American Airlines Card Spend
Fans of American Airlines status have just received another elite qualification tweak. Specifically, this latest change targets American Airlines credit cardholders. In my view, part of the fun in chasing AA status is the many ways to earn status-qualifying Loyalty Points, and American Airlines card spend is one major method. Let’s take a look at this newest wrinkle. After spelling out the change, I’m sharing my take, including the good and the bad.
American Airlines Card Spend for Status Change
Minutes ago (as of this writing), I received an American Airlines email noting the following:
The Loyalty Points you earn on AAdvantage® credit card purchases between March 1 and the end of February of the following year count toward the current status qualification year.
Bravo to AA for a well-constructed single sentence which clearly, concisely sums up the change. But to be extra clear, AA states:
This means you can earn Loyalty Points through February 29, 2024, instead of your last statement date of the qualification year. (Bold emphasis is from AA.)
Interestingly, AA cards beyond the States are sticking with the old policy. The email advises that for AAdvantage® credit cards issued outside of the US, Loyalty Point earn will continue to count based on the date the activity posts to the primary cardmember’s AAdvantage® account.
Logistics
Naturally, existing AA elites and status chasers may have more questions. American helpfully spells out a bit more on the rollout in the email. For someone with an early March statement cut date, that statement’s February purchases may take up to 8-10 weeks after statement cut to post but will count toward the previous qualification year. On March 1, the new status qualification year starts and Loyalty Points balances reset to zero.
My Take
First off, those in power at AA must’ve read my recent article on changing American Airlines credit card statement dates. (Yeah, right.) Long story short, this latest change renders my prior post obsolete. That aside, I see mostly good but a bit of bad here. Let’s go.
The Good
American has opted for simplicity with this change, something many of us highly value. By throwing out the statement date from the equation and focusing on the purchase date, cardholders can more confidently and easily track their spend goals for reaching AA elite status.
While I’d changed up a few dates to fit the previous framework, I’m happy this permanent change was made – primarily based on my longer term plans for AA status.
The Bad
This is probably a more obscure negative, but a bit of gaming has gone out the window with this change. For those not interested in maximizing AA status in consecutive years, a cardholder could theoretically obtain 13 months (or maybe more) to qualify by making at least one change in their statement date. That play no longer exists, and everyone is stuck with an exact 12-month qualification window. But that’s a “niche bad” – I’m confident all but a few never bothered with this, anyway.
Conclusion
I consider this change a net-positive, and it’s probably long overdue. Indeed, I know some have been perplexed why this new policy hasn’t been the standard all along. At any rate, it seems like AA continues to make elite qualification more straightforward and user-friendly, while Delta’s going the opposite direction. We’ll see what American does next.
How do you feel about this latest AA change? Are you tweaking your qualification plans?
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