you are flying domestically at Oneworld Sapphire level (AAdvantage Platinum®). Flying internationally or anywhere else in the world you get lounge access though.
I think the main advantage of this scheme is the sheer number of ways of earning status - especially if you are based in the US and have access (and means) to pay for one of their premium credit cards that can earn 4 miles per $1 spent. Unlike BA’s new scheme, there is no maximum limit for points earned by a card, so you can literally spend your way to status.