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The American Airlines AAdvantage® elite status qualification year runs through the end of February. If you’re coming up short — and those perks matter to you — keep might want to keep an eye out. AA is currently sending out targeted offers that let you buy your way to the next elite tier.
While these offers are certainly overpriced, they may make sense if you can't qualify via any other method. Here's how to check if you're targeted and some data points on the cost of buying elite status.
How To Check Your American Airlines Status Boost Offer
Each year, American Airlines emails AAdvantage members — at least those who haven't already hit top-tier Executive Platinum elite status — with an offer to buy a higher tier of elite status. To see your current offer, visit the offer landing page and log in.
Once you log in, you'll see whether an AAdvantage elite status buy-up offer is available. You can purchase status with cash or AAdvantage miles (worth 1 cent apiece). And the purchased status is valid through March 31, 2026.
AAdvantage members can generally buy up to the elite status directly above the one they qualified for during the 2024-2025 elite status qualification period. However, some travelers are seeing offers for the next two tiers.
The tiers offered and the amounts charged are based on the number of AAdvantage Loyalty Points earned up until this point in the status qualification year. If you earn more Loyalty Points between now and the end of February, your offer might fluctuate. But if one thing is for sure, these offers are expensive.
Example AAdvantage Elite Status Buy-Up Offers
American Airlines' buy-up offers are different for each member, and it's possible that some members will not receive anything at all. Here are some examples of offers received by the AwardWallet team.
Buy-up to Platinum Pro for $939 or 94k miles
One of the AwardWallet team members who currently has Platinum Pro status is sitting at 119,632 Loyalty Points — or 5,368 away from simply re-qualifying. And American Airlines is offering a status buy-up for $939 or 94,000 miles.
Given that you can earn a bundle of Loyalty Points by leveraging the AAdvantage eShopping portal, it's safe to say this offer will probably go untouched. It'd be much cheaper to make a few purchases to get over the threshold rather than shell out nearly $1,000.
Buy-up to Platinum for $1,369 or 137k miles
Another one of our team members is an AAdvantage Platinum member with 60,157 Loyalty Points. And the offer on the table to retain Platinum for the next year is $1,369 or 137,000 miles. But a few upcoming AAdvantage Hotels bookings will get this traveler over the threshold for status valid through March 2026.
Buy-up to Gold or Platinum from $710 or 72k miles
The third member of our team with data points to share currently holds Executive Platinum status — but has earned just 9,903 Loyalty Points this year. While far short of AAdvantage Gold, this team member can purchase entry-level AA status for $719/72k miles — or AAdvantage Platinum status for $1,449/145k miles.
Terms on these AAdvantage elite status buy-up offers
- Members can buy up with either cash or miles.
- AAdvantage elite status purchased with a buy-up offer will be credited within three days.
- All AAdvantage elite status buy-up purchases are non-refundable.
- Elite statuses purchased through this offer will be valid through March 31, 2026.
- Buy-up cash purchases do not accrue Loyalty Points unless purchased using an eligible AAdvantage credit card.
Final Thoughts
American Airlines buy-up offers generally require an enormous cash or miles purchase. AAdvantage members will have to decide individually whether the amount needed for the buy-up is equivalent to the benefits received by that higher status.
If you want to buy up with cash, consider using an eligible AAdvantage credit card to earn AAdvantage miles on the purchase. Just keep in mind that American Airlines changed how Loyalty Points are earned on credit card purchases, meaning the Loyalty Points earned on this purchase won't help you start earning toward next year's elite status.
And if you want to pay with miles, keep in mind that you can likely unlock greater value for them by cashing in for award flights. Netting a cent per mile is generally poor, considering you can unlock multiples of that by leveraging several of the AAdvantage sweet spots.
Will you be taking advantage of your American Airlines buy-up offer?
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