American Airlines priority privileges expedite your passage through the American Airlines counter, security lanes and your gate. Just follow “Priority” signs throughout the airport. Priority boarding can be particularly useful, getting you on flights before general boarding groups. Normally this benefit costs $9 to $74, but you can get it at no cost through elite status, credit cards and more.
How to get American Airlines priority boarding
You can board your flight early if you:
Earn AAdvantage elite tier status. There are four tiers you can earn by flying American Airlines: Gold, Platinum, Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum. Depending on the tier, you can board with Group 2, 3 or 4.
Earn Oneworld elite tier status. Frequent flyer members of other airlines from the Oneworld Alliance that have achieved elite status with their airline, automatically achieve Oneworld elite status as well. These are Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald, which correspond to Group 2, 3 and 4.
Purchase higher fare class. First class board Group 1, followed by Business class, Premium Economy and Main Cabin Extra.
Get an AAdvantage credit card. Eligible credit cards offer priority boarding in different boarding groups. Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard® cardmembers board with Group 4, CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® and Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® board with Group 5.
Purchase AA AirPass. You can purchase an elite tier status membership with AirPass, starting from $10,000 per year. You can board Group 2, Group 3 or Group 4, depending on which tier status you buy.
Purchase priority boarding. Priority boarding costs $9 to $74. This puts you in Group 4. In addition, you also get priority at check-in and priority security check when available at certain airports.
Are active duty US military. Carry your military ID and you get to board with Group 1.
Are a corporate traveler. Eligible corporate travelers can board with Group 5 if their employer has an active American Airlines Corporate Travel Agreement at the time of ticketing and travel. Your tickets must be booked and paid for through an authorized Agency of Record for the company with a CART number. Also, you need a valid AAdvantage number in your reservation at time of check-in.
How to get American Airlines priority boarding
Compare credit cards that can get you American Airlines priority boarding.
Apply for an eligible AAdvantage credit card.
Use your card to purchase your ticket.
Depending on your card, you will receive either Group 4 or Group 5 boarding on your boarding pass.
Who gets priority boarding?
The highest levels of priority boarding are reserved for the AAdvantage elite tiers, for active duty US military personnel and for the highest fare class.
Next in line are owners of the American Airlines credit cards who haven’t earned elite status, and those who have bought priority privileges.
Flyers who need special assistance and families with children two years old or younger can ask to board early at the gate.
Boarding Order
Group
Boarding pass type
ConciergeKey℠ members
ConciergeKey℠
Group 1
First Active duty U.S. military with military I.D. (Business on a 2-class international plane)
Group 2
Executive Platinum oneworld® Emerald℠ (Business on a 3-class plane)
Getting the top levels of priority boarding is reserved for the most frequent flyers, active military members and higher fare class. You can also board early by being an AAdvantage card member.
However, if you prefer other airlines, look for other travel cards that offer priority boarding and compare your options.
Frequently asked questions
Your boarding group is printed on your boarding pass. For example, Group 5.
You will pay $9 to $74 for priority boarding. How much you pay exactly depends on your itinerary.
To earn the lowest tier status AAdvantage Gold, you need to make 30 qualifying segments or make 25,000 qualifying miles and spend $3,000 qualifying dollars.
Pictures: GettyImages
Hide
Sign up for the Finder newsletter
We know what the best deals in personal finance on the market are at all times, and now you will too.
Kliment Dukovski was a personal finance writer at Finder, specializing in investments and cryptocurrency. He's written more than 700 articles to help readers compare the best trading platforms, understand complex investment terms and find the best credit cards for their needs. His expert commentary has been featured in such digital publications as Fox Business, MSN Money and MediaFeed. He’s also well-versed in money transfers, home loans and more — breaking down these topics into simple concepts anyone can understand. In another life, Kliment ghostwrote guides and articles on foreign exchange, stock market trading and cryptocurrencies. See full bio
Kliment's expertise
Kliment has written 86 Finder guides across topics including:
Here’s everything you need to know about using a credit card in Barbados. How much it may cost you, and holiday spending tricks. We help you do your homework before you travel.
How likely would you be to recommend Finder to a friend or colleague?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely
Required
Thank you for your feedback.
Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.
Advertiser disclosure
Finder.com is an independent comparison platform and information service that aims to provide you with the tools you need to make better decisions. While we are independent, the offers that appear on this site are from companies from which Finder receives compensation. We may receive compensation from our partners for placement of their products or services. We may also receive compensation if you click on certain links posted on our site. While compensation arrangements may affect the order, position or placement of product information, it doesn't influence our assessment of those products. Please don't interpret the order in which products appear on our Site as any endorsement or recommendation from us. Finder compares a wide range of products, providers and services but we don't provide information on all available products, providers or services. Please appreciate that there may be other options available to you than the products, providers or services covered by our service.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.
