Nowadays American AAdvantage has the Loyalty Points system for status qualification. Your elite status is exclusively based on how many Loyalty Points you rack up. Not only can you earn Loyalty Points through flying, but you can also earn them through all kinds of other activities, from using shopping portals to credit card spending.In this post I wanted to cover the details of the Loyalty Point Rewards benefits for 2023, which are earned by passing certain Loyalty Points thresholds over the course of the membership year. This is a large part of the value proposition of going for elite status with the AAdvantage program.What are American Loyalty Point Rewards?American’s 2023 Loyalty Point RewardsLoyalty Point Rewards at 15,000 Loyalty PointsLoyalty Point Rewards at 60,000 Loyalty PointsLoyalty Point Rewards at 100,000 Loyalty PointsLoyalty Point Rewards at 175,000 Loyalty PointsLoyalty Point Rewards at 250,000 Loyalty PointsLoyalty Point Rewards at 400,000, 550,000, and 750,000 Loyalty PointsLoyalty Point Rewards at 1,000,000 Loyalty PointsLoyalty Point Rewards at 3,000,000 Loyalty PointsLoyalty Point Rewards at 5,000,000 Loyalty PointsMy take on American’s Loyalty Points RewardsBottom lineWhat are American Loyalty Point Rewards?With the AAdvantage program, you earn status exclusively based on how many Loyalty Points you rack up (they reset with each membership year). Here are the requirements for the 2023 program year:AAdvantage Gold status requires 40,000 Loyalty PointsAAdvantage Platinum status requires 75,000 Loyalty PointsAAdvantage Platinum Pro status requires 125,000 Loyalty PointsAAdvantage Executive Platinum status requires 200,000 Loyalty PointsSince you can earn Loyalty Points through credit card spending and other partner activity, you could in theory earn all published AAdvantage elite tiers without stepping foot on a plane (though that wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense).Separate from earning elite status, American also has Loyalty Point Rewards, which offer further valuable benefits at a variety of thresholds. These perks range from bonus miles, to mileage rebates, to lounge memberships, to systemwide upgrades.American AAdvantage status is earned based on Loyalty PointsAmerican’s 2023 Loyalty Point RewardsFor the 2023 program year, American AAdvantage is offering 11 tiers of Loyalty Points Rewards. You can even start unlocking these before you qualify for status. To start, here are the 11 Loyalty Points thresholds at which you receive further rewards:15,000 Loyalty Points60,000 Loyalty Points100,000 Loyalty Points175,000 Loyalty Points250,000 Loyalty Points400,000 Loyalty Points550,000 Loyalty Points750,000 Loyalty Points1,000,000 Loyalty Points3,000,000 Loyalty Points5,000,000 Loyalty PointsA few things to note when it comes to selecting Loyalty Points Rewards:You no longer receive a selection when you qualify for Platinum Pro or Executive Platinum, but rather valuable Loyalty Point Rewards are earned at thresholds that are 50,000 Loyalty Points above what’s required for those tiers (namely 175,000 and 250,000 Loyalty Points)At some thresholds you’ll just receive specific benefits, while at other thresholds you can make a selection, or even make multiple selectionsThere’s no segment requirement to unlock Loyalty Point Rewards, so you can earn these even if you never step foot on an American Airlines flightThe AAdvantage program year goes from the beginning of March until the end of February of the following year; so for 2023, Loyalty Point Rewards qualification would be based on your activity between March 1, 2023, and February 29, 2024Once you qualify for Loyalty Point Rewards, you’ll have until March 31, 2024, to make your selection; if you qualify it could make sense to wait, since it gives you more flexibility, and potentially more time to redeem your rewards (for example, systemwide upgrades are valid for a year from when they’re issued)With that out of the way, what are the Loyalty Points Rewards options at each threshold, and which should you select? Let’s go over all the details.Loyalty Point Rewards at 15,000 Loyalty PointsWhen earning 15,000 Loyalty Points, you receive Group 5 boarding for the membership year, and can select one of the following:Priority check-in, security, and Group 4 boarding for one tripFive preferred seat couponsI don’t think there’s an obvious choice as to which of those two options is better. Keep in mind that preferred seats are not Main Cabin Extra seats (which feature extra legroom), but rather are just regular economy seats that are considered premium (toward the front of the cabin, aisles and windows, etc.).Select preferred seating coupons with Loyalty Point RewardsLoyalty Point Rewards at 60,000 Loyalty PointsWhen earning 60,000 Loyalty Points, you receive:Avis Preferred statusA 20% Loyalty Points bonus on spending with AAVacations, AAHotels, AAdvantage eShopping, AAdvantage Dining, and SimplyMilesAs you can see, there’s no selection here. I’d say this threshold is of fairly limited value. Avis entry level elite status is better than nothing, but not much more than that. A 20% bonus of Loyalty Points for some online activity could be helpful if you earn lots of Loyalty Points through non-flying means.Receive bonus Loyalty Points for dining out with Loyalty Choice RewardsLoyalty Point Rewards at 100,000 Loyalty PointsWhen earning 100,000 Loyalty Points, you receive:Avis President’s Club statusA 30% Loyalty Points bonus on spending with AAVacations, AAHotels, AAdvantage eShopping, AAdvantage Dining, and SimplyMilesAs you can see, there’s no selection here. On the plus side, Avis President’s Circle status at least offers a bit more value than the entry level status. A 30% bonus of Loyalty Points for some online activity could be helpful if you earn lots of Loyalty Points that way.Receive rental car status with Loyalty Point RewardsLoyalty Point Rewards at 175,000 Loyalty PointsWhen earning 175,000 Loyalty Points, you can choose one of the following:Two systemwide upgrades20,000 bonus miles, or 25,000 bonus miles for AAdvantage credit card membersSix Admirals Club day passesA $200 trip credit, or $250 for AAdvantage credit card membersA $250 donation to a partner charityA 15% AAdvantage award rebateThe ability to gift AAdvantage Gold status to two peopleThis is where Loyalty Point Rewards start to get valuable. Personally I think the two systemwide upgrades are the best value here, though selecting 25,000 AAdvantage bonus miles could be a good option as well, if you don’t have much luck with systemwide upgrades.Select systemwide upgrades with Loyalty Point RewardsLoyalty Point Rewards at 250,000 Loyalty PointsWhen earning 250,000 Loyalty Points, you can choose two of the following:Two systemwide upgrades20,000 bonus miles, or 30,000 bonus miles for AAdvantage credit card membersSix Admirals Club day passesAn Admirals Club membership (this requires both choices)A $200 trip credit, or $250 for AAdvantage credit card membersA $250 donation to a partner charityThe ability to gift AAdvantage Gold status to two peopleA selection of Bang & Olufsen products (this requires both choices)A Flagship Lounge single visit pass, or two passes for AAdvantage credit card membersFor many AAdvantage members, this will be the most valuable Loyalty Point Rewards tier, since it’s attainable and rewarding. Personally I think the two systemwide upgrades are the best value here, though selecting 30,000 AAdvantage bonus miles could be a good option as well, if you don’t have much luck with systemwide upgrades.Select bonus AAdvantage miles with Loyalty Point RewardsLoyalty Point Rewards at 400,000, 550,000, and 750,000 Loyalty PointsWhen earning 400,000, 550,000, or 750,000 Loyalty Points, you can choose two of the following at each threshold:One systemwide upgrades25,000 bonus milesAn Admirals Club membership (this requires both choices)A $200 trip credit, or $250 for AAdvantage credit card membersThe ability to gift AAdvantage Platinum statusA selection of Bang & Olufsen products (this requires both choices)Two Flagship Lounge single visit passesOne Flagship First Dining visit passIt’s interesting how for these three thresholds, the relative value of the options changes. At these thresholds, I tend to think that for many, selecting the bonus miles could be a better value than selecting the single systemwide upgrade.Select a Flagship First Dining pass with Loyalty Point RewardsLoyalty Point Rewards at 1,000,000 Loyalty PointsWhen earning 1,000,000 Loyalty Points, you can choose one of the following:Four systemwide upgradesThe ability to gift AAdvantage Platinum Pro statusA mileage rebate of 100,000 AAdvantage milesYou can’t go wrong with any of the options here. Four systemwide upgrades could be quite valuable, being able to gift Platinum Pro to someone (with oneworld Emerald status) is great, and a mileage rebate of 100,000 miles is also excellent.Gift someone oneworld Emerald status with Loyalty Point RewardsLoyalty Point Rewards at 3,000,000 Loyalty PointsWhen earning 3,000,000 Loyalty Points, you can choose one of the following:Six systemwide upgradesThe ability to gift AAdvantage Executive Platinum statusA mileage rebate of 300,000 AAdvantage milesOkay, I can’t imagine many people will reach this threshold, but once again, all the options could be valuable. It all depends on your travel patterns.Gift someone Executive Platinum status with Loyalty Point RewardsLoyalty Point Rewards at 5,000,000 Loyalty PointsWhen earning 5,000,000 Loyalty Points, you can choose one of the following:10 systemwide upgradesThe ability to gift AAdvantage Executive Platinum statusA mileage rebate of 500,000 AAdvantage milesI imagine the people reaching this threshold will be the single digits, if that. The relative value of systemwide upgrades and the mileage rebate is better here compared to the tier at three million Loyalty Points.Select a mileage rebate with Loyalty Point RewardsMy take on American’s Loyalty Points RewardsEveryone will value these Loyalty Point Rewards benefits differently based on their travel patterns and preferences, though I’ll share my broad take on which options make sense:Personally I value American AAdvantage miles at 1.5 cents each, so to me the bonus miles are the option to beat; if you rack up 250,000 Loyalty Points in a year and have a co-branded American credit card, you’ll essentially have the option of 85,000 AAdvantage bonus miles, six systemwide upgrades, or some combination thereofI find the inconsistency of the valuation of awards at each tier to be odd; for example, at some thresholds you can choose between 25,000 bonus miles or one systemwide upgrade, while at other thresholds you can choose between 25,000 bonus miles and two systemwide upgradesMany people may like the systemwide upgrades, but personally I don’t value them that much; American just doesn’t make enough confirmable upgrade space available, and I’d rather get AAdvantage bonus miles I can redeem however I’d like for travel on superior partner airlinesI’d rather earn AAdvantage miles I can redeem on other airlinesBottom lineAmerican AAdvantage offers the Loyalty Points Rewards program, whereby members can receive rewards for passing certain thresholds.Unfortunately we’re increasingly seeing these rewards no longer tied to earning Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum, and you need 50,000 Loyalty Points above those elite tiers to select the corresponding rewards. This program lets you select everything from systemwide upgrades to bonus miles, and more.What do you make of American’s Loyalty Point Rewards? Which do you plan on selecting?