A number of years in the past, American Airways fully modified how its members earn elite standing. As a substitute of elite-qualifying miles and {dollars}, Loyalty Factors at the moment are the metric by which you earn American Airways elite standing.
Curiously, you possibly can earn elite standing within the American AAdvantage program with out taking any flights. And maybe extra apparently, you possibly can earn all of the Loyalty Factors you’d want for any revealed elite standing tier — together with top-tier Govt Platinum standing — solely through spending on an AAdvantage bank card.
However in follow, most AAdvantage elite members (myself included) mix spending on an AAdvantage card with different methods to earn Loyalty Factors. So, on this article, I will focus on incomes American Airways elite standing solely through bank card spending, earlier than explaining how my AAdvantage bank card performs into my bigger elite standing technique.
earn Loyalty Factors with an American Airways bank card
You possibly can earn Loyalty Factors if you spend on Citi / AAdvantage and AAdvantage Aviator bank cards issued within the U.S. (and on different AAdvantage bank cards issued outdoors the U.S.). Citi will develop into the unique American Airways card issuer in 2026, however I additionally focus on Barclays Aviator playing cards on this submit since they’re presently helpful for incomes American Airways elite standing.
You solely earn Loyalty Factors if you earn base miles, and most AAdvantage playing cards earn 1 base mile per greenback spent on purchases. This is a take a look at how one can earn Loyalty Factors on American Airways bank cards issued inside the U.S.:
| Card | Loyalty Factors incomes fee on purchases | Different methods to earn Loyalty Factors with this card | Annual price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citi® / AAdvantage® Govt World Elite Mastercard® (see charges and charges) | 1 Loyalty Level per greenback | You possibly can earn 10,000 bonus Loyalty Factors after reaching 50,000 Loyalty Factors in a standing qualification yr.
Plus, you possibly can earn one other 10,000 bonus Loyalty Factors after reaching 90,000 Loyalty Factors in the identical standing qualification yr. |
$595 |
| Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Choose® World Elite Mastercard® (see charges and charges) | 1 Loyalty Level per greenback | None | $99, waived for the primary 12 months |
| Citi® / AAdvantage® Gold World Elite Mastercard® (not open to new candidates) | 1 Loyalty Level per greenback | None | $50 |
| American Airways AAdvantage® MileUp® Card | 1 Loyalty Level per greenback | None | $0 |
| Citi® / AAdvantage Enterprise™ World Elite Mastercard® (see charges and charges) | 1 Loyalty Level per greenback, though solely purchases on the first cardmember’s card earn Loyalty Factors for the first cardmember (purchases on a licensed person card earn Loyalty Factors for the approved person) | None | $99, waived for the primary 12 months |
| AAdvantage® Aviator® Crimson World Elite Mastercard® | 1 Loyalty Level per greenback | None | $99 |
| AAdvantage® Aviator® Silver World Elite Mastercard® (not open to new candidates, however you might be able to improve from the Aviator Crimson) | 1 Loyalty Level per greenback | Earn a further 5,000 Loyalty Factors after spending $20,000 on web purchases with the cardboard throughout the standing qualification interval.
You possibly can earn a further 5,000 Loyalty Factors after spending $40,000 on web purchases with the cardboard throughout the identical standing qualification interval. Plus, you possibly can earn a further 5,000 Loyalty Factors after spending $50,000 on web purchases with the cardboard throughout the identical standing qualification interval. |
$199 |
| AAdvantage® Aviator® Blue World Elite Mastercard® (not open to new candidates) | 1 Loyalty Level per greenback | None | $49 |
| AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Mastercard® (not open to new candidates) | 1 Loyalty Level per 2 {dollars} | None | $0 |
| AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Enterprise Mastercard® (not open to new candidates) | 1 Loyalty Level per greenback | None | $95 |
The data for the Citi / AAdvantage Gold Mastercard, AAdvantage MileUp Card, AAdvantage Aviator Crimson Mastercard, AAdvantage Aviator Silver Mastercard, AAdvantage Aviator Blue Mastercard, AAdvantage Aviator Mastercard and AAdvantage Aviator Enterprise Mastercard has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or supplied by the cardboard issuer.
As you possibly can see, most AAdvantage bank cards allow you to earn 1 Loyalty Level per greenback spent on purchases. Nonetheless, two playing cards — the Citi / AAdvantage Govt Mastercard and the AAdvantage Aviator Silver Mastercard — additionally allow you to earn bonus Loyalty Factors at particular thresholds.
Associated: American AAdvantage miles vs. Loyalty Factors: What is the distinction?
AAdvantage elite standing necessities
This is a take a look at the American Airways elite standing tiers and the variety of Loyalty Factors it’s essential to accrue every qualification yr (March 1 to Feb. 28 or 29) for every tier:
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- Gold: 40,000 Loyalty Factors
- Platinum: 75,000 Loyalty Factors
- Platinum Professional: 125,000 Loyalty Factors
- Govt Platinum: 200,000 Loyalty Factors
When you earn an AAdvantage elite standing, you may hold the standing for the qualification yr wherein you earned it, plus 13 months. Along with elite standing, you possibly can earn different perks as you accrue Loyalty Factors by means of the Loyalty Level Rewards program.
Associated: Watch out: 9 occasions you will not earn American Airways Loyalty Factors, even in the event you earn miles
Incomes AAdvantage elite standing solely through bank card spending
Incomes any revealed American Airways elite standing tier is feasible through spending on a number of AAdvantage bank cards. This is a take a look at the spending ranges you’d have to earn every American Airways elite standing tier with simply a number of AAdvantage bank cards.
| Card(s) | AAdvantage Gold (40,000 Loyalty Factors) | AAdvantage Platinum (75,000 Loyalty Factors) | AAdvantage Platinum Professional (125,000 Loyalty Factors) | AAdvantage Govt Platinum (200,000 Loyalty Factors) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citi / AAdvantage Govt World Elite Mastercard | $40,000 | $65,000 | $105,000 | $180,000 |
| AAdvantage Aviator Silver World Elite Mastercard | $35,000 | $60,000 | $110,000 | $185,000 |
| Citi / AAdvantage Govt World Elite Mastercard and AAdvantage Aviator Silver World Elite Mastercard | $35,000, with at the very least $20,000 on the Aviator Silver | $50,000 on the Aviator Silver | $90,000 with at the very least $50,000 on the Aviator Silver | $165,000 with at the very least $50,000 on the Aviator Silver |
| AAdvantage Aviator World Elite Mastercard | $80,000 | $150,000 | $250,000 | $400,000 |
| Different U.S.-issued AAdvantage playing cards | $40,000 | $75,000 | $125,000 | $200,000 |
As you possibly can see, having each the Citi / AAdvantage Govt World Elite Mastercard and AAdvantage Aviator Silver World Elite Mastercard — and spending on at the very least the Aviator Silver — cuts down the quantity you’d have to spend for all however the lowest American Airways elite standing. In spite of everything, these playing cards provide bonus Loyalty Factors if you meet particular thresholds.
So, you would earn top-tier Govt Platinum standing with as little as $165,000 in spending on AAdvantage bank cards every qualification yr and $794 in annual charges. However, as I will focus on within the subsequent part, the quantity you may have to spend in your playing cards will lower in the event you additionally earn Loyalty Factors by means of different strategies.
Associated: 8 strategies that earned American AAdvantage Govt Platinum for 2025 and my technique for 2026
How my AAdvantage bank card performs into my elite standing technique
Platinum Professional is my candy spot inside the AAdvantage program, because it offers me Oneworld Emerald standing. So, I attempt to earn at the very least 125,000 Loyalty Factors every qualification yr to requalify for Platinum Professional standing.
Incomes 125,000 Loyalty Factors every qualification yr includes some planning. To start out, I take advantage of the Aviator Silver card as my common spending card every qualification interval till I’ve spent $50,000 on it. By doing so, I do know I will get 65,000 of the 125,000 Loyalty Factors I want for Platinum Professional standing from spending on my Aviator Silver.
Then, I attempt to e book a number of cheap long-haul premium financial system or business-class flights on AAdvantage companions that also earn primarily based on fare class and flight distance every qualification yr.
I additionally earn some Loyalty Factors by means of AAdvantage Accommodations, the AAdvantage eShopping portal, SimplyMiles and American Airways flights. However these incomes strategies are comparatively minor in comparison with my earnings by means of spending on AAdvantage playing cards and flights on AAdvantage companions. In spite of everything, I redeem miles for many of my flights — so I hardly ever earn on flights except I e book an affordable long-haul accomplice flight to earn a lot of miles and Loyalty Factors.
Backside line
AAdvantage bank cards are a compelling solution to earn Loyalty Factors. As I confirmed on this submit, incomes top-tier Govt Platinum elite standing with as little as $165,000 in bank card spending is feasible.
Nonetheless, most vacationers will earn Loyalty Factors by means of a number of strategies, together with flights, card spending and the AAdvantage eShopping portal. So, think about different methods to earn Loyalty Factors, a lot of which seemingly have decrease alternative prices, earlier than making an attempt to earn standing solely through spending on AAdvantage bank cards.
