American Airlines “Status Pass” Match Program For Select U.S. Frequent Flyers
American Airlines AAdvantage offers a status match for members of a few select U.S. frequent flyer programs, issuing a Status Pass for the duration of four months for a corresponding AAdvantage status. American will directly match your status to AAdvantage Gold, Platinum, Platinum Pro or […]
American Airlines AAdvantage offers a status match for members of a few select U.S. frequent flyer programs, issuing a Status Pass for the duration of four months for a corresponding AAdvantage status.
American will directly match your status to AAdvantage Gold, Platinum, Platinum Pro or Executive Platinum for four months, during which you must collect sufficient Loyalty Points to retain it for another four.
You can access this offer on American Airlines’ website here.
If you contact American via the “Contact Us” button there is also the ability to request the status match there.
It’s interesting that Southwest is mentioned here and recognized up to Platinum level matches. There are, however, no international airlines whatsoever, and I specifically inquired with American Airlines about this. Here is their reply:
Hello Sebastian,
Thank you for your recent email to AAdvantage® Customer Service.
I hope you’re doing well. I wanted to provide you with an update regarding our current status match opportunities.
At the moment, we are offering status matches with the following U.S.-based airlines:
Delta Air Lines SkyMiles, United Airlines MileagePlus, Southwest Rapid Rewards
Unfortunately, no international airlines are available for status matches at this time. We will continue to monitor the situation and inform you should any new opportunities become available.
Have a good day!
Regards, Alain B.
I wonder why AA wouldn’t offer this for international airlines, considering their global route network and plenty of competition. Customer service also didn’t mention JetBlue at all for any match. Strange!
American – as per the website – matches United Premier Platinum/Premier 1K, Delta Platinum/Diamond, and JetBlue Mosaic 3/4 to the upper tier oneworld Emerald levels, the best status for international travel.
AAdvantage Platinum Pro & Executive Platinum Benefits
Both Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum map to Oneworld Emerald status, which allows you to check in to a flight at the First Class counter and enter First Class lounges, where available (there are exclusions for lounge access in the US). The nice thing here is you can settle for PlatinumPro to keep Emerald.
Match Qualification Requirements
Extending your matched status after four months is dependent on the number of Loyalty Points collected:
- 13,000 Loyalty Points = AAdvantage Gold
- 25,000 Loyalty Points = AAdvantage Platinum
- 42,000 Loyalty Points = AAdvantage Platinum Pro
- 67,000 Loyalty Points = AAdvantage Executive Platinum
This new system helps American Airlines because it keeps customers engaged rather than being matched for an entire year in advance. Of course, that also has a negative side for the customer because you need a lot of activity within these four months, and if you have other tickets booked that might be on another carrier… well, that is a lost trip, so to speak.
Last year, American and Hyatt offered reciprocal status matches for their upper tier elites:
As of this month, the partnership has somewhat cooled off (no more mileage earning, etc.), so I’m not sure if the match will ever come back.
Conclusion
American Airlines status match program is mainly geared towards U.S. competitors such as Delta, United, JetBlue and Southwest.
The issue with most revenue-based programs is that unless you fly on very expensive economy fares or buy premium fares, it is difficult to qualify for a reasonable status. If you need to purchase Business Class to enjoy the status benefits, it is essentially a lose-lose situation in the long run because status benefits are most valuable for economy cabin flyers. Oneworld Emerald status is an outlier here as it grants access to First Class lounges at airports and with airlines that still offer it (AA Flagship, BA Galleries First, Cathay The Wing/The Pier, Qantas First, JAL First and Malaysia Airlines Platinum Wing).
There is also the practical issue with these American matches that the validity is only for a brief period, which likely won’t work if you have any advance tickets purchased on other airlines. However, American AAdvantage counts a wide variety of AAdvantage transactions as Loyalty Points qualifying.
Oneworld Alliance benefits of the top level are superior to those of SkyTeam Elite Plus and also better than Star Alliance Gold. While I do have status with all of them
These are the terms & conditions for this status match campaign:
To be considered for a status match via the American Airlines Instant Status Pass™ promotion, please complete the linked form. If approved, the member will be registered for the Instant Status Pass™ promotion and enjoy 4 months of status with American Airlines while meeting a Loyalty Point goal every 4 months to keep status and move on to the next phase.Once registered, the member must earn at least 13,000 Loyalty Points in the first 4 months of the promotion to continue with AAdvantage Gold® benefits, 25,000 Loyalty Points to continue with AAdvantage Platinum® benefits, 42,000 to continue with AAdvantage Platinum Pro® benefits, or 67,000 Loyalty Points to continue with AAdvantage Executive Platinum® benefits.Members who have registered for the Instant Status Pass™ promotion in the last 2 years are not eligible for this offer. Members who already hold the equivalent or higher AAdvantage® status are not eligible for status matching.Please allow at least 4 weeks for AAdvantage® Customer Service to review your submission.This offer is open for a limited amount of time. American Airlines may, at any time and without notice, change, stop or end this promotion in part or in full.American Airlines, in its sole discretion, will determine if the submitted documentation is acceptable and may deny any submission requests for any reason. American Airlines reserves the right to request additional documentation from the member to verify status match eligibility.Submission of fraudulent or forged documentation may result in termination of your AAdvantage® account.To be eligible for the status match promotion, the applicant must be a current AAdvantage® member in good standing and a current Delta SkyMiles®, United MileagePlus®, JetBlue TrueBlue® or Southwest Rapid Rewards® status member.The first and last name on the Delta SkyMiles®, United MileagePlus®, JetBlue TrueBlue® or Southwest Rapid Rewards® membership cards and the AAdvantage® member account must match.This offer is only valid for Delta SkyMiles®, United MileagePlus®, JetBlue TrueBlue® and Southwest Rapid Rewards® members who met the full status qualification requirements. Matched, transferred, lifetime or promotional status holders are not eligible for this offer.Terms & Conditions apply for American Airline’s Instant Status Pass™ Promotion which will be made available to the member in their AAdvantage® account upon successful verification of the provided documentation.Promotions are subject to the AAdvantage® program terms and conditions.Once registered for the Instant Status Pass™ promotion, additional promotion terms and conditions apply.
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