About to hit Executive Platinum. Never had anything better than gold.

Any tips from folks with experience on how to make the most of it? Maximize chance of upgrades and other perks?

Based on the guys I've worked with, I think you have to refer to it as Exec Plat.

Also, I recommend flying to Sydney. The Qantas First Class Lounge is amazing.

For upgrades the best option is to avoid typical business traveler flights.

The current lingo is EP or CK if Concierge Key.
Less letters the better I guess

There really isn't a strategy to optimize the perks of EXP. If travel plans are flexible, book flights on planes with large FC cabins. Some planes/routes only have 8-12 FC seats. Other than that, just enjoy the status!

I forgot, the best part of status nowadays is during irregular ops. All other perks are watered down too much to really make a difference but getting on a certain flight when things go wrong is huge.

Good point. Hurricane, Snowstorm, when I was 1K on United, having a dedicated line to call saved my butt a couple of times.

I don't know about American but on United you can just use the app on your phone to rebook. So while everyone else is in line or on the phone, you're on the way to a hotel after flight gets cancelled.

Feels like the only perk is getting upgraded, free drinks in coach is good too.

I think the upgrade order is based on status first, then ticket type, then date of booking, then rolling loyalty points. I may have one of those in the wrong order, but booking earlier and looking at the seat map when booking if you're flexible helps.

Can you gift status? If so shoot me a DM!

wildmen09 said:

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Can you gift status? If so shoot me a DM!

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3 million Loyalty Points in a year can gift Executive Platinum.

Been EXP for 4-5 years now (DFW based). Being in DFW hurts to some degree, as sometimes half of your flight will also have status.

Biggest real- world perks I can think of, in no particular order:

- Upgrades (duh). I'm near 100% success rate for flights to/from DFW for non biz-heavy routes (like Nashville, Orlando). Probably 50% on biz-heavy routes like DC and Boston.

- Group 1 boarding so you can always get bin space even if not upgraded

- Access to any exit row / MCE seat at time of booking. Can't remember the last time I had to sit in a middle/non-exit/non-MCE seat.

- Priority customer service (although the hold times on the EXP line have gotten ridiculous post-COVID). You used to be able to talk to an actual human in less than a minute... now you often get the dreaded "let us call you back between... 50... and... 55... minutes from now."

- I don't usually check bags but if you do, the 3 free checked bags can save you quite a bit.

- Companion traveling with you on the same booking assumes your status for upgrade purposes

- Ability to use first class check-in really comes in handy when traveling international inbound back to the US. Has saved me a lot of time (London, Paris, and Cancun are a few examples I can think of) where the regular check-in line is snaked all over the place, but then you can walk right up and talk to someone.

- SWUs are a nice perk if you can actually use them on a long haul flight. They also recently expanded the program so that they work on BA now too (I haven't personally done this yet).

Using your SWU's on an overseas flight is huge but takes some planning/luck these days, especially if you are traveling with someone else. Before COVID I used them a few times on LAX-HGK and they were a game-changer but I've also burned them on trips like DFW-LGA just to get rid of them by the end of the year.

Besides that and normal upgrades, I like the access to the MCE seats at booking (which actually starts at Platinum), access to the front of the plane, exit rows and premium economy (on domestic/Mexico flights using a wide-body) without shelling out more cash.

The SWUs are awesome, you used to get 8. I ended gifting them to people many times. I was EP for 5 and CK for 3. CK is a substantial upgrade over anything else. I used to have a black car pick me up on the jet bridge anytime I connected through Charlotte or DFW and drive me to the next gate on the Tarmac. Wife and I road with Mark Ruffalo in the black car at LAX . Once they paid a guy 500 in credit to take a bump so I could have his seat

Make sure to DM the Twitter team @americanair and link your AAdvantage number to your Twitter account, their Twitter desk is fantastic and can usually deal with most things quicker than calling in.

Next step up is to transfer to Delta SkyMiles and start over. You're welcome.

Biggest advantage is flying international and visiting all the first class lounges. The BA lounge in Heathrow and the Caffey Pacific lounges are great.