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Frequent flyers with elite status seem like the Samurai caste of travelers: they cut to the head of lines, waltz into airport lounges, and luxuriate in first-class upgrades. However, elite status has become much harder to attain in recent years. The three legacy U.S. airlines have raised their requirements and instituted spending minimums to make certain that elite members represent a financial advantage to the company.
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Earn Airline Elite Status Through Credit Card Spending
More and more frequently, travelers are reaching their elite requirements with a boost from a co-branded credit card, such as some of those featured as some of the best miles credit cards.
Is it possible to attain top-tier status without flying? No, but knowing the shortcuts can help you get a valuable jump on your goal. You can also attain many of the perks of elite status with the right credit card application. First, let’s look at what it takes to earn elite status on the major U.S. carriers.
Earning Elite Status the Hard Way
American, Delta and United each have four elite tiers. You qualify by accumulating a combination of a minimum number of miles flown, segments and dollars spent (although United has abolished the concept of miles altogether—more on that in a moment).
Earning Status on American
You’ll need a certain number of either Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) or Elite Qualifying Segments (EQSs), plus a minimum amount of Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQDs), in this order:
- Gold: 25,000; 30; $3,000
- Platinum: 50,000; 60; $6,000
- Platinum Pro: 75,000; 90; $9,000
- Executive Platinum: 100,000; 120; $15,000
Benefits include free checked bags, priority boarding, mileage bonuses (40%/60%/80%/120%) and upgrades. Executive Platinum comes with four systemwide upgrades. Upgrades for the higher tiers clear first, but most of the time they’ll be the only ones to get them.
Earning Status on Delta
At Delta, you earn Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs), Medallion Qualification Segments (MQSs) and Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQMs). The requirements are close to American but slightly different:
- Silver: 25,000/30/$3,000
- Gold: 50,000/60/$6,000
- Platinum: 75,000/100/$12,000
- Diamond: 125,000/140/$15,000
Benefits are similar as well, but with one important exception: You can roll over any MQMs in excess of your tier level to the following year. If you qualify for Gold with 65,000 miles, you’ll have 15,000 MQMs in the bank for the following year.
Earning Status on United
As of January 1, United instituted some dramatic changes in their elite program. Miles are no longer in the picture. Each dollar spent becomes a Premier Qualifying Point (PQP), and segments are now PQFs (Premier Qualifying Flights).
You qualify based on either combined PQFs and PQPs, or on a higher total of PQPs alone:
- Premier Silver: 12 PQF and 4,000 PQD, or 5,000 PQD
- Premier Gold: 24 PQF and 8,000 PQD, or 10,000 PQD
- Premier Platinum: 36 PQF and 12,000 PQD, or 15,000 PQD
- Premier 1K: 54 PQF and 18,000 PQD, or 24,000 PQD
Earning Status on JetBlue
JetBlue has only one elite tier, Mosaic. You need 15,000 Base Flight Points in a calendar year to qualify, or you can fly 30 segments plus 12,000 Base Flight Points.
Earning Status on Southwest
Southwest gives you three opportunities to achieve elite status:
- A-List: 25 one-way qualifying flights or 35,000 tier qualifying points
- A-List Preferred: 50 one-way qualifying flights or 70,000 tier qualifying points
- Southwest Companion Pass®: 100 one-way qualifying flights or 135,000 tier qualifying points
The Southwest Companion Pass® is one of the sweetest deals in travel. It allows your designated companion to fly free, with the payment of taxes and fees. The pass is valid until the end of the following year in which it is earned, so it makes sense to try and snag it as early as possible.
Earning Status with A Co-Branded Credit Card
Looking at the big three and comparing their requirements to five years ago, elite status has become much harder to obtain. Unless you’re in the air every week of the year, it’s probably not possible to earn top-tier status from flying alone. Even then, it may be out of the question if your business takes you on short, regional routes.
Fortunately, there are cards that allow you to obtain a head start toward qualifying if you know how to work the system. As an added bonus, many of these credit cards are some of the best credit cards for international travel.
Delta Cards That Help with Elite Status
Delta’s credit cards are issued by American Express. They present the best opportunities for frequent flyers to get a jump on status.
American Airlines (AA) Cards That Help with Elite Status
The information for the AAdvantage® Aviator® Silver Mastercard® and the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® has been collected independently by Johnny Jet. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Even though AAdvantage cards are issued by both Barclays and Citibank, only two of them allow you to get a head start on elite status.
Barclays AAdvantage® Aviator® Silver Mastercard® allows you to earn 5,000 EQMs for the first $20,000 in spending each calendar year, plus another 5,000 for the next $20,000. You can also accumulate Elite Qualifying Dollars through spending: $3,000 for the first $25,000, and another $3,000 for the next $25,000. The annual fee is $195.
However, you can no longer apply directly for this card. You need to hold the AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® and request an upgrade.
Learn more: Best Credit Cards for American Airlines Fliers
United Cards That Help with Elite Status
Prior to January 1, United flyers had the possibility of earning a PQD waiver with credit card spending, which has now been eliminated. The chance to earn PQMs has obviously disappeared as well since they no longer exist.
However, all four co-branded cards issued by Chase will allow members to earn 500 Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) for the first $12,000 in spending during a calendar year, plus another 500 PQPs for the next $12,000. Given that the new elite tiers now require between 4,000 and 24,000 PQPs to qualify, this inducement has limited value.
Learn more: Best United Credit Cards
Earning Status with the JetBlue Credit Card
The information for the JetBlue Plus Card has been collected independently by Johnny Jet. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
As mentioned, JetBlue only has one elite tier (Mosaic). If you have the Barclays JetBlue Plus Card, you can reach Mosaic by spending $50,000 in a calendar year. The annual fee is $99.
Earning Status with Southwest Credit Cards
The information for the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card has been collected independently by Johnny Jet. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
The five co-branded Southwest cards from Chase earn 1,500 tier points for each $10,000 in spending. Those cards are the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card ($69 annual fee), Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card ($99), Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card ($149), Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card ($99) and Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card ($199).
Since Southwest’s elite status begins at the threshold of 35,000 tier points, this also isn’t much of an inducement. However, there’s a twist: while credit card bonuses don’t count toward regular elite status, they do help you earn the Southwest Companion Pass®.
Get the Benefits of Elite Status Without Flying
If your head is spinning at this point, ask yourself one simple question: Does airline elite status make sense for you? Unless you’re a road warrior, the answer is probably no.
For occasional flyers, there’s a great solution. On the lower end of the elite scale, the most important benefits are priority boarding and free checked bags (entry-level elites aren’t likely to get upgrades in most cases). You can get those two perks when you sign up for a range of co-branded airline cards.
To a large extent, these benefits can help take the hassle out of air travel.
However, if you aren’t loyal to one airline and perhaps prefer flexibility when flying, consider travel credit like the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Capital One Venture. Both cards come with the ability to transfer points/miles. While you get some of the perks you’d get with a co-brand airline credit card, you will have the flexibility to use more airlines and their transfer partners.
Compare the Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Capital One Venture to learn more.
Summary of How to Earn Airline Elite Status Through Credit Card Spending
If you are loyal to one airline and spend a lot of time up in the air, earning airline elite status through credit card spending is a good option. You will get the airline perks that come with the credit cards. You’ll also get closer to reaching your status goals. However, note that most of the cards will come with an annual fee along with high spending requirements.
