For the first year ever, I earned top-tier elite status with not one, but two airlines — American Airlines and United Airlines — thanks to a status match. For readers new to airline elite status, a “match” means you use your status from one loyalty program to match into an equivalent level of status in another program.
I have flown with American for years. You could say I was born to be an AA loyalist, since many of my family members worked for the airline after their previous employer, TWA, was acquired by American. My husband and I have flown all over the world with AA, and many happy memories include the company. I’ve also very much enjoyed my AAdvantage Executive Platinum status over the past few years.
However, in early 2025, I wondered if it still made sense. I decided to think critically about what is most important to me when it comes to status and if American AAdvantage is still the ideal option.
Since 2025 was a banner travel year for me, I decided to “try out” both airlines to see which status was the better fit for me.
Here’s where I landed with that exercise and why I decided to pursue a status match to United Premier 1K.
About United’s status match
I applied for United’s status match on May 26, 2025. I used my American Airlines Executive Platinum status to match into United’s Premier 1K level the same day.
Here’s what I had to do next:
Fly an “activating” flight operated by United or United Express within the next 90 days (or I could retroactively request that a flight within the past 30 days count). Once the activation flight was completed, United granted elite status for 120 days.
Since my activating flight was on May 17, my trial status period extended from May 17 to Sept. 13, 2025. During that time, I had to do the following:
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- Complete 20 Premier qualifying flights (PQFs) on United or United Express flights
- Earn 7,500 Premier qualifying points (PQPs) on United or United Express flights
I’ll admit that I didn’t plan my flights in the most advantageous way. I had previously booked a few international trips on American Airlines. It was too much of a hassle to cancel those and rebook on United, so I instead focused on paid first-class domestic flights to accrue the needed PQFs and PQPs. I completed the match with 19 days to spare.
If I had to do it again, I would have rebooked those international trips, as I think it would have made the challenge much easier compared to the domestic travel I had to complete.
Related reading: United Premier status: What it is and how to earn it
My criteria for picking the right airline loyalty program
As I reviewed what makes me feel like a valued flyer, I realized my favorite perks are:
- Complimentary upgrades
- Early boarding groups
- Extra redeemable miles earned from flights
- Free extra-legroom seats at booking
- Dedicated service desk attention
- Conferred airline alliance status
Your list may look very different, and that’s fine — we all have different travel preferences.
Complimentary upgrades
I waffled on whether or not to include complimentary space-available upgrades on my criteria list. Honestly, that’s because there are so many American Executive Platinum flyers — especially flying from the airports I most frequently visit — that I shifted my behavior to just buying first-class seats or purchasing an upgrade from economy to ensure that experience when I want it.
I wondered if travelers on United were doing the same thing. I fly out of Jacksonville often, so last year I looked for gates with United flights and noted how many Global Services and Premier 1K members preboarded the airline’s flights. There seemed to be far fewer than the EPs over at American. I started to think, “Maybe I need to see if complimentary upgrades are a bit easier to get with United from this non-hub airport?” If so, that would save me some money.
In July 2025, I visited Montreal during my United status match. Of the four legs, I was upgraded on three of them, while my travel companion was upgraded on two of them. That seemed very promising, so I thought my hunch about United upgrades might be correct in my scenario.
Winner: United Airlines
Related reading: How to get upgraded on American Airlines
Early boarding group
In the past 20 years, I’ve checked luggage three or four times. In my eyes, carry-on is the way to go. Because of that, having a priority boarding group to snag coveted overhead space is critical.
In the old days, being in Group 1 for boarding with American meant something. However, these days, at least from my home base of Jacksonville International Airport (JAX), everyone seems to be in Group 1. That said, I usually buy first- or business-class seats or pay to upgrade on American, so I actually end up in boarding Group FC, right before Group 1. But it doesn’t make sense to book a premium cabin for every flight, especially short ones — so for those, I’m back to the long Group 1 line.
Boarding groups are important for another reason. Many of the domestic routes I fly regularly are on Embraer 175 aircraft, which feature a 1-2 configuration in first class. That means the overhead on one side of the aircraft is very shallow and doesn’t fit rollerboards or even my compact Samsonite underseater. If I’m booked on an E175, I want to be in the earliest boarding group possible to avoid gate-checking my bag.
Finally, I’m 5’2″ and, depending on the aircraft and the height of its overhead bins, it can take me a bit of extra effort to stow my rollaboard. I prefer boarding when it’s not yet wall-to-wall with passengers, so I can take those extra few seconds to take care of my bag without accidentally whacking someone who’s already seated or waiting in the aisle.
For that reason, United Premier 1K is the obvious winner over American Executive Platinum (from my gateway). With United, Premier 1Ks are invited to preboard the aircraft before Group 1, but after those needing more time, Global Services members, active military and families with small children.
Winner: United Airlines
Related reading: Carry-on vs. checked bags: Which is the better choice?
Earned redeemable miles
What can I say? I work for The Points Guy and love the redemption game. Staying stocked up on redeemable miles means I can book more award flights and try new-to-me airlines, aircraft and cabins using the power of airline alliances and partners.
At first glance, it may seem like a draw on this count, since both American and United currently reward top-tier elite members with 11 redeemable miles per dollar spent (note that United announced mileage earning rate changes beginning on April 2, 2025). However, in my experience, I often find lower-priced award tickets on American Airlines than on United, so AA has a slight lead here.
While I have noticed that United offers me better-priced awards now I hold the United Quest℠ Card (see rates and fees) and the United℠ Explorer Card(see rates and fees), I still tend to rely on Air Canada’s Aeroplan program when booking Star Alliance flights.
Winner: American Airlines
Free extra-legroom seats at booking
Free extra-legroom seats at booking can save a lot of money, especially when traveling with a companion. And, having suffered from a pulmonary embolism in the past, having additional legroom to move around is critical for my health and safety. I love this perk, which is offered to both American EPs and United Premier 1Ks. However, on the flights I’ve taken this year, the extra-legroom seats on our United flights felt more spacious and comfortable than those on American.
Winner: United Airlines
Dedicated service desk
When things go wrong on a travel day, you want immediate access to someone who can help. Both airlines offer dedicated phone reps who answer promptly.
I connected through Frankfurt Airport (FRA) just one week after I started my United status match. We traveled from Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) to FRA on an American flight, and were planning to connect to a separate Austrian Airlines flight I redeemed with United miles. As you can imagine, we missed the connection — so I reached out to the Premier 1K service desk. To my delight, my call was answered within one ring, and by the time I finished explaining my predicament, the agent had already found space on the next flight and was changing our itinerary. I really appreciated having someone help us so quickly.
That said, I’ve also had terrific experiences with American Airlines’ Executive Platinum desk.
Winner: Tie
Conferred airline alliance status
I travel overseas frequently, so I visit a fair number of international airports annually. It’s nice having alliance status, whether it’s Oneworld, Star Alliance or SkyTeam. Status with any of these airline alliances unlocks access to some lovely lounges outside the U.S.
American Executive Platinum status grants me Oneworld Emerald status, while United Premier 1K grants me Star Alliance Gold status.
Winner: Tie
Bottom line
This year, United came out on top for me, winning in the complimentary upgrades, early boarding group and extra legroom categories, though American still came in first for me when it comes to the most affordable award tickets. The airlines tied in terms of their dedicated service desks and conferred alliance status.
I’ve enjoyed some fantastic United flights recently, including its inaugural flight from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Adelaide Airport (ADL) in South Australia in December 2025. I also just stepped off a terrific Polaris flight from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Marrakech Menara Airport (RAK) in Morocco (though I will never be a fan of the airline’s 767 J-style seating pattern in business class).
However, I’ll need to closely monitor changes to each program for next year. While United hasn’t changed Premier status requirements in 2026, it did announce changes to upgrades and PlusPoints. And, more importantly, United announced a higher award-mile earning rate for United-branded cardholders as well as discounted award redemptions. As a United Premier 1K who holds United-branded credit cards, as of April 2, I will earn 16 miles per dollar spent on flights when paying with my United Quest℠ Card instead of 11 miles per dollar spent. That matters to me. These new details make United more appealing than American for me in the short term.
While American has announced a few program tweaks of its own, I’ll crunch some numbers to determine which program will get the lion’s share of my business this year.
