Well, it’s a new year and that means it’s time to start thinking about how to earn airline elite status, again. As with prior years, I’ve decided to again pursue American Airlines AAdvantage Executive Platinum elite status in 2021. However, the criteria and my method for pursuing elite status are a bit different than in the past. With that, I thought it would be helpful to outline why I’ve chosen to stick with American and how I plan to earn status in 2021.
Why American Airlines AAdvantage?
Typically whenever I discuss domestic airlines I’m met with one of three two responses. 1) That airline lost my bag one time and I’ll never fly with them again. 2) That’s nice. 3) Sir, why are you talking to me. What I’m trying to say, is that most people are indifferent to which airline they fly. However, I stick with American for a few reasons.
First, as I currently live in Chicago I have access to of one American’s hub. This means that I can head to ORD and reach virtually any destination in the world in one or two stops. It also means that I have several choices when it comes to daily flights between city pairs. This might not seem like a big deal, but I switched to Delta a few years back and it was painful. I hated having to connect in Detroit, Atlanta, or Minneapolis to go anywhere.
Second, American is part of the OneWorld Alliance, which means through American’s partner airlines, I can again fly and earn points virtually everywhere. Even better, the OneWorld Alliance is home to some fairly incredible, world-class, airlines (JAL, Cathay, Qantas, British Air, and Qatar). While the OneWorld Alliance doesn’t have the most member airlines, it definitely is home to some quality airlines.
Third, and this is a big one, I find American AAdvantage to be incredibly rewarding. Sure, the upgrades, lounge access, and other benefits are nice, but I’m talking about the actual ability to earn miles. Countless times I’ve compared points earning between American, United, and Delta and almost always I find that I’ll earn more miles with American / OneWorld than others. This means that by sticking to American I can more quickly earn miles to fly around the world for less.
What Is Executive Platinum Status Exactly?
Ok, so now that you know why I’m choosing American, you need to understand what their statuses are. American’s elite statuses are as follows: Gold, Platinum, Platinum Pro, and Executive Platinum with Gold being the lowest and EP being the highest. As you’d expect, the benefits offered from each tier of elite status improves at each level. So while Gold might get upgraded here or there, EPs get upgraded on nearly every flight they take.
Next, you need to know how to earn Executive Platinum status. Well, for 2021 it’s a bit different, but essentially I’ll need to earn at least 12,000 Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQDs). In earning those EQDs I’ll also need to earn at least 80,000 Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) or 95 Elite Qualifying Segments (EQSs).
That sounds fairly straightforward, but to earn those EQDs, EQSs, or EQMs you don’t exactly have to fly or pay that much. Here’s an example, if I buy a standard economy ticket on American that travels 1,000 miles for $500 (excluding taxes/fees), I’ll earn $500 EQD, 1,000 EQM, and 1 EQS. However, if I buy a $1,500 business class ticket on British Airways that travels 5,000 miles, I’ll earn $1,250 EQD, 10,000 EQM, and 1 EQS.
So, to reach Executive Platinum you have to meet the outlined criteria, but you can get there however you’d like.
How I Plan To Earn Executive Platinum Status
Well, this is where things get tricky. See, personally, my risk tolerance toward traveling has been low for the past several months. I’ve taken a few essential trips here and there, but I haven’t taken any vacations. Likewise, I absolutely haven’t done any mileage runs since March 2020. With that, I’m not exactly sure how I’m going to manage flying at least 50,000+ miles this year.
Furthermore, the other issue I keep running into when I do find attractive flights is the ever changing testing requirements and entry requirements. So, let’s say I find a great deal to Australia, well, they won’t let me in. That means I won’t be allowed to board and I won’t fly. Therefore, I need to also plan travels that fit my cost/benefit test, but also book trips I can actually take.
The other consideration I need to make is safety. I’m sure by now we all know, thanks to a fantastic study done by Boeing and United, that flying is safe. Even so, is it a risk I’m willing to take, at this point. Additionally, should I really be flying and putting myself, family, and others at risk. Lastly, should I be putting other countries at risk by potentially bringing COVID with me. To all of those questions, at least for me, the answer is no.
With that, my plan in to start booking attractive flights now for travel in the fairly distant future. My hope is that I can get a great deal, but wait to fly until I’m either vaccinated or until case numbers drop drastically. As a worst case scenario, flights booked right now are quite flexible and it shouldn’t be hard to move things around.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately I’m not sure that I’ll reach Executive Platinum status in 2021. Since March I’ve only taken a few flights and all of those have been essential (situations where I needed to be somewhere). Otherwise, I haven’t flown. I definitely haven’t left the country.
In 2021, I’m going to try to keep planning for an eventual year, but don’t expect to travel much again this year. Instead, I’ve fully accepted missing out of earning Executive Platinum status this year and picking it up again in 2022. That being said, if the situation changes and flying internationally seems more reasonable, I’m going to go for it and fly as much as I can.
