How to earn elite airline status with credit cards

It’s no surprise that becoming an airline VIP is attractive. A 2022 Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of the U.S. Travel Association found that 45 percent of Americans rate air travel as average or below average. When you’re elevated to elite status, however, the experience becomes far more pleasurable. Depending on an airline’s loyalty program, you may enjoy everything from free seating upgrades to access to luxurious airport lounges.

Here’s how you can use your credit card to earn elite status with each of the major U.S. airline carriers.

American Airlines

There are four American Airlines AAdvantage elite status levels, which you will achieve when you earn sufficient Loyalty Point rewards.

• AAdvantage Gold requires 40,000 points
• AAdvantage Platinum requires 75,000 points
• AAdvantage Platinum Pro requires 125,000 points
• AAdvantage Executive Platinum requires 200,000 points

To rack up Loyalty Points, you can travel on eligible airlines, buy goods and services through the AAdvantage eShopping portal and charge with your AAdvantage co-branded credit card. You will earn 1 Loyalty Point for every eligible AAdvantage mile earned from your purchases.

AAdvantage co-branded credit cards can help you reach elite status through spending, including the following cards highlighted below:

American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp®*

• 10,000 bonus miles and a $50 statement credit after spending $500 on purchases within the first three months of account opening
• 2X miles at grocery stores and on eligible American Airlines purchases
• 1X miles on all other purchases

Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®*

• 50,000 bonus miles after spending $2,500 on purchases within the first three months of account opening
• 2X miles at restaurants and gas stations as well as on eligible American Airlines purchases
• 1X miles on all other purchases

Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®

• 70,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $7,000 within the first 3 months of account opening
• 4X AAdvantage miles on eligible American Airlines purchases. After spending $150,000 in a calendar year, cardmembers can earn a total of 5X AAdvantage miles on eligible American Airlines purchases for the remainder of the calendar year
• 10X AAdvantage miles on eligible car rentals booked through aa.com/cars and eligible hotels booked through aa.com/hotels
• 1X miles on other purchases

CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®*

• 65,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first four months of account opening
• 2X miles on eligible American Airlines purchases, cable and satellite providers, select telecommunications merchants, car rentals and gas stations
• 1X miles on all other purchases

Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines’ elite status program is known as Delta SkyMiles, and you can earn varying levels of elite status — called Medallion status —  by flying and spending with Delta and its partner airlines.

To qualify for each elite status level, you’ll need a combination of Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs), Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) and Medallion Qualification Segments (MQSs). MQDs are earned by spending and MQMs are earned on distance flown and fare class, while MQSs are the number of flights you take in a qualifying year.

• Silver Medallion requires 25,000 MQMs or 30 MQSs + $3,000 MQDs
• Gold Medallion requires 50,000 MQMs or 60 MQSs + $8,000 MQDs
• Platinum Medallion requires 75,000 MQM’s or 100 MQSs + $12,000 MQDs
• Diamond Medallion requires 125,000 MQMs or 140 MQSs +$20,000 MQDs

The annual MQD requirement to reach Silver, Gold or Platinum Medallion Status will be waived when you make at least $25,000 in eligible purchases during the calendar year with an eligible Delta SkyMiles American Express Card. For Diamond Medallion Status, the MQD will be waived after you spend at least $250,000 during the calendar year with an eligible Delta SkyMiles American Express Card.

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card

• 40,000 bonus miles after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first six months of account opening
• 2X miles on eligible purchases made directly with Delta, at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets
• 1X miles on all other purchases

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card

• 50,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 on purchases within your first six months of account opening
• Receive $2,500 Medallion® Qualification Dollars each Medallion Qualification Year and get closer to Status with MQD Headstart
• 3X miles on Delta flights and Delta Vacations purchases and direct purchases with hotels
• 2X miles on purchases at U.S. supermarkets and at restaurants
• 1X miles on all other purchases

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card

• 60,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 on purchases within your first six months of account opening
• Receive $2,500 Medallion® Qualification Dollars each Medallion Qualification Year and get closer to Status with MQD Headstart
• 3X miles on eligible Delta flights and Delta Vacations purchases
• 1X miles on all other purchases

United Airlines

You can gain United Airlines’ elite status through the airline’s MileagePlus loyalty program through a combination of the flights you take (Premier Qualifying Flights, or PQFs), the value of the tickets purchased, by redeeming MileagePlus miles for United or United Express award flights and by using your eligible co-branded United credit cards for everyday purchases.

PQFs are based on the number of flight segments you fly, four of which need to be on United or United Express when qualifying for elite status. You also have to earn Premier qualifying points (PQP) which are based on fares, seating purchases, paid upgrades, MileagePlus Upgrade Award co-pays, Award flights operated by United and United Express and eligible co-branded credit cards.

The four tiers of United MileagePlus elite status and their PQF and PQP requirements are:

• Premier Silver requires 12 PQF + 4,000 PQP or 5,000 PQP
• Premier Gold requires 24 PQF + 8,000 PQP or 10,000 PQP
• Premier Platinum requires 36 PQF + 12,000 PQP or 15,000 PQP
• Premier 1K requires 54 PQF + 18,000 PQP or 24,000 PQP

Here’s how many Premier qualifying points you can earn with individual United credit cards:

United℠ Explorer Card*

Up to 1,000 PQP in a calendar year; 500 PQP for every $12,000 in card spend

• 50,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months of opening your account
• 2X miles on dining, hotel stays and United purchases
• 1X miles on all other purchases

United Quest℠ Card*

Up to 6,000 PQP in a calendar year; 500 PQP for every $12,000 in card spend

• 60,000 bonus miles and 500 PQP after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of opening account
• 3X miles on United purchases (after earning the $125 annual United purchase credit)
• 2X miles on all other travel, dining and select streaming services
• 1X miles on all other purchases

United Club℠ Infinite Card*

Up to 10,000 PQP in a calendar year; 25 PQP for every $500 in card spend

• 80,000 bonus miles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening
• 4X miles on United Airlines purchases
• 2X miles on all other travel purchases, dining and eligible delivery services
• 1X miles on all other purchases

Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines’ elite status has just two tiers: A-List and A-List Preferred. You can earn tier qualifying points toward A-List or A-List Preferred status by flying with the airline or spending with its partners.

For flying, the number of points you’ll earn depends on the type of fare you purchase. You’ll earn 12 points per dollar on Business Select fares, 10 points per dollar on Anytime fares, 8 points per dollar on Wanna Get Away Plus fares and 6 points per dollar on Wanna Get Away fares.

• A-List requires 25 qualifying one-way flights or earning 35,000 tier qualifying points in a calendar year
• A-List Preferred requires 50 qualifying one-way flights or earning 70,000 tier qualifying points in a calendar year

To earn points with partners, simply spend with Southwest’s travel, shopping and dining, home and lifestyle and specialty partners.

You can also use select co-branded Southwest credit cards to rack up tier qualifying points toward elite status:

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card

1,500 tier qualifying points (TQPs) for every $10,000 you spend

• Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
• 3X points on Southwest purchases
• 2X points on local transit and commuting purchases (including rideshare); Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner purchases; and on internet, cable, phone and select streaming service purchases
• 1X points on all other purchases

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card

1,500 tier qualifying points (TQPs) for every $10,000 you spend

• Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
• 3X points on Southwest purchases
• 2X points on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner purchases; local transit and commuting (including rideshares); and internet, cable phone and select streaming services
• 1X points on all other purchases

Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card

1,500 tier qualifying points (TQPs) for every $10,000 you spend

• 60,000 points after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening
• 3X points on Southwest Airlines purchases
• 2X points on participating Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partner purchases and rideshares
• 1X points for every dollar spent on all other purchases

Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card

1,500 tier qualifying points (TQPs) for every $10,000 you spend

• 80,000 points after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening
• 4X points on Southwest purchases
• 3X points on Rapid Rewards hotel and rental car partner purchases
• 2X points on local transit, rideshares and commuting; social media and search engine advertising; and internet, cable and phone services
• 1X points on all other purchases

JetBlue

JetBlue offers four levels of TrueBlue Mosaic status that can be gained through earning a select number of “tiles”:

• Mosaic 1: 50 tiles
• Mosaic 2: 100 tiles
• Mosaic 3: 150 tiles
• Mosaic 4: 250 tiles

A singular tile is earned for every $100 spent on JetBlue flights, JetBlue vacation packages, bookings through Paisly by JetBlue and on purchases with JetBlue partner American Airlines. You can also earn 1 tile for every $1,000 spent on JetBlue credit cards.

Here’s a look at a few JetBlue credit cards that can help you qualify:

JetBlue Card*

• 10,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases within the first 90 days of account opening
• 3X points on eligible JetBlue purchases
• 2X points at restaurants and grocery stores
• 1X points on all other purchases

JetBlue Plus Card*

• 40,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases within the first 90 days of account opening
• 6X points on JetBlue purchases
• 2X points at restaurants and grocery stores
• 1X points on all other purchases

How to choose an airline card

It’s important to only pursue the credit card that fits your credit score, as well as your lifestyle.

If you’ll be traveling internationally, for example, you’ll want a co-branded airline credit card that’s connected to flights for your global destinations. Airlines that have routes closer to home will make more sense if you’ll be staying within the country. That doesn’t mean you’re limited, though. American, Delta and United have partnerships with international airlines, so more options may be available than you think.

What each airline’s elite status covers is another major deciding factor. Assess what’s included in the different tiers of each airline’s elite status program. Do you want free checked bags for you and your traveling companions? Maybe you value access to a high number of airport lounges, dining credits, special seating upgrades and other unique perks? Pinpoint the program that includes the highest number of desired benefits.

You’ll also need to meet the elite status requirements. If that means reaching a high minimum spending requirement or flying a certain number of trips, make sure you can hit that limit without getting into expensive, long-term debt. The program you choose should match your normal spending habits, too.

Finally, review the terms associated with the card you choose. If it has an annual fee, the benefits you get out of the card must outweigh the cost. The APR should be on the low side, too, if you plan on making payments in installments. Otherwise, look for a card that offers a 0 percent intro APR for a fixed number of months after opening the account, though these offers are rare on co-branded cards. If you expect to carry a balane or need to pay off existing debt, it may be best to put applying for an airline card on the backburner.

The bottom line

The elite status levels you can achieve with a co-branded airline credit card can be just the ticket to take the stress out of travel. Even better, it can make the process of flying a joy again. Just be sure to get the right card and program for you now and into the foreseeable future.

*The information about the American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp®, Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®, CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®, United℠ Explorer Card, United Quest℠ Card, United Club℠ Infinite Card, Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card, JetBlue Card and JetBlue Plus Card  has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.