Since the beginning of the year, it’s possible to get yourself Platinum Elite Status with American Airlines for one day using Hyatt Points. Since I have no status at all with American Airlines, nor with OneWorld, I thought this could be potentially interesting for me, when flying with American Airlines in the future.
A few weeks ago, I did have a connection flight with American Airlines; from Austin to Philadelphia in Economy and from Philadelphia to Amsterdam in Premium Economy. This was the perfect occasion to try out Platinum Elite Status for one day! I used 8,000 Hyatt points to purchase the Platinum Elite status, and I was very curious to find out whether it was worth it.
Please read below what you need to do to use Hyatt points to buy AA Platinum Elite Status for one day. Learn what are the things you need to consider and find out whether it’s worth it!
Buying AA Platinum Elite Status for one day using Hyatt Points
The option to buy American Airlines Platinum Elite status for one day, can be done by using AAdvantage Miles. At the time of writing, it costs 8,000 miles. Another option to get this status for one day, is if you pass 75,000 AAdvantage Loyalty points. Then you’ll get this status for one day for free!
As an AAdvantage member, you can redeem this status by yourself or give it away.
And there is one more option which is using Hyatt points to buy Platinum Elite status for one day!
Besides the fact that you need to have the required Hyatt points to purchase this status, you also need to be Hyatt Explorist or Hyatt Globalist. Note that you can only purchase a specific status twice a year. Besides Platinum status, you can also buy Gold or Platinum Pro status. So, in total you have 6 possible redemptions (2 each) in one year.
Make sure that your American Airlines account is linked to your Hyatt account, and you’re all set!
Gold status for one day sets you back 5,000 points and Platinum Pro status sets you back 12,000 points. However, I believe the best deal is the Platinum status. With at least Platinum status, you’re getting lounge access when you have a (connecting) international flight. If you’re buying elite status for one day, you might as well make sure you’re getting lounge access. In my opinion, the Platinum Pro status doesn’t give you a lot more useful extras.
Once you login to your Hyatt account, you can see under the American Airlines menu, the 3 options for Aadvantage status for a day.
Please note that after you have purchased the status for one day, it will take up to 5 working days for the status to appear in your American account. After the status is available in your American Airlines account, you can pick your desired day – starting the week after! So, if you are thinking about doing the same, make sure you do this well in advance.
Is Platinum Elite Status for a day, it worth it?
My first flight of the day was from Austin to Philadelphia with American Airlines in regular economy class. Platinum Status gave me priority boarding (group 3) as well as priority access through the security checkpoint. The latter is very useful in Austin Airport since it can be very busy during certain hours of the day. When I arrived, the average waiting time was roughly 15 minutes, so it wasn’t too bad. But with my Platinum Status I could pass the complete queue and save the 15 minutes waiting time. Very nice.
And then it was straight to the lounge. I wasn’t sure whether I was even allowed to go in, but it was no problem at all since I had an international flight later that day to Amsterdam.
Before going to the lounge, I checked the gate area and noticed that I was 3rd on the upgrade list! Getting an upgrade to Business Class would have been the icing on the cake for my Platinum Experience for the day, but unfortunately the upgrade never came through.
I couldn’t complain though since with my Platinum Status I could pick a bulkhead seat for free, and that seat provided lots of legroom.
The American Airlines lounge in Austin wasn’t anything special, but at least I could enjoy a cappuccino and some pastries. I was really looking forward to the new Flagship Lounge in Philadelphia though, which apparently only opened a few weeks ago.
Flight to Philadelphia and new Flagship Lounge
When it was time for boarding, I was again very happy with my Platinum Status; With boarding group 3, I didn’t need to worry whether I could bring my hand luggage on board or whether there would be sufficient space in the overhead bins. Especially on very busy, domestic flights, that’s a huge advantage in my opinion.
After a smooth flight to Philadelphia, it was time to check out this new American Airlines Flagship Lounge. Things started of good when I was welcomed with a nice glass of champaign.
And this new lounge was really nice; there was comfortable seating, good food options and plenty of drinks. Besides the new business class Polaris lounges or Delta One lounges, this was probably one of the better lounges I’ve seen in the US. And not even being a frequent American Airlines or OneWorld flyer, made the experience even better!
My next flight was with American Airlines in Premium Economy from Philadelphia to Amsterdam. Premium Economy already gives you a lot of similar benefits compared to what you’re getting with Platinum Status. With Premium Economy, you are also getting priority at the security checkpoints and you are getting group 4 boarding which is still pretty good.
Conclusion
Is it worth it spending 8000 Hyatt points to get American airlines platinum status for one day?
If you have an international flight in economy, in a busy vacation period, I believe having Platinum Status for one day, can be a big benefit. Priority check-in, priority security control and priority boarding can save you a lot of time and frustrations! Lounge access and a free selection of better economy seats make the deal even better. And who knows, maybe you are lucky and you’re getting a complimentary upgrade on top of that.
Even though 8000 Hyatt points is not cheap, I certainly enjoyed my one day as an American Airlines Platinum member.
Also check out the video I made of this experience on my Youtube channel! If you like it, give it a thumbs up and don’t forget to subscribe to the channel!
Check out my post on buying Hyatt Points. At the time of writing, Hyatt runs again a 20% promotion so it could be a good time buying some extra Hyatt points!
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