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American Airlines just introduced what it's calling the “AAdvantage Gold Pass.” Buying one gets you a full year of AAdvantage Gold status, 100,000 bonus miles, and 15,000 Loyalty Points. If you don't already have status with American Airlines, this might actually sound pretty appealing. But let us be the first to tell you that this pass is…well…extremely expensive.
Here’s what to know about the new AAdvantage Gold Pass, how to buy it, and whether you should.
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What Is the AAdvantage Gold Pass?
The brand-new AAdvantage Gold Pass offers a trio of benefits in exchange for a one time payment of $5,000 plus tax. Buying a pass gets you the following:
- American Airlines AAdvantage Gold status for one year from the date of purchase
- 100,000 AAdvantage bonus miles
- 15,000 Loyalty Points
At the time of writing, passes are only available for general AAdvantage members (non-status holders) and can’t be gifted. If you want, you can buy an AAdvantage Gold Pass each year, since there’s no once-per-lifetime limit. They also don’t auto renew.
AAdvantage Gold status normally requires earning 40,000 Loyalty Points, so while you’ll get the status immediately after buying a pass, you won’t get a deposit of 40,000 Loyalty Points. If you have zero Loyalty Points when you make the purchase, you’ll still get the 15,000 Loyalty Points included with the pass, but you’ll effectively still be starting from the bottom if you plan to climb to higher tiers.
How to purchase an AAdvantage Gold Pass
If you're considering purchasing an AAdvantage Gold Pass, the good news is that the process is quick and easy. Log in to your American Airlines account, hover over “AAdvantage” at the top of your screen, then click “Buy, gift, or transfer miles.”
“AAdvantage Pass” will appear as its own menu option. Clicking it takes you to the landing page where you can explore the benefits, read the fine print, and make a purchase.
You can only buy an AAdvantage Gold Pass if you have general member status with American Airlines. Otherwise, you'll see a message saying the package isn't available because you currently hold a higher or equal AAdvantage elite status.
The pass costs $5,000 — plus a 7.5% federal excise tax — which brings your total to $5,375. On the bright side, the transaction is processed by American Airlines, so just like when you buy AAdvantage miles, this should code as an American Airlines and/or travel purchase for the sake of earning bonus miles on your credit card.
Is the AAdvantage Gold Pass Worth $5,000?
Short of the sheer convenience of getting AAdvantage Gold status, 100,000 bonus miles, and 15,000 Loyalty Points in one fell swoop, I don’t think the AAdvantage Gold Pass is worth $5,000. You can replicate all of these benefits without spending anywhere near that much.
There are other ways to earn miles and Loyalty Points
Earning Gold status requires just 40,000 Loyalty Points if you earn it organically. If you take advantage of fixed-rate offers through the AAdvantage eShopping portal and book a few stays through AAdvantage Hotels, you’d be surprised by how many Loyalty Points and redeemable miles you can earn. With the right strategy, you’ll spend nowhere close to $5,000 to unlock Gold benefits.
And outside of complimentary upgrades — which Gold members (sadly) rarely get anyway — the benefits aren’t that different from what you get with the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®, which carries an annual fee of $99, waived for first 12 months.
With these perks, it's easy to justify the annual fee of $99, waived for first 12 months.
- Free checked bags for you and up to 4 companions on domestic itineraries
- Priority boarding to help you win the race for overhead bin space
- A 25% discount on inflight food, beverage, and Wi-Fi purchases
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent at restaurants
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent at gas stations
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases
- Earn 1X mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases
The pass also isn’t useful for AAdvantage members who already have elite status. For example, I currently hold Platinum Pro and am a stone’s throw from Executive Platinum. Even if I exhausted every other way to earn Loyalty Points, I couldn’t buy an AAdvantage Gold Pass for those extra 15,000 Loyalty Points to clear the next threshold even if I wanted to.
And if you’re thinking about switching your airline loyalty to American Airlines, remember that you can status match to AAdvantage or buy an Instant Status Pass. If you’re serious about keeping status long term, the Instant Status Pass is a decent place to start, and you can begin at a tier higher than Gold if you really need the extra benefits.
All that to say, Gold status is only as valuable as the cheapest cost to earn it, and with the right strategy, that cost is pretty low. There are countless ways to earn AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points. And if you’re really interested in earning 100,000 AAdvantage miles quickly, remember that Citi Points transfer to American 1:1. We’d be remiss not to point out that a certain Citi card has a six figure welcome offer right now.
- For a limited time, earn 100,000 bonus Points after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
- Earn 12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com and 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com
- Earn 6 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants including Restaurant Delivery Services on CitiNights℠ purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent any other time
- Earn 1.5 Points per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
- Up to $300 Annual Hotel Benefit: Each calendar year, enjoy up to $300 off a hotel stay of two nights or more when booked through cititravel.com.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- 12X – Earn 12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com.
- 6X – Earn 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com.
- 6X – Earn 6 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants including Restaurant Delivery Services on CitiNights℠ purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent any other time.
- 1.5X – Earn 1.5 Points per $1 spent on All Other Purchases.
Our Take
For someone starting from scratch, the benefits of the AAdvantage Gold Pass might sound interesting. However, the price tag should be an immediate turn off. You can earn AAdvantage Gold status organically, rack up 100,000 miles, and earn 15,000 Loyalty Points all for a fraction of what the Gold Pass costs.
So, if it were me starting from scratch, I’d save my money, play the Loyalty Points game, and stack AAdvantage and Citi ThankYou® Rewards credit card welcome bonuses instead.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (Rates & Fees)
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