How Much Do You Need to Fly to Earn American Airlines AAdvantage Platinum Status?

American Airlines has four elite status tiers in its AAdvantage frequent flier loyalty program:

• Executive Platinum
• Platinum Pro
• AAdvantage Platinum
• Gold

AAdvantage Platinum status has some valuable benefits, and can result in free business class upgrades and much more. Here's a quick guide to what you can get from Platinum status on American Airlines and how to earn it.

What does AAdvantage Platinum status do?

AAdvantage Platinum is the second level of elite status on American Airlines, and comes with some potentially valuable benefits. While this isn't an exhaustive list, the biggest perks include:

• Complimentary upgrades to business or first class (whichever the next class of service is) on domestic flights and flights to and from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America. Platinum members are not only above Gold members in priority, but their upgrades can clear as far as 48 hours before departure.
• 60% more miles and Loyalty Points for spending on flights.
• Priority check-in and Group 3 boarding.
• Up to two checked bags for everyone on the same reservation as the Platinum member, with priority baggage handling.

You earn status by spending, not necessarily by flying

American Airlines uses a qualifying points system known as Loyalty Points for elite status qualification. And the most important point to know is that this system earns status based on how much you spend, not how much you fly.

There are a few ways to earn Loyalty Points. Taking flights is the most obvious, but different members earn points at different rates. General (non-elite) AAdvantage members earn 5 Loyalty Points for every $1 spent on American Airlines flights. Members with elite status earn Loyalty Points even faster, so once you've achieved status, it becomes easier to keep it. Gold members earn 7 Loyalty Points per $1, Platinum AAdvantage members earn 8 Loyalty Points per $1, and Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum members earn 9 and 11 Loyalty Points per $1, respectively.

In addition, you can earn one Loyalty Point for every base mile you earn from spending on an American Airlines credit card. You can also earn Loyalty Points on spending through the airline's e-commerce portal, through hotel and rental car partners, and through a few other ways.

How do you earn AAdvantage Platinum status?

AAdvantage Platinum status requires 75,000 Loyalty Points in an earning year, which starts on March 1 and runs through the end of the following February. These can be earned through any combination of flying and other methods that reach this threshold.

As one simplified example, you can earn AAdvantage Platinum status in the following way:

• $10,000 in spending on American Airlines flights (at least five Loyalty Points per $1)
• $20,000 in spending on a co-branded American Airlines credit card
• $5,000 in spending through hotel and rental car partners

Of course, this is just one example. It's actually possible to earn Platinum status without flying at all if you spend enough on your American Airlines travel credit card, but since the benefits of elite status are mostly related to flying, it might not be worth pursuing if you don't fly much.

Is AAdvantage Platinum status worth earning?

The short answer is that AAdvantage Platinum status can be valuable if you fly often. You'll likely receive upgrades more frequently than Gold members, Group 3 boarding will usually let you avoid the crowds if you're sitting in the main cabin, and the free bags perk could be worth hundreds of dollars per trip if you travel with your family or a small group of friends.