Here's How You Can Get American Airlines Elite Status Without Even Flying

A couple of years ago, American Airlines significantly overhauled its AAdvantage program, which it admitted had become confusing to navigate. It now earns status through a single type of qualifying metric called Loyalty Points.

There are several different ways to earn Loyalty Points toward your AAdvantage status, and some don't involve flying at all. In fact, it's possible to earn elite status with American Airlines without leaving the ground. Here's how you can do it.

The AAdvantage Loyalty Point system

The short version is that Loyalty Points are designed to reward spending, as opposed to the amount of miles you fly, how many flights you take, or other qualifications that had previously been used.

To qualify for AAdvantage status, you'll need to reach the following Loyalty Point totals in an earning year, which runs from March through February:

• AAdvantage Gold: 40,000 Loyalty Points
• AAdvantage Platinum: 75,000 Loyalty Points
• AAdvantage Platinum Pro: 125,000 Loyalty Points
• AAdvantage Executive Platinum: 200,000 Loyalty Points

The primary way to earn Loyalty Points is by flying on American Airlines and its partners. AAdvantage members earn at least 5 Loyalty Points for every $1 they spend this way, and those with elite status earn even more. But it's far from the only way to earn Loyalty Points and achieve elite status.

Other ways to earn Loyalty Points

In addition to earning Loyalty Points for flying on American Airlines, there are a few ways to earn Loyalty Points without ever boarding a plane.

American Airlines credit cards

Several different American Airlines travel credit cards exist. Some are issued by Citi and some are issued by Barclays, and there are a variety of annual fees and benefits.

• Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®: Annual fee of $99, waived for first 12 months
• CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®: $0 intro fee
• Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®: $595 annual fee
• American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card: $0 annual fee
• AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard®: $95 annual fee
• AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard: $99 annual fee

With all of these credit cards, you can earn 1 Loyalty Point for every base mile you earn. So if you spend $20,000 on purchases, you can earn at least 20,000 Loyalty Points toward your American Airlines status.

Shopping and dining

All AAdvantage members would be wise to check out the AAdvantage eShopping portal, which allows you to earn miles and Loyalty Points for spending with partner retailers. Many brands you know (and already buy things from) are likely in the portal, and you might be surprised at how much you can earn. It isn't uncommon to see bonus deals for 4 to 10 Loyalty Points (or more) for every $1 you spend.

The AAdvantage Dining program allows you to earn up to 5 miles and Loyalty Points for every dollar you spend with restaurant partners on a linked credit card (it doesn't have to be an American Airlines travel credit card).

Hotels and rental cars

AAdvantage members can earn miles and Loyalty Points when staying at American's hotel partners, including Hyatt, Marriott, and IHG. The number of miles varies by partner.

With rental cars, you can earn miles and Loyalty Points for spending on Avis and Budget car rentals. Base (non-status) members earn 2 points per $1 on rentals, and elite status members earn even more.

Cruises and vacation packages

You can earn miles and Loyalty Points when booking cruises or vacation packages on American Airlines Cruises or American Airlines Vacations. Plus, there are often bonus offers, such as onboard spending credits on cruises.

It's also worth noting that this isn't necessarily an exhaustive list. There could be other ways to earn Loyalty Points without flying, including limited-time offers from American's partners.

What status can your everyday spending help you earn?

My closest airport is small and is only served by two major airlines: American and Delta. And while Delta offers some ways to earn status for everyday spending, American's AAdvantage program makes it much easier to get a significant status boost from non-flying methods. I can tell you firsthand that I wouldn't have been close to earning Executive Platinum status last year without my cobranded credit card, strategically using the e-shopping portal, getting Loyalty Points for hotel stays and rental cars, and more.

While it's possible to earn elite status without flying at all, it generally isn't worthwhile, as most of the benefits are flying-related. But the point is that all of the non-flying ways to earn Loyalty Points can certainly raise your elite status by a level (or more) compared to what you would earn by flying alone.