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American Airlines is making a small but helpful change to the way Loyalty Points earned from purchases count towards AAdvantage elite status.
Starting today, you can spend on your AA credit cards and earn Loyalty Points through February 29, 2024 and have those points count towards this year's AAdvantage elite status qualification year. Statement closing dates will no longer factor in accruing the Loyalty Points you need for this year's status.
Here's what AAdvantage co-branded credit card holders need to know.
AAdvantage Status
The current American Airlines elite status qualification year runs from March 1, 2023 to February 29, 2024. This range of dates means you have until the end of February to qualify for status. And the same will apply for March in year A through February in year B for all qualification years going forward.
And with the changes announced today, all credit card spending that takes place before the end of February will count towards the current AAdvantage qualification year.
In the past, statement closing dates would have significantly affected which AAdvantage qualification year your Loyalty Points would have counted towards. If your statement closed halfway through February 2024, the Loyalty Points earned on that statement would have counted towards the current year, while the points earned in the second half of the month would have counted towards next year's qualification, as they wouldn't hit your AA account until the next statement reporting date from your credit card.
Thankfully, American has pivoted and now focuses solely on the date a charge is put on your AAdvantage credit card. This means you can spend until February 29, 2024 and have that spending count towards the current AAdvantage qualification year. That's true even if your statement doesn't close until a date in March.
Related: The Complete Guide to Earning American Airlines Miles and Loyalty Points
Bottom Line
American Airlines has made an incremental adjustment to how credit card spending counts towards AAdvantage elite status. With the changes, statement closing dates will no longer factor into which status qualification year your Loyalty Points will be credited to. Instead, the sole focus is on the date the charge is made.
Ultimately, you can spend towards this year's status qualification until February 29, 2024. That's helpful if you get close to the deadline and need a few more Loyalty Points to hit the status tier you're aiming for.
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