These 3 Credit Cards Can Get You Airline Status Before You Ever Leave the Ground

Elite status on major U.S. airlines can come with some excellent perks. You can qualify for complimentary upgrades to business or first class, free checked bags, priority boarding, preferential main cabin seats, and much more depending on the airline and your status level.

Despite what many people think, flying often isn't the only way to get elite status. Some airlines' cobranded credit cards allow you to earn points toward status, either on an ongoing basis or by meeting spending thresholds. Here are three in particular that could help you earn elite status on your favorite airline before you even take your next flight.

1. Citi AAdvantage Executive Mastercard

The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® is the high-end American Airlines credit card offered through Citi. It has a hefty $595 annual fee, but also offers several valuable perks, including a complimentary membership to the Admirals Club lounge network, which can be worth the annual fee all by itself. It also has a massive welcome offer of 70,000 bonus miles, free checked bags, a credit towards a free Global Entry or TSA PreCheck membership, and more.

American Airlines AAdvantage members earn one "loyalty point" toward elite status with every dollar they spend on all of the cobranded credit cards, not just the Executive version. However, Executive cardholders also earn a 10,000 Loyalty Point bonus after reaching 50,000 total Loyalty Points in a qualification year, and another 10,000 after their Loyalty Point total reaches 90,000.

2. Amex Delta SkyMiles Reserve

The Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card is the top-tier Delta cobranded credit card offered through American Express. It has a $650 annual fee (see rates and fees), but comes with a range of benefits including access to Delta Sky Club and Amex Centurion Lounges, an annual companion certificate good on a main cabin or first class flight, free checked bags, and more. Terms apply.

>> Apply now for the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card. <<

To be sure, the first-class companion certificate and the lounge benefits can each justify the card's annual fee all by themselves. But the card can also help you reach elite status, especially starting when Delta's SkyMiles program gets an overhaul in 2024.

Starting on Jan. 1, status will be based only on Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQD) earned. Delta Platinum and Reserve Amex card holders will get a $2,500 MQD head start each year, and Reserve cardholders will get one MQD for every $10 in card spending, which is twice the earnings rate of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card. Terms apply. With the threshold for Silver Medallion status just $5,000 MQDs, this can allow active card members to reach elite status quickly.

3. United Quest Card

The The New United Quest℠ Card has a $350 annual fee, making it the cheapest card on this list. And to be fair, it isn't the highest-tier United credit card. That title goes to the $695 annual fee The New United Club℠ Card. But it's an excellent compromise between a premium card and a lower-level one and can help you earn status nearly as quickly as its more expensive counterpart.

First off, it has an excellent welcome offer, free first and second checked bags, priority boarding, as much as a $125 United credit and two 5,000-mile anniversary awards each year. And for elite status-seekers, the card earns 500 Premier Qualifying Points for every $12,000 spent on the card in a given year, with a cap of 6,000. With a maximum of 5,000 PQPs required for Premier Silver status, it would take quite a bit of spending to get there, but big spenders could earn elite status without leaving the ground.

Should you use one of the cards to earn elite status on your favorite airline?

While it's certainly possible to earn elite status without flying with any of these three cards, there's not much of a point in doing so if you don't fly at all. The practical use case is for people who fly often, but not enough to achieve their desired status level. In these cases, credit card spending on one of these can help you get where you want to be quicker. And if you want to enjoy free upgrades, priority boarding, and the other perks of elite status, one of these cards can help you get there much faster.