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Starting earlier this month, American Airlines AAdvantage loyalty members have a brand-new way to earn both airline miles and elite status-qualifying Loyalty Points. Now, members of the airline’s frequent flyer program can earn miles toward free flights and points toward status just for purchasing tickets to their favorite concerts, sports events and more.
AAdvantage members can visit aadvantageevents.com to purchase tickets to concerts, shows, sporting events and more. To earn miles and Loyalty Points through this new partnership, program members can search for events they want to buy tickets to and add their AAdvantage loyalty number to their purchase at checkout. From there, they can download their tickets after purchase or receive them from Ticketmaster via email.
The new platform connects directly to Ticketmaster for a seamless ticket-buying experience where you’ll find matching pricing and seat options. Overall, it’s a seamless new way to earn travel rewards.
How many miles will AAdvantage members earn?
Members will earn 1 AAdvantage mile and 1 Loyalty Point toward status for each dollar they spend on eligible events. While this isn’t a game-changing rate, it’s a welcome addition for travelers to be able to benefit in earning miles toward their next trip while also buying tickets they were planning on doing regardless.
On the heels of the Taylor Swift Eras tour and Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour, where premium seats easily cost $650 or more including fees, it’s easy to see how this new partnership could be a boon for frequent travelers who also spend money on concerts and events. For example, a family of four who purchased face-value floor tickets to the Eras tour for $350 each would have had the potential to earn 1,400 American AAdvantage miles and 1,400 Loyalty Points toward elite status if they purchased their tickets through the new platform.
Even a concert with much lower demand can easily see ticket prices of $80 or more these days, so the potential to maximize this benefit is there. Remember, too, that the American AAdvantage program offers several other programs that let members rack up more miles without even flying, including American AAdvantage eShopping and the AAdvantage dining program.
It’s worth noting that you’ll have to buy a lot of concert tickets to reach elite status with American through this new partnership with Ticketmaster. The lowest tier of elite status with American, AAdvantage Gold, requires you to earn 40,000 Loyalty Points in a status year. Because the program awards 1 Loyalty Point for every dollar spent through Ticketmaster, that would take a lot of event spending in order to achieve status. However, if you frequently travel with AA and spend through other channels, it can add up quickly to earn status.
Meanwhile, when it comes to earning redeemable miles, the easiest way to do so quickly is through the several co-branded airline credit cards that earn American AAdvantage miles. For example, the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® currently comes with a welcome bonus offer of 50,000 bonus AAdvantage miles after spending $2,500 in the first three months. In addition to the miles you’ll get for meeting the minimum spending requirement, you’ll continue to earn miles for flights and Loyalty Points toward elite status as you spend.
In its press release on the new partnership, American says AAdvantage members will be able to redeem miles for Ticketmaster events at some point in the future. However, it remains unclear what kind of redemption rate program members will get for this type of award.
In the meantime, now’s a good time to sign up for American’s free AAdvantage loyalty program if you haven’t already to begin earning miles and Loyalty Points for ticket purchases you were planning anyway. As long as the show you want to attend doesn’t sell out before you get the chance to score seats, you could use this promotion to get something extra for each show you see.
Looking for a new travel credit card? Check out CNN Underscored’s list of the best credit cards currently available.