Check your account: Earn Loyalty Points on American Airlines award flights (targeted offer)

Attention, American Airlines members: If you’re aiming for elite status with the airline, check your American Airlines AAdvantage account, as you might be selected for a year-end promotion. Some TPG staff members have received an exclusive offer to earn Loyalty Points on award flights.

Here are the offers:

• Receive 100 Loyalty Points for every 1,000 AAdvantage miles redeemed (up to 20,000 Loyalty Points).
• Receive 50 Loyalty Points for every 1,000 AAdvantage miles redeemed (up to 20,000 Loyalty Points).

Terms of the offers:

• Sign up and book your travel by October 7, 2024.
• Finish your travel by December 31, 2024.
• This promotion applies only to award flights on American and American Eagle.
• You can earn up to 20,000 Loyalty Points.
• Your Loyalty Points will be credited within six to eight weeks after you complete your travel.

To verify your eligibility, log into your AAdvantage account. Navigate to "Promotions" under the "Rewards hub" to check if this offer is available for you. If you weren't specifically targeted for this promotion, you won't be able to register.

It appears that American Airlines has implemented a very selective promotion, as many staff members at TPG found this offer missing from their accounts. However, Clint Henderson, TPG's managing editor of news and an AAdvantage Executive Platinum member, along with Eric Rosen, TPG's director of travel content and an AAdvantage Gold member, were fortunate enough to be targeted.

Changes to the American Airlines loyalty program

Over the past year, American's loyalty program has seen some modifications, and it appears the airline is selectively targeting certain members to assess whether earning Loyalty Points on award flights influences customer booking and spending habits.

In August, American introduced the option for AAdvantage members to finally earn miles and Loyalty Points on upgrades purchased for American-operated flights.

"Until recently, the airline did not permit loyalty members to accumulate miles and status credits from upgrades. Personally, this has deterred me from opting for these buy-up offers, leading me to switch my ticket to a business or first-class fare when the price becomes more favorable," Zach Griff, a senior reporter at TPG, explained in his article. "Now, I’ll definitely be more inclined to consider an upgrade with American if I come across a reasonable deal next time."

Could this targeted promotion in September be the start of a larger program rollout?

Currently, AAdvantage members accumulate Loyalty Points by flying on American-operated flights (and those of American's partners), through credit card spending, via the AAdvantage Dining program, by shopping through the AAdvantage online shopping portal, and through partnerships with hotels, car rentals, cruises, and more.

However, when members book an award flight and redeem their AAdvantage miles, they do not receive Loyalty Points. Will American make this a permanent change in their program in 2025?

In 2022, Delta Air Lines officially began awarding Medallion Qualification Dollars on award flights. For your award tickets, you'll earn 1 MQD for every 100 SkyMiles redeemed.

Additionally, rival United Airlines allows its members to earn Premier qualifying points based on the number of miles redeemed, at a rate of 1 PQP for every 100 miles.

In conclusion

Although it appears that only a few were selected for American's recent promotion, it is noteworthy that the airline seems to be "testing" consumer reactions to the opportunity to earn extra Loyalty Points before the status qualification year ends on February 28, 2025.

While competitors like United Airlines and Delta Air Lines have already integrated the option to earn elite qualifying points into their programs, American's ongoing commitment to revamping its loyalty program over the past year suggests that this may be a precursor to another program enhancement — one that many would welcome — in 2025.