How to fly first-class without paying first-class prices. Discover the best airline elite status.
Earning elite status on your favorite airline is a fantastic way to fly. If you think about it, airlines must compete with one another to generate loyal customers. One primary they do this is by offering perks, upgrades, and even free trips the more you fly with them. Elite status not only comes with a ton of perks, but it also can make flying more enjoyable.
If you have finally decided to sign up for a loyalty program so you can start earning miles and points, but can’t decide which loyalty program to sign up for, then you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we will go over what you can get through different airline elite statuses. Although the earning structure may seem a bit complicated, we’re spelling it out for you today as well as recommending our #1 choice for the best airline elite status.
**This information is provided directly from the airlines with corresponding links to read more.
American Airlines
American Airlines has 4 levels of elite status – Gold, Platinum, Platinum Pro, and Exec Platinum. Here are the perks of each status level:
AAdvantage® Gold
• Complimentary auto-requested upgrades on flights 500 miles or less*
• 24-hour upgrade window
• 40% elite mileage bonus
• Complimentary Main Cabin Extra Seats at check-in+
• Complimentary Preferred Seats*
• 1 free checked bag
AAdvantage® Platinum
• Complimentary auto-requested upgrades on flights 500 miles or less*
• 48-hour upgrade window
• 60% elite mileage bonus
• Complimentary Main Cabin Extra and Preferred Seats*
• 2 free checked bags
AAdvantage® Platinum Pro
• Complimentary auto-requested upgrades*
• 72-hour upgrade window
• 80% elite mileage bonus
• Complimentary Main Cabin Extra and Preferred Seats*
• 2 free checked bags
AAdvantage® Executive Platinum
• 4 one-way systemwide upgrades*
• Complimentary auto-requested upgrades*
• 100-hour upgrade window
• 120% elite mileage bonus
• Complimentary Main Cabin Extra and Preferred Seats*
• 3 free checked bags
• Additional rewards starting at 150,000 Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs)
There are 2 different ways to reach elite status with American Airlines:
1. Earn Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQDs) plus Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) on eligible-fare tickets, OR
2. Earn Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQDs) plus Elite Qualifying Segments (EQSs) on eligible-fare tickets
The eligible-fare tickets can be on the following airlines:
• American Airlines or American Eagle
• Oneworld® member airlines
• Codeshare flights with an American Airlines flight number
Keep in mind that full-fare Economy, Business and First Class tickets on American-marketed flights will earn you EQMs at a higher rate – getting you to elite status faster.
Here are the EQMs, and EQSs or EQDs you need to earn in a calendar year for the different statuses.
What are EQMs, EQSs, and EQDs?
While it may seem like a lot of strange acronyms, I promise it’s not that confusing. Let’s break it down:
EQMs (Elite Qualifying Miles)- EQMs are a percentage of the actual miles flown. The longer the flight, the more EQMs you can earn. Once your flight is complete, you are able to see the final EQMs earned. Keep in mind that AAdvantage® members have a base of 500 EQMs for flights under 500 miles on American and oneworld® airlines.
EQSs (Elite Qualifying Segments)- EQSs are earned based on the different routes that you fly.
EQDs (Elite Qualifying Dollars)- EQDs are awarded based on the ticket price of your American Airlines-marketed flights.
Flights marketed by oneworld® carriers will earn EQDs based on a percentage of the flight distance and the fare class purchased.
To enroll in the AAdvantage Program, click here
Delta Airlines
Delta refers to their elite status as Medallion Status, and they also have 4 different levels – Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond. Here are the perks for each one of them.
Silver
• Can earn 7 miles per dollar spent
• A complimentary US 50 Delta One Upgrade on the day of departure
• Complimentary Delta Comfort+ and First Class Upgrades 1 day prior to departure
• Complimentary US 50 Delta One, Delta Comfort+ and First Class Upgrades for a companion
• Complimentary Preferred Seats
• Priority Wait List
• Waived Baggage Fees
• Priority Check-In and Boarding
Gold
• Earn 8 miles per dollar spent
• Complimentary US 50 Delta One Upgrade on the day of departure
• Complimentary Delta Comfort+ and First Class Upgrades 3 days prior to departure
• Complimentary US 50 Delta One, Delta Comfort+ and First Class Upgrades for a companion
• Complimentary Preferred Seats
• Priority Wait List
• Waived Baggage Fees, Same-Day Confirmed Fees, and Same-Day Standby Fees
• Priority Check-In, Sky Priority Boarding, and Priority Security Lines Access
Platinum
• Earn 9 miles per dollar spent
• Complimentary US 50 Delta One Upgrade on the day of departure
• Complimentary First Class Upgrades 5 days prior to departure
• Complimentary Delta Comfort+ Upgrades shortly after ticketing
• Complimentary US 50 Delta One, Delta Comfort+ and First Class Upgrades for a companion
• Complimentary Preferred Seats
• Priority Wait List
• Waived Baggage Fees, Same-Day Confirmed Fees, Same-Day Standby Fees, and Award Redeposit Fees
• Priority Check-In, Sky Priority Boarding, and Priority Security Lines Access
Diamond
• Earn 11 miles per dollar spent
• Complimentary US 50 Delta One Upgrade on the day of departure
• Complimentary First Class Upgrades 5 days prior to departure
• Complimentary Delta Comfort+ Upgrades shortly after ticketing
• Complimentary US 50 Delta One, Delta Comfort+ and First Class Upgrades for a companion
• Complimentary Preferred Seats
• Priority Wait List
• Waived Baggage Fees, Same-Day Confirmed Fees, Same-Day Standby Fees and Award Redeposit Fees
• Priority Check-In, Highest Priority Boarding, Priority Security Lines Access and Complimentary CLEAR Membership
Similar to American Airlines, there are 2 different ways to reach elite status with Delta Airlines:
1. Earn Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs) plus Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) on eligible-fare tickets, OR
2. Earn Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs) plus Medallion Qualification Segments (MQSs) on eligible-fare tickets
Here are the MQMs, and MQSs or MQDs you need to earn in a calendar year for the different statuses.
To enroll in Delta Skymiles Program click here
United Airlines
United refers to their elite status as MileagePlus Premier® status, and they also have 4 different levels – Silver, Gold, Platinum, and 1K. Here are the perks for each one of them.
Silver
• Earn 7 miles per dollar spent
• Complimentary Premier Upgrades on the day of departure
• Complimentary Preferred seating at booking; Economy Plus at check-in
• Instant upgrades to Premium Cabin on Economy tickets (Y or B class fares)
• 1 Complimentary Economy Plus for a companion
• 8 Complimentary Preferred Seats for companions
• 1 Complimentary Checked Bag in Economy and 3 in Premium Cabin
• Priority Check-In and Boarding (Group 2)
Gold
• Earn 8 miles per dollar spent
• Same-day flight change fee waived
• Complimentary Premier Upgrades 48 hours in advance
• Complimentary Preferred seating or Economy Plus at booking
• Instant upgrades to Premium Cabin on Economy tickets (Y or B class fares)
• 1 Complimentary Economy Plus for a companion
• 8 Complimentary Preferred Seats for companions
• 2 Complimentary Checked Bag in Economy and 3 in Premium Cabin
• Priority Check-In and Boarding (Group 1)
Platinum
• Earn 8 miles per dollar spent
• Same-day flight change fee waived
• Complimentary Premier Upgrades 72 hours in advance
• Complimentary Preferred seating or Economy Plus at booking
• Instant upgrades to Premium Cabin on Economy tickets (Y or B class fares)
• 8 Complimentary Economy Plus for companions
• 8 Complimentary Preferred Seats for companions
• 3 Complimentary Checked Bag in Economy and 3 in Premium Cabin
• Priority Check-In and Boarding (Group 1)
1K
• Earn 8 miles per dollar spent
• Same-day flight change fee waived
• Complimentary Premier Upgrades 96 hours in advance
• Complimentary Preferred seating or Economy Plus at booking
• Instant upgrades to Premium Cabin on Economy tickets (Y, B or M class fares)
• 8 Complimentary Economy Plus for companions
• 8 Complimentary Preferred Seats for companions
• 3 Complimentary Checked Bag in Economy and 3 in Premium Cabin
• Priority Check-In and Pre-Boarding
Unlike American and Delta Airlines, there are no Qualifying Segments with United Airlines. The 2 different ways to reach elite status with United Airlines is:
1. Earn Premier Qualifying Flights (PQFs) plus Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) on eligible-fare tickets, OR
2. Earn a higher Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) on eligible-fare tickets
Here are the PQFs and PQPs you need to earn in a calendar year for the different statuses.
To enroll in the United MileagePlus Program click here
Bottom Line- Our Favorite
As you can see, the three major airline loyalty programs in the US are somewhat similar. If we were to rank the three programs based on our personal experience, we would rank American Airlines first, Delta Airlines as a close second and United Airlines as the third. American and Delta offer almost the same perks, but the reason that American Airlines is our first choice is that we find ourselves getting upgraded on American Airlines more frequently than Delta. The reason for this seems to be that Delta has a larger number of Platinum and Diamond members who get priority so you are less likely to get upgraded with a Silver or Gold status.
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