American Airlines updates AAdvantage program, letting travelers unlock benefits sooner

American Airlines is tweaking its AAdvantage loyalty program, looking to make things more streamlined for its most frequent flyers and allow passengers to start unlocking perks even before they earn status. "It's a complicated loyalty space out there across different loyalty programs," AAdvantage managing director Heather Samp said. "Our focus was simplicity." Some of the big changes include a new array of rewards at different qualifying thresholds and an elimination of the mileage earning cap on flights. "We're creating a more meaningful travel rewards program for our AAdvantage members," American's CCO Vasu Raja said. "Only our members will have access to everything American has to offer." Story explains what American's customers can expect once the changes are implemented in March. <br/>