AAdvantage® Million Miler Program Launches on 12/1/11

As promised, today I’m sharing with you the details of the new AAdvantage® Million Miler(SM) program.

Here’s how it’s going to work:


Starting December 1, 2011, AAdvantage base miles earned by flying on American Airlines, American Eagle® or the AmericanConnection® carrier or any AAdvantage program participating airline will count towards Million Miler status. Before you get nervous about just BIS miles counting, for those of you who have the new Citi Executive(SM) / AAdvantage® World Elite(TM) MasterCard® credit card, as a limited time offer, one AAdvantage mile for every dollar spent on eligible purchases using this card will count toward Million Miler status. Bonus miles and additional miles earned through special offers will not count. The Citi Executive(SM) / AAdvantage® World Elite(TM) MasterCard® credit card account must be open and in good standing by December 1, 2011, and miles must post to billing statements through December 2012. Realize that this makes American Airlines the only major US airline to provide a significant non-flight way to achieve Million Miler status. And one of the few to allow Million Miler miles accrual on participating airlines.


Here are the benefits at each Million Miler threshold:

• At 1,000,000 Million Miler miles, AAdvantage members will receive lifetime AAdvantage Gold® status and 35,000 AAdvantage bonus miles (which, as you know, can be exchanged for eight 500-mile upgrades if that’s what you prefer)
• At 2,000,000 Million Miler miles, AAdvantage members will receive lifetime AAdvantage Platinum status and four one-way systemwide upgrades
• At each additional Million Miler mile mark, AAdvantage members will receive four additional one-way systemwide upgrades

You might be wondering about the AAdvantage miles you’ve earned so far. The good news is that when the Million Miler program launches on December 1, your starting Million Miler balance will include every AAdvantage mile you’ve ever earned since joining the program. And any Million Miler status or benefits you’ve earned so far remain as well.

When you log into your AAdvantage account on AA.com on and after December 1, you’ll see your Million Miler balance separate from your award miles, so you can easily track your progress toward these mileage milestones.

For more information you can visit http://bit.ly/aadvmillion or ask any questions you may have right here.

Thank you for your continued loyalty, and we look forward to seeing you on board soon.

Maya Leibman
President – AAdvantage Loyalty Program

This is a major devaluation of the program.

As a newbie to the AA games, does anybody know a way to get 800K AA miles by the deadline ?

If only we could exchange 8 stickers for 35,000 miles (instead of just the other way around)...

Am I reading this correctly? So only miles from flight and credit card count? Not idine or Bank Direct? Or any of the future credit card signup bonus?

I believe you can under the right circumstances, but not for that amount.

Correct, though to clarify the credit card spend is only for the specific card mentioned above, not the standard AA credit card that Citibank issues.

And for how long will that card's spend count? Just a 1 year time frame? or for the life of the card?

Looks like just through Dec. 2012 according to the OP.

Exactly. Making it really no big deal to anyone but the highest of high spend people.

If you haven't gotten any of the Citibank AA credit cards, that can be worth 250k miles right there if you get the cards and meet the spend requirements before Dec. 1. Beyond that, I don't know of any quick and cheap ways to pick up a pile of points. Sounds like you might be in for a lot of mileage running if lifetime status is your goal.

You can, but it's 500 miles/500 mile upgrade = junk and you need to basically prove that you don't use 500 mile upgrades (ie an international platinum traveler).

I only need 850k before December! Now if only I had started this all when I was 5....

Better than nothing, I don't use them at all, I rarely travel with anyone. Which might be sad?

This is no good. There maybe a chance I'll never get lifetime Plat.

Right now anyone who doesn't have lifetime gold is more than 10 years of EXP from getting lifetime plat.

There is NO way this is good and without major fare sales, I am done with American going forward.

I can go back to United with only 100k lifetime and be years closer to lifetime 1P.

If I may ask a clarifying question....?

In the underlined portion above, am I to understand that any airline that allows you to credit for AA miles such as Hawaiian or Alaska Airlines will count toward our total as well?

It does not need to be an AA or Oneworld airline, correct?

I read base miles to mean eqm. Without a bonus factor.

Also for internationally based FFers, note this section:

At 1,000,000 Million Miler miles, AAdvantage members will receive lifetime AAdvantage Gold® status and 35,000 AAdvantage bonus miles (which, as you know, can be exchanged for eight 500-mile upgrades if that’s what you prefer)

Under the unofficial program, internationally based MMers received SWUs instead of stickers. This new program seems to be eliminating that option. So if you're close to 1MM and based overseas, I'd suggest getting your miles in before Dec 1st.

Right, I got that, but my question was about base miles earned on non-AA/OW carriers, some of which are just RDM and aren't EQM.

Yup. I'm at 1.43MM now, normal expected activity will get to to around 1.55MM by 11/30. If I drain my Starwood account, I could get to around 1.7. But flying Gold levels, that means I'm still 12 years away from lifetime PLT. Since I have a lot of RDM in my account and since I find SPG points worth more to me than miles, I'll probably not do the transfer. That means at current flying levels, I'll get to lifetime PLT around the year 2030.

Oh well, I guess I'll just be glad I got the GLD when I did.

I'm pretty bummed about this. Lucky made a good point about the levels not really giving that much (they're the same as the old program) so this is a devaluation. UA gives Premier Executive status @ 1mm, while Continental gives silver + a companion silver...not to mention UDUs, E+, etc. at the lower levels... I'm going to have to seriously reconsider my preferred airline here.

The devaluation of this is say you're starting from zero. UA give lifetime 1P at 1,000,000 bis miles. AA gives only Gold now at 1,000,000 and plat at 2,000,000. Therefore you're 10 years of being EXP away from just being at zero on UA.

So yes. This is worse than just taking a gift from us. This is putting anyone who is not already AA LT Gold at a major disadvantage in the AA program.

I realize I am small time to AA. But with their fares being nearly double Delta and UA lately for the flights I want, this was the last straw. I will not requalify again in the foreseeable future on AA as these rules now stand.

AA. You lose me, my family, anyone I talk to and as many of my clients I can convince to take the cheaper fligths on someone else.

I've only got one thing to say to this:

noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo