American Airlines AAdvantage is one of the biggest frequent flyer loyalty programs in the United States and one that is very valuable for miles and points enthusiasts.
Considering that AAdvantage has many partner airlines that offer aspirational redemption opportunities, paired with low taxes and fees in addition to no fees to cancel award flights, it is one program that is worth understanding and earning miles in.
Acquiring American Airlines AAdvantage Miles
Flying with American Airlines
When flying on American Airlines cash fares, passengers will earn 5 base miles per US dollar spent, except for on Basic Economy bookings where they will earn 2 miles per US dollar spent. Miles are earned on the entire ticket price, except for the government-imposed taxes and fees portion of the ticket.
AAdvantage members who hold any level of elite status will receive additional miles on their cash bookings. The bonus can be as high as 120% more miles for those members who hold the highest level of AAdvantage status.
If you are curious about how many American Airlines AAdvantage miles you will earn on your next cash booking, there is a convenient calculator tool available on the American Airlines website.
Flying with American Airlines’ Partner Airlines
AAdvantage members can also earn miles when flying on partner airlines and crediting their flights to the AAdvantage program. The amount of miles that can be earned depends on the fare class that is booked and the partner airline that is being flown.
Refer to the partner airline mileage earning charts on the American Airlines website for specifics.
Co-branded American Airlines Credit Cards
If you are a US resident or a Canadian who has access to US credit cards, CitiBank offers four co-branded American Airlines credit cards: three personal credit cards, and one business credit card.
| Credit Card | ||
|---|---|---|
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75,000 AAdvantage Estimated value: $1,050 |
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70,000 AAdvantage Estimated value: $980 |
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65,000 AAdvantage Estimated value: $910 |
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15,000 AAdvantage Estimated value: $210 |
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These cards present a great option to earn a large sum of American Airlines AAdvantage miles via welcome bonuses, plus additional miles from organic spending and a variety of benefits on American Airlines flights.
If you are looking for a personal credit card, the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard is the best option when it comes to the intersection of the size of the welcome bonus for the required annual fee.
The Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard earns AAdvantage miles and offers perks when flying American Airlines including a first checked bag free and priority boarding.
75,000 AAdvantage
$3,500
$1,050+
$99 (FYF)
No
–
Transfer from Other Loyalty Programs
One notable bank loyalty program and two hotel loyalty programs can also transfer or convert their points into American Airlines AAdvantage miles.
Transfer from Bank Loyalty Programs
Canadians can transfer RBC Avion Rewards points at a ratio of 1,000 Avion Reward points for 750 American Airlines AAdvantage miles. The minimum amount that can be transferred is 5,000 Avion Rewards points.
This is a niche opportunity that may not be preferable for many Canadians due to the lower and less-than-optimal transfer ratio compared to other frequent flyer programs, but for those who are looking to accrue AAdvantage miles, this can be a great opportunity, particularly if you are earning Avion Rewards points via the RBC Avion Visa Infinite card or the RBC Avion Visa Infinite Privilege card.
Transfer from Hotel Loyalty Programs
Three transfer opportunities exist for those who have excess hotel loyalty program points and who want to turn them into American Airlines AAdvantage miles:
- Marriott Bonvoy points at a ratio of 3,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points = 1,000 American Airlines AAdvantage Miles
- World of Hyatt points at a ratio of 5,000 World of Hyatt Points = 2,000 American Airlines AAdvantage Miles
- IHG One Rewards at a ratio of 10,000 IHG One Rewards Points = 2,000 American Airlines AAdvantage Miles
If you need to top-up your AAdvantage miles, transferring hotel points can be a decent option to make your next flight redemption possible.
American Airlines AAdvantage eShopping Portal
American Airlines AAdvantage members can earn additional miles by making purchases through the eShopping portal.
This shopping portal works similarly to the Aeroplan eStore and AIR MILES Shops, wherein the user will need to log in, click through to their desired retailer, and then complete the purchase.
Since American Airlines is a US-based airline, many of the 1,200+ retailers listed are US-focused. This can be a good option for US residents who are looking to build their AAdvantage balance, but less useful for Canadians.
Booking Other Travel
American Airlines AAdvantage members can receive AAdvantage miles when booking cruises, hotels, and rental cars. Earning rates vary based on the booking that is made.
Always compare costs to booking directly with the provider as opposed to using a third-party booking platform to ensure you are getting the best deal.
Buying American Airlines AAdvantage Miles
American Airlines AAdvantage sells miles to customers who are looking to increase their balance or top-up for their next flight redemption. Members can purchase up to 150,000 AAdvantage miles per calendar year.
Similar to other frequent flyer programs that allow members to purchase points, AAdvantage does sell miles at a discount via promotions throughout the year. Historically we have seen AAdvantage miles at the lowest effective price of 2.45 cents USD per mile, which can be a good opportunity if you have a high-value redemption in mind.
You can purchase AAdvantage Miles here.
AAdvantage Dining Program
Members can also participate in the AAdvantage Dining program and earn up to 5 AAdvantage miles per US dollar spent at eligible restaurants.
Redeeming American Airlines AAdvantage Miles for Flights
American Airlines AAdvantage is an excellent program for flight redemptions for three main reasons: they have many partner airlines, they charge low taxes and fees, and they have no change or cancellation fees.
Flight award tickets can also be put on up to a five-day hold if you don’t have all the miles that are required. This is a very generous feature compared to most other frequent flyer programs.
American Airlines Redemptions
The most obvious redemption option for AAdvantage miles is to use them on American Airlines flights.
American Airlines publishes an award chart for flights on their own airline, however, do note that the below-stated values in the tables are the minimum redemption prices. Redemptions can and will be dynamically priced, meaning you should aim to make American Airlines flight redemptions at or near the below mileage price points.
While some good redemption opportunities do exist, including American Airlines Flagship Business class, it is usually recommended to save your AAdvantage miles for redemption on partner airlines to maximize their value.
Partner Airline Redemptions
Similar to many other frequent flyer programs, the best value redemptions using American Airlines AAdvantage miles are when booking flights on partner airlines.
AAdvantage miles can be used for redemption on Air Tahiti Nui, Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Cape Air, Cathay Pacific, China Southern Airlines, Etihad Airlines, Fiji Airways, Finnair, GOL Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas Airways, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian Airlines, and SriLankan Airlines.
The partner airline award chart is listed below. Partner awards are not subject to dynamic pricing, so the pricing you see in the table below will be the actual pricing, provided you can find award availability.
There is no shortage of great partner airline flight redemptions available to book with AAdvantage miles, including Qatar Airways QSuites. Members can redeem 70,000 AAdvantage miles plus an insignificant amount of taxes and fees for a business class flight from North America to Doha, per person.
If you are interested in traveling to the harder-to-reach French Polynesia, booking Air Tahiti Nui business class is a good opportunity as it only costs 80,000 AAdvantage miles plus $5.60 USD in taxes and fees per person, per way.
There are only a few examples of the value that can be extracted from booking partner airline awards with AAdvantage miles. There are many other high-value redemptions that can be made including Japan Airlines business class, Malaysia Airlines business class, and more. We recommend using an award search tool like Seats.aero to dig into the redemption possibilities.
Redeeming American Airlines AAdvantage Miles for Other Travel or Uses
American Airlines Upgrades
AAdvantage miles can also be used to upgrade tickets on American Airlines flights that have been paid for with cash. The below mileage pricing chart applies to these upgrades; do note that you cannot upgrade a basic economy fare class ticket.
British Airways and Iberia cash tickets can also be upgraded using AAdvantage miles at the below mileage prices.
Upgrading tickets is a niche proposition that can definitely drive value, but only if you booked a cash ticket in the first place.
Other Travel Purchases
American Airlines AAdvantage miles can also be redeemed for hotel stays, rental cars, and vacation packages. All of these options represent less value than redeeming for flights, so we would advise against them.
Members can also use their AAdvantage miles to purchase a day pass for any of their Admiral Club lounges at a rate of 7,900 miles for a day pass. This is also a terrible redemption opportunity, as it prices out at roughly 1 cent per AAdvantage mile.
American Airlines AAdvantage Loyalty Points & Tier Status
Similar to other frequent flyer programs, American Airlines AAdvantage members can earn status within the loyalty program. Members will need to earn a set amount of loyalty points to reach one of four levels of available status. Loyalty points are accrued from March 1st until February 28th of the following year.
Loyalty points are mainly earned by flying, including on eligible American Airlines flights and eligible partner flights, and then crediting the flight to the AAdvantage program. Loyalty points are only earned on cash bookings, not award bookings.
For those members who hold a co-branded American Airlines AAdvantage credit card, they will also accrue loyalty points for every dollar spent on the card. This can be the most effective way to earn status, provided you have a high volume of spend on your eligible credit card.
Let’s take a look at the four tiers of AAdvantage status, how they can be earned, and the benefits they come with.
AAdvantage Status Tiers
AAdvantage Gold Status
American Airlines AAdvantage Gold status is earned after a member accrues 40,000 loyalty points in a status qualification year.
AAdvantage Gold status members will receive the following benefits:
- Earn 40% more miles and loyalty points on eligible flights
- Complimentary premium cabin upgrades 24 hours before departure for the member and one companion
- Complimentary preferred seats for the member and up to eight passengers on the same reservation
- Complimentary main cabin extra seats for the member and up to eight passengers on the same reservation
- Priority check-in, security, and group 4 boarding
- First checked bag free for the member and up to eight passengers on the same reservation
- Same-day standby priority
- Oneworld Ruby status
AAdvantage Platinum Status
American Airlines AAdvantage Platinum status is earned after a member accrues 75,000 loyalty points in a status qualification year.
AAdvantage Platinum status members will receive the following benefits:
- Earn 60% more miles and loyalty points on eligible flights
- Complimentary premium cabin upgrades 48 hours before departure for the member and one companion
- Complimentary preferred seats for the member and up to eight passengers on the same reservation
- Complimentary main cabin extra seats for the member and up to eight passengers on the same reservation
- Priority check-in, security, and group 3 boarding
- First two checked bags are free for the member and up to eight passengers on the same reservation
- Same-day standby priority
- Oneworld Sapphire status
AAdvantage Platinum Pro Status
American Airlines AAdvantage Platinum Pro status is earned after a member accrues 125,000 loyalty points in a status qualification year.
AAdvantage Platinum Pro status members will receive the following benefits:
- Earn 80% more miles and loyalty points on eligible flights
- Complimentary premium cabin upgrades 72 hours before departure for the member and one companion
- Complimentary preferred seats for the member and up to eight passengers on the same reservation
- Complimentary main cabin extra seats for the member and up to eight passengers on the same reservation
- Priority check-in, security, and group 2 boarding
- First three checked bags are free for the member and up to eight passengers on the same reservation, plus priority baggage handling
- Free same-day flight change
- Same-day standby priority
- Oneworld Emerald status
AAdvantage Executive Platinum Status
American Airlines AAdvantage Executive Platinum status is earned after a member accrues 200,000 loyalty points in a status qualification year.
AAdvantage Executive Platinum status members will receive the following benefits:
- Earn 120% more miles and loyalty points on eligible flights
- Complimentary premium cabin upgrades 100 hours before departure for the member and one companion
- Complimentary preferred seats for the member and up to eight passengers on the same reservation
- Complimentary main cabin extra seats for the member and up to eight passengers on the same reservation
- Priority check-in, security, and group 1 boarding
- First three checked bags are free for the member and up to eight passengers on the same reservation, plus priority baggage handling
- Complimentary food and drink in the main cabin
- Guaranteed availability in the main cabin
- Waitlist priority for first or business class
- Free same-day flight change
- Same-day standby priority
- Oneworld Emerald status
Loyalty Point Rewards
American Airlines AAdvantage members can earn loyalty point rewards upon reaching specific loyalty point thresholds during a calendar year. The first loyalty point rewards tier is available at 15,000 loyalty points, and the tiers go as high as 5,000,000 loyalty points.
Rewards mainly focus on additional benefits for American Airlines flights but also include various credits and merchandise. Eligible members will need to select the reward of their choice once they reach the next loyalty point rewards tier.
You can view all of the tiers and reward options here.
Frequently Asked Questions
American Airlines AAdvantage miles are worth around 1.6 cents per point USD. Value will vary depending on the flight redemption you are making.
Yes, American Airlines AAdvantage miles expire after 24 months of inactivity.
Yes, you can use AAdvantage miles to upgrade your seat to the next cabin of service on your next American Airlines flight.
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