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How to earn elite airline status with a credit card
Elite airline status can come with various benefits, including free seat upgrades, priority boarding, fee waivers, and other valuable perks. But in most cases, you'll need to be a very frequent flier with a particular airline to earn elite status.
With some airlines, however, you can earn credits toward elite status with your normal credit card spending. Here's a quick guide to earning elite airline status with credit cards and what to consider before choosing an airline credit card.
Earning elite airline status with credit cards
If you're looking to spend your way to elite airline status, your options depend on which airline you choose.
While some airlines have co-branded credit cards that allow you to earn status with only credit card purchases, others may limit how far you can get with spending alone. Here are your options for each airline that offers some progress toward elite status.
Read more: Best airline credit cards
Alaska Airlines
To earn elite status with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, you must earn elite-qualifying miles (EQMs). As of 2024, the airline offers the chance to earn its lowest elite status with just your credit card spending.
More specifically, you'll earn 4,000 EQMs for every $10,000 you spend on the Alaska Airlines Visa® Card, up to a maximum 20,000 EQMs. This is enough to grant you basic MVP status. If you're shooting for higher status tiers, however, you'll need to earn additional EQMs with flights.
American Airlines
American Airlines offers a straightforward way to earn elite status with just your credit card spending. For each dollar you spend on an American Airlines credit card, you'll earn one or more AAdvantage miles based on the card's rewards rates.
For each AAdvantage mile you earn, you'll also get one loyalty point toward elite status, which starts at 15,000 loyalty points. Here are the different American Airlines credit cards you can use to earn elite status with the airline:
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American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Mastercard®
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Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®
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Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®
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AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Red Mastercard®
Delta Air Lines
Delta recently simplified its rewards program, letting fliers earn elite status with Medallion qualifying dollars (MQDs). Unfortunately, not all of the airline's co-branded credit cards earn MQDs.
Here are the two consumer cards that do:
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Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card: Receive $2,500 MQDs each Medallion qualifying year, plus 1 MQD for every $20 you spend.
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Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card: Receive $2,500 MQDs each Medallion qualifying year, plus 1 MQD for every $10 you spend.
Note that the lowest SkyMiles elite status tier requires $5,000 MQDs, so with either card’s annual bonus alone, you're halfway there. The highest tier requires $28,000 MQDs.
With the Platinum Card, you'd need to spend $50,000 in a year to earn elite status with just your spending. With the Reserve Card, you'd need to spend $25,000 to reach the lowest tier.
Read more: Delta Platinum vs. Delta Reserve: Which is better for frequent Delta travelers?
Frontier Airlines
The budget airline makes it easy to earn elite status with just your credit card spending, giving you one elite status point for every dollar you spend on the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard®. Depending on the card’s current welcome bonus, you may even be able to earn elite status by meeting the minimum spend requirement in the first few months.
Elite status eligibility starts at 10,000 elite status points and ranges up to 100,000 points for the highest tier.
JetBlue Airways
You'll need to earn Mosaic tiles to earn elite status with the JetBlue TrueBlue program. While the fastest way to earn tiles is to book JetBlue flights and vacation packages, you can earn one tile for every $1,000 you spend on a JetBlue credit card — including the JetBlue Card and the JetBlue Plus Card.
The lowest tier of Mosaic status requires 50 tiles, which translates to $50,000 in annual spending on either card. To earn the highest tier, you'd need to earn 250 tiles.
Southwest Airlines
One way to earn A-list status with the Rapid Rewards program is to earn 35,000 tier-qualifying points (TQPs), which you can generate when you book Southwest flights or use an eligible Southwest credit card.
More specifically, you can earn 1,500 TQPs for every $5,000 spent on the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card or the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card. There's no limit to how many TQPs you can earn, but you'd need to spend roughly $116,667 a year to earn status with just your credit card.
Spirit Airlines
The budget airline offers two elite status tiers, which you can earn with status qualifying points (SQPs). Silver status requires 2,000 SQPs; you can earn Gold status with 5,000 SQPs.
With the Free Spirit® Travel More World Elite Mastercard®, you'll earn 1 SQP for every $10 you spend. In other words, you can earn elite status with just $20,000 in annual spending on the card.
United Airlines
United Airlines offers a few paths toward elite status, including earning Premier qualifying points (PQPs) or a mix of PQPs and Premier qualifying flights.
The good news is that three of the four United Airlines consumer cards allow you to earn PQPs with your spending. That said, the limit will vary depending on which card you have:
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United℠ Explorer Card: Earn 25 PQPs for every $500 you spend, up to 1,000 PQPs in a calendar year.
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United Quest℠ Card: Earn 500 PQPs with the card's welcome bonus when you meet the spending requirement, plus 25 PQPs for every $500 you spend (up to 6,000 PQPs in a calendar year).
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United Club℠ Infinite Card: Earn 25 PQPs for every $500 you spend, up to 10,000 PQPs in a calendar year.
Note that elite status with the MileagePlus program starts at 5,000 PQPs, so you can earn status with credit card spending alone only with the United Quest and United Club Infinite cards. You'd need to spend an eye-watering $100,000 to get there, regardless of which card you have.
Read our full reviews of the United Explorer and United Club Infinite cards.
Does earning elite airline status with credit cards make sense?
Elite airline status can offer a lot of value, but pursuing it doesn't make sense for everyone. Here are some things to consider to determine whether it's worth it for you:
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Travel habits: If you're a frequent flier, getting elite benefits every time you fly can make your efforts worthwhile. If you only fly occasionally, you may be better off with a more general travel rewards credit card.
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Airline loyalty: If you tend to stick to one airline when you fly, earning elite status with its loyalty program means you'll get perks virtually every time you travel. However, if you'd rather book the cheapest flight regardless of the airline, you may not be able to use your status often enough to make it worth it.
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Spending habits: Some airlines require a lot of spending to earn even the most basic elite status tier, so it's essential to consider how much you typically spend on a credit card. If you're a smaller spender, you may never generate enough qualifying points to accomplish your goal.
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Welcome bonuses: Airlines may offer limited-time bonus offers for their branded credit cards a few times a year. Depending on the deal, those bonus points can get you much closer to elite status in just a few months. Capitalizing on one of these offers can put airline status in reach, but be sure to read the fine print to make sure you’re eligible.
Read more: Best limited-time credit card offers this month
You'll also want to consider whether your efforts are better spent with a different type of credit card. While airline cards can offer a lot of value, you'll have little flexibility when redeeming your points or miles. Moreover, airline card perks typically only apply when you fly with the co-branded airline, limiting their value.
If you don't want to be restricted to a single airline or flight-related perks only, compare other travel credit cards to ensure you get the best fit for you.
This article was edited by Alicia Hahn
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