American Airlines currently has 4 levels of elite status. Those levels from bottom to top are AAdvantage Gold, Platinum, Platinum Pro, and Executive Platinum. Each status represents an increase in benefits that compound as you attain each higher level.
Today I’ll focus on AAdvantage Platinum status which is the third highest level, but don’t let that fool you. Platinum status comes with many valuable benefits which make frequent flying considerably more enjoyable.
Earning AAdvantage Platinum Elite Status
Earning AAdvantage Platinum elite status is fairly straightforward, but definitely not easy. To earn Platinum status you have to earn $6,000 Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQD) and either 50,000 Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM) or fly 60 Elite Qualifying Segments (EQS).
Although $6,000 of EQD sounds like a lot of money (it is) keep in mind you can earn EQDs a few different ways. If you do try to simply spend your way to $6,000 you’ll end up spending much more than that because that figure excludes certain taxes and fees. The easier and less expensive ways to earn $6,000 EQD is by purchasing special fares or flying in premium cabins on partner airlines.
Likewise, you don’t actually have to fly 50,000 miles to earn 50,000 EQM. You could again use AA special fares or the premium cabin partner flight trick to earn EQM quickly.
Sadly, there is no way to bypass the 60 EQS requirement if you’re planning to qualify for elite status with segments.
AAdvantage Platinum Elite Status Benefits
As I mentioned earlier, AAdvantage Platinum Elite status benefits include all of the benefits offered from Gold status plus additional benefits. The benefits of AAdvantage Gold status are as follows:
- Access to 500-Miles Upgrades
- Unlimited complimentary auto-requested upgrades on flights of 500 miles or less
- Complimentary access to “preferred seats.”
- Same-Day complimentary standby
- Priority AAccess at the airport
- Includes access to priority security lanes, priority check-in, and priority boarding
I’ve excluded benefits enhanced by AAdvantage Platinum status.
In addition to the Gold status benefits listed above, AAdvantage Platinum elite receive the following additional benefits:
- 2 free checked bags
- 60% bonus on redeemable miles
- Complimentary access to MCE seats at the time of booking
- 48-hour upgrade window when applying 500-mile upgrades
- AAdvantage Platinum elite members board with boarding group 3
- Discounted Admirals Club Membership rates
- Access to the Platinum call center
- OneWorld Sapphire Status
- Includes access to OneWorld business class and frequent flyer lounges
- Also includes a wide variety of other benefits when traveling with OneWorld partner airlines
- Higher priority on upgrade and standby lists
Access To OneWorld Lounges
Although the AAdvantage Platinum benefits only seem like a minor improvement over Gold status, I can assure you that there is a significant difference between the two levels. By far the benefit I value most is access to OneWorld business class and frequent flyer lounges. When traveling in any cabin on a OneWorld operated flight you’ll have access to certain lounges. It’s hard to list out every lounge you can access as a OneWorld Sapphire member, but this site provides a detailed list.
This benefit came in handy when I flew from Los Angeles to London on British Airways earlier this year. I first had access to the OneWorld business class lounge in the LAX Tom Bradley International Terminal. Then, I had access to the British Airways Galleries lounges when flying back from London Heathrow. Also when I landed back in Los Angeles I accessed to the OneWorld lounge again when connecting back to Chicago. It was incredibly nice to have a quiet place to work, free food and drinks, and a warm shower before and after my 10 hour flights. This benefit excludes access to Admirals Club locations when traveling domestically with American.
Increased Priority On Upgrade And Standby Lists
AAdvantage Platinum elites also receive higher priority on both upgrade and standby lists. One of the issues I have with being an AAdvantage Gold is upgrades. I keep earning 500-mile upgrade stickers, but I couldn’t tell you the last time an upgrade actually cleared. With AAdvantage Platinum status my upgrade requests cleared nearly 40% of the time. Now I realize that isn’t great, but it’s still better than 0%!
The increased priority on standby lists is also a great benefit. If you’ve ever used standby you’ll quickly realize how beneficial the increased priority is. It’s incredibly frustrating when you miss a standby opportunity and even worse when you roll to the next flight and are again near the bottom. As an AAdvantage Platinum I’ve almost never missed a standby opportunity. That hasn’t been the case with AAdvantage Gold status.
Access To Complimentary Main Cabin Extra Seats At The Time Of Booking
Lastly, access to Main Cabin Extra (MCE) seats at the time of booking is extremely valuable, especially when traveling internationally. International MCE seats often cost $100+, but as an AAdvantage Platinum elite you can select those seats at the time of booking.
Main Cabin Extra seats aren’t the most incredible seats in the world (just extra leg room), but it’s nice to select MCE at the time of booking to get seats like row 8 on American’s ERJ. Likewise, I love skipping the $20+ fee to select an exit row on the Airbus A321.
Furthermore, this benefit is especially great when flying 3-cabin aircraft on domestic routes. Occasionally you can select a lie-flat business class seat at no extra cost and without having to wait for your upgrade to clear
Final Thoughts
AAdvantage Platinum status may just be the 2nd tier elite status with American, but it’s definitely not worthless. If you fly 50,000 miles or more a year I’d definitely recommend sticking with one airline and earning mid-level elite status. While AAdvantage Platinum is definitely not as glamorous as Platinum Pro or Executive Platinum, the benefits are still very useful.
As an AAdvantage Gold elite you’ll earn 500-mile upgrades, but find it’s hard to get an upgrade to clear. As a Platinum elite chances are that you’ll run out of 500-mile upgrades fasted than expected. It’s always incredible to see just how many people maintain AAdvantage Gold status vs. AAdvantage Platinum. Once you jump up to Platinum status you’ll quickly see how much higher your name will appear on the upgrade list.
I miss AAdvantage Platinum status. I had a great run of over 18 months as an AAdvantage Platinum elite. I’ve now been a Gold elite for the past 4 months and can’t wait to re-earn Platinum status.
Featured Image Courtesy of American
