Changes to How You'll Earn American Airlines AAdvantage Miles and Elite Status on Partners in 2022

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For those who credit miles from partner flights to American Airlines AAdvantage, the earning on some of these will change in 2022. This change affects certain partners and started on January 1st. As American Airlines moves to its new elite status system (Loyalty Points), here’s what you should know about partner earnings for 2022.

Backstory on Loyalty Points

Remember that American Airlines announced an overhaul to its elite status program in late 2021. Starting in 2022, you will earn AAdvantage status by collecting Loyalty Points.

Rather than needing to keep track of multiple elements — Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs), Elite Qualifying Segments (EQSs), and Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQDs) — you now just track one element: Loyalty Points.

To earn AAdvantage elite status now through February 28, 2023, you'll need to earn the following number of Loyalty Points:

• Gold – 30,000 Loyalty Points — 40,000 Loyalty Points as of March 1, 2023
• Platinum – 75,000 Loyalty Points
• Platinum Pro  – 125,000 Loyalty Points
• Executive platinum – 200,000 Loyalty Points

Changes to AAdvantage Partner Earnings for 2022

This change applies only to certain partner earnings regarding Loyalty Points earning for AAdvantage status, and the changes went into effect January 1, 2022. The full list of partner earnings can be found here.

Some of AA's non-alliance partner pages specifically state that you won't earn Loyalty Points on flights marketed by that partner (ex: Hawaiian Airlines, Cape Air, Air Tahiti Nui). So, make sure to check before buying a ticket.

Many partners have a premium cabin earning boost — as they did previously — but this has improved in the case of British Airways, Iberia, and Royal Jordanian in particular.

British Airways

Iberia

Japan Airlines (JAL)

Note that they have a separate chart for international routes and for domestic routes.

Royal Jordanian

As part of the changes for 2022, American Airlines initially increased the cabin bonuses on Royal Jordanian flights. However, this was reversed a couple of weeks later. The current earning chart for 2022 is:

The previously published award chart for Royal Jordanian was:

Qatar Airways

Note that the 2022 rates for cabin bonuses with Qatar Airways are not great in terms of partner earning for AAdvantage miles.

Finnair

We don't see any AAdvantage partner earning changes with Finnair, but let's use this as an example. Compared to Qatar, the Finnair cabin bonuses are excellent.

American Airlines Loyalty Points Earning

As on partners, you'll earn Loyalty Points for flights on American Airlines at the same rate that you earn AAdvantage miles. However, rather than being based on the distance, American Airlines flights earn based on the amount you spend on flights and your elite status:

• AAdvantage member – 5 miles for every U.S. dollar
• Gold elite – 7 miles per U.S. dollar (40% bonus)
• Platinum elite – 8 miles per U.S. dollar (60% bonus)
• Platinum Pro elite – 9 miles per U.S. dollar (80% bonus)
• Executive Platinum elite – 11 miles per U.S. dollar (120% bonus)

Example Flights

Loyalty Points still sound confusing? Changes to AAdvantage partner earning in 2022 + Loyalty Points stuff making it even more complicated? Let's look at your earnings for some example flights in 2022.

Royal Jordanian – JFK to AMM in Economy

I found a direct flight from New York (JFK) to Amman, Jordan (AMM). This is the base airport for Royal Jordanian. The discounted ticket is $543.97 for a one-way flight in economy. My booking class shows as Q.

From the chart above, we see that Q class earns 25% base miles. Remember that you earn 1 Loyalty Point for 1 base mile. And base miles are earned from the distance of your flight:

• 5,723 miles flight distance
• 25% earning rate
• 5723 (flight distance) x 0.25 (earning rate) = 1430.75
• AAdvantage members will earn 1,431 Loyalty Points from this flight if they have no status.

Elite members get an elite bonus on the base miles earned, and these count toward Loyalty Points:

• AAdvantage Gold members earn a 40% bonus = 2,003 Loyalty Points.
• Platinum members earn a 60% bonus = 2,289 Loyalty Points.
• Platinum Pro members earn an 80% bonus = 2,575 Loyalty Points.
• Executive Platinum members earn a 120% bonus = 3,148 Loyalty Points.

British Airways – LAX to LHR in Business Class

I found a direct flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to London (LHR). This business-class ticket costs $2,673.80 for a one-way flight. My booking class shows as I.

From the chart above, we see that I class earns 100% base miles plus a 50% cabin bonus. Remember that you earn 1 Loyalty Point for 1 base mile, plus 50% for I class cabin bonus. Loyalty Points on partner flights are based on flight distance, so here's the math:

• 5,440 miles flight distance
• 150% earning rate
• 5,440 (flight distance) x 1.5 (earning rate) = 8,160
• AAdvantage members will earn 8,160 Loyalty Points from this flight if they have no status.

Again, AAdvantage elite members will earn more Loyalty Points from the same flight. Keep in mind that the elite bonus only applies to the base earning rate — not the cabin bonus:

• AAdvantage Gold members earn a 40% bonus = 10,336 Loyalty Points.
• Platinum members earn a 60% bonus = 11,424 Loyalty Points.
• Platinum Pro members earn an 80% bonus = 12,512 Loyalty Points.
• Executive Platinum members earn a 120% bonus = 14,688 Loyalty Points.

Our Take

The biggest changes to note for 2022 are that your AAdvantage partner earning rates went up in a few cases — notably in premium cabins. The cabin bonus went up on British Airways for all flights in premium economy and above. Additionally, earnings went up for Iberia and business class on Royal Jordanian, as well. The cabin bonus earning rate for Qatar Airways continues to be shockingly low.

If you are crediting partner flights to American Airlines in pursuit of AAdvantage status, make sure to note your Loyalty Points earning with partners, as detailed here.

Are you pursuing AAdvantage status in 2022? Do you think the Loyalty Points system makes it simpler or more difficult?

AwardWallet Tip of The Day

You can choose to store all of your loyalty account passwords locally on your device, instead of storing them in our secure database. If you choose this option, you can (and should) periodically back them up into a file. In the event that you delete your cookies, these passwords will be deleted. With a proper backup, you'd be able to safely restore from that backup file.
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