Confirmed: You DO Receive Four 500 Mile Upgrades with $40,000 Spend for 10k EQM on Citi Exec AA Card

Back in February, I signed up for the Citi Executive American Airlines Credit Card. It came with a 100,000 AAdvantage mile bonus after spending $10,000 within 3 months and a $450 annual fee (though that’s partially offset by a $200 statement credit immediately after spending $200). I find 100,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles quite valuable so the sign-up was a no-brainer for me. It is a high annual fee and a high spending requirement, though, so the offer may not be for everyone.

I quickly met the $10,000 spending requirement through Kiva loans and my 100,000 miles posted no problem. But for those who continue to spend, there is another perk that comes with the card. If you spend $40,000 within a single year, you receive 10,000 EQM toward American Airlines elite status. I probably wouldn’t have spent $30,000 on the card myself, but Natalya isn’t in a position to apply for credit cards right now as she is planning for a mortgage. I put her on as an authorized user and she used the card for business expenses (and some manufactured spending). In return, she would be able to use some of my miles for an upcoming trip to Easter Island.

I am already a Platinum elite on American Airlines. For every 10,000 flown miles, elite members receive four 500 mile sticker upgrades. These can be used to wait list for upgrades on flights – as an example, if I am flying from New York to Las Vegas, the distance is 2300 miles. I’ll need five of these to wait list for an upgrade. What I didn’t know was whether I would be getting these after meeting the $40,000 spending requirement… but I did. Once I met the spending, the four upgrades posted to my account.

You can learn more about the upgrades on the American Airlines 500 mile upgrades information page.

What Does This Mean?

The fact that we get four 500 mile upgrades earning 10,000 elite qualifying miles this way is more of a “nice to know” than a game changer. It clears up confusion as to whether you only get these with flown miles or any 10,000 elite qualifying miles. A 500 mile upgrade can be purchased for $30 each so the outright purchase price of four of these is $120. That said, it definitely isn’t worth spending an extra $30,000 on the card just to go after the upgrade stickers.

As another point, spending $30,000 on the American Airlines credit card to get 10,000 elite qualifying miles is also a question of how much you value that elite status. If you’re just doing general spending and specifically need American Airlines miles like Natalya does, then it can make sense to put your spending toward this card. On the other hand, if you’re buying prepaid gift cards or Paypal cards at drugstores to meet the spending, then it likely makes more sense to get a 5% cash back card… after all, it’s hard to justify earning 30,000 American Airlines miles, even with 10,000 of them being elite qualifying, when you’d be giving up $1500 in cash back or rewards.

But if you do get those four 500 mile stickers, then enjoy your cleared upgrades. I haven’t used mine yet, but will definitely report when I do!