Travel

Your final information to American Airlines AAdvantage

November 13, 2022

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American Airlines AAdvantage miles have seen some devaluations over the previous couple of years. But, if you already know the right way to maximize AAdvantage redemptions, you may nonetheless get a ton of worth out of this system.

American AAdvantage now makes use of Loyalty Points as the only real metric that issues if you wish to earn American Airlines elite standing. However, word that you will solely earn Loyalty Points once you earn base American miles (not bonus American miles). So, hold a watch out whether or not the miles you earn are base or bonus miles.

This information will present you the whole lot it’s worthwhile to know concerning the loyalty program, together with the ins and outs of incomes and redeeming AAdvantage miles. Let’s get began.

American Airlines companions

American is a Oneworld member, so you may earn and redeem miles with many worldwide airways. JT GENTER/THE POINTS GUY

American Airlines is a part of the Oneworld alliance, so you may earn and redeem miles with a handful of worldwide companions. American elite members usually get advantages when flying with accomplice airways, akin to lounge entry, an additional baggage allowance and extra.

These are American’s present Oneworld companions:

Alaska Airlines.
British Airways.
Cathay Pacific.
Finnair.
Iberia.
Japan Airlines.
Malaysia Airlines.
Qantas.
Qatar Airways.
Royal Air Maroc.
Royal Jordanian Airlines.
SriLankan Airlines.

The airline additionally companions with a handful of airways outdoors of Oneworld, together with:

Air Tahiti Nui.
Cape Air.
China Southern Airlines.
Etihad Airways.
Fiji Airways.
Gol Airlines.
Hawaiian Airlines.
IndiGo.
JetBlue.
Silver Airways.

Elite standing

American has 4 public ranges of elite standing — Gold, Platinum, Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum — plus an invite-only degree referred to as Concierge Key.

AAdvantage fully modified the way you earn American Airlines elite standing earlier this yr. Now, you care about only one metric: Loyalty Points.

You earn Loyalty Points once you fly on American, spend with a cobranded bank card or earn with choose AAdvantage companions. In normal, one base mile earned is the same as one Loyalty Point. So for those who earn 500 base miles on an American flight, you earn 500 Loyalty Points. Likewise, spending $1,000 on an American cobranded bank card would earn 1,000 Loyalty Points.

Here’s the variety of Loyalty Points you need to earn within the present qualification interval — Jan. 1, 2022, by Feb. 28, 2022 — for every elite standing tier:

Gold: 30,000 Loyalty Points.
Platinum: 75,000 Loyalty Points.
Platinum Pro: 125,000 Loyalty Points.
Executive Platinum: 200,000 Loyalty Points.

As an AAdvantage Gold member, you’ll get a 40% standing mileage bonus, complimentary Main Cabin Extra seats at check-in when obtainable, complimentary Preferred seats at reserving when obtainable and one free checked bag on itineraries marketed and operated by American Airlines.

Meanwhile, Platinum members get a 60% standing mileage bonus, complimentary Main Cabin Extra and Preferred seats at reserving when obtainable and two free checked luggage on itineraries marketed and operated by American Airlines.

Platinum Pro members get an 80% standing mileage bonus, complimentary Main Cabin Extra and Preferred seats at reserving when obtainable and three free checked luggage on itineraries marketed and operated by American Airlines. Additionally, Platinum Pro members get a Loyalty Choice Reward once they qualify for standing and fly 30 qualifying segments through the qualification interval.

Finally, Executive Platinum members get a 120% standing mileage bonus, complimentary Main Cabin Extra and Preferred seats at reserving when obtainable and three free checked luggage on itineraries marketed and operated by American Airlines. Additionally, Executive Platinum members get a second Loyalty Choice Reward once they qualify for standing and fly 30 qualifying segments through the qualification interval.

All AAdvantage elites have entry to complimentary upgrades on American-marketed and -operated flights inside and between the U.S. (together with Hawaii), Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Caribbean and Central America for themselves and one companion. However, solely Executive Platinum members get complimentary upgrades on award flights.

AAdvantage Executive Platinum and Platinum Pro members additionally get space-available complimentary upgrades on Alaska Airlines flights, besides when flying on Alaska Airlines Saver Fares.

AAdvantage elites get Oneworld standing, which provides perks when flying on different Oneworld airways. Specifically, AAdvantage Gold members get Oneworld Ruby, Platinum members get Oneworld Sapphire and Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum members get Oneworld Emerald.

How to earn AAdvantage miles

There are some ways to earn AAdvantage miles. In this part, we’ll take into account a few of the hottest methods you may earn AAdvantage miles.

Fly on American Airlines

When you fly on an American-marketed flight, you’ll normally earn miles in keeping with the bottom worth of your ticket — which means with out taxes and charges. The miles you earn additionally range primarily based in your AAdvantage elite standing. The larger your standing, the extra miles you’ll earn.

Here’s what number of miles every standing tier earns per greenback spent:

No standing: 5 miles.
Gold: 7 miles.
Platinum: 8 miles.
Platinum Pro: 9 miles.
Executive Platinum: 11 miles.

For instance, for those who booked an American Airlines flight from Philadelphia to Los Angeles that prices $192 plus $20 in taxes, you’ll earn 960 miles ($192 x 5 miles per greenback) as an AAdvantage member with out elite standing. However, for those who had been an Executive Platinum member, you’d earn 2,112 AAdvantage miles ($192 x 11 miles per greenback).

Some American Airlines flights earn miles primarily based on fare class and distance as “particular fares.” You could earn at “particular fares” charges once you guide bulk fares, cruise fares, consolidator fares, discounted or inclusive tour packages, trip packages and different tickets the place the fare is not disclosed.

Fly on accomplice airways

Earn AAdvantage miles with American’s worldwide companions. NICOLAS ECONOMOU/NURPHOTO/GETTY IMAGES

You can even earn AAdvantage miles on flights marketed by American’s companions. For most companions, you’ll earn miles and Loyalty Points primarily based on flight distance. However, the precise incomes price will depend on the fare class of your ticket. Here’s an instance of the incomes chart for British Airways-operated flights:

As you may see, the decrease economic system fare lessons earn smaller percentages of miles. You can see the fare class booked by taking a look at your e-ticket or calling the airline and asking. Elite members earn further miles primarily based on their standing tier.

Here’s an instance. Say you’re an Executive Platinum elite and fly British Airways one-way from New York to London in E fare premium economic system. The flight is 3,451 miles lengthy, so that you’d earn 3,451 base miles. You’d additionally earn a 120% bonus along with your elite standing, totaling 7,593 miles and Loyalty Points earned.

To see what number of miles you may earn, try the AAdvantage partner-earning web page for the airline and fare class you propose to fly.

Get and use American Airlines bank cards

Quickly earn American miles with a cobranded bank card. JOHN GRIBBEN/THE POINTS GUY

One of the best methods to earn American AAdvantage miles is thru American Airlines bank cards.

Citi and Barclays each supply AAdvantage playing cards; listed here are the sign-up bonuses and incomes charges on a few of our favourite American Airlines playing cards:

Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 80,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $5,500 throughout the first three months of account opening. Earn 4 AAdvantage miles per greenback on eligible American Airlines purchases by Dec. 31, 2022 (after that, earn 2 AAdvantage miles per greenback). Earn 1 mile per greenback on different purchases.
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $2,500 throughout the first three months of account opening. Earn 2 AAdvantage miles per greenback on fuel station, restaurant and eligible American Airlines purchases and 1 mile per greenback on different purchases.
CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®: Earn 65,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases throughout the first 4 months of account opening. Earn 2 AAdvantage miles per greenback on eligible American Airlines purchases plus telecom retailers, cable and satellite tv for pc suppliers, automobile leases and fuel stations. Earn 1 mile per greenback on different purchases.
American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card: Earn 10,000 bonus miles and a $50 assertion credit score after spending $500 on purchases throughout the first three months of account opening. Earn 2 AAdvantage miles per greenback on grocery retailer and eligible American Airlines purchases and 1 mile per greenback on different purchases.
AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 50,000 bonus miles after making your first buy within the first 90 days and paying the annual price. Earn 2 AAdvantage miles per greenback on American Airlines purchases and 1 mile per greenback on different purchases.
AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard®: Earn 80,000 AAdvantage bonus miles and a $95 assertion credit score after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first 90 days. Earn 2 AAdvantage miles per greenback on workplace provide, telecom, automobile rental and eligible American Airlines purchases, and 1 mile per greenback on different purchases.

The data for the CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum Select, AAdvantage Aviator Red, and AAdvantage Aviator Business playing cards have been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or offered by the cardboard issuers.

However, do not forget that the sign-up bonuses and bonus class earnings will not get you Loyalty Points towards AAdvantage elite standing. You’ll solely earn one Loyalty Point per greenback spent on American Airlines playing cards.

Click by the AAdvantage buying portal earlier than buying on-line

When you click on by the AAdvantage buying portal, you may earn further miles when making purchases with choose on-line retailers. Using the portal is straightforward: Sign up for an account after which click on by the portal to your service provider of selection earlier than buying on-line.

By clicking by the AAdvantage buying portal as an alternative of going on to the service provider, you’ll take house American miles and Loyalty Points along with the earnings you’ll get by placing the acquisition on a rewards bank card.

Use MerelyMiles

American presents a program referred to as SimplyMiles that lets you earn miles when buying on-line or in individual with choose retailers. You’ll first want to join MerelyMiles, hyperlink a number of Mastercards to your profile and enroll in presents.

Then, once you use a linked Mastercard to make an eligible buy at a service provider for which you’ve got enrolled in a suggestion, you may earn AAdvantage miles.

Dine at eating places that take part in AAdvantage Dining

AAdvantage Dining is much like the AAdvantage buying portal however for consuming out. Just join an account and hyperlink your favourite playing cards for eating. Once you accomplish that, you’ll earn miles once you dine at taking part eating places.

You can earn 5 AAdvantage miles per greenback spent as a VIP member, 3 AAdvantage miles per greenback spent as a Select member and 1 AAdvantage mile per greenback spent as a primary member.

You’ll qualify for Select member standing by opting in for e mail communications from AAdvantage Dining. Then, you’ll qualify for VIP standing after eating with this system at the least 11 instances in a calendar yr.

Book by AAdvantage journey companions

American Airlines companions with main automobile rental firms so its members can earn miles on automobile leases. Check out AAdvantage’s automobile rental accomplice web page for data on companions and incomes charges.

You can even earn AAdvantage miles on resort stays as follows:

American Airlines Hotels: Earn as much as 10,000 miles every night time.
Hyatt: Earn 500 miles every keep.
IHG: Earn as much as 2 miles per greenback spent at choose motels.
Marriott: Earn as much as 2 miles per greenback spent at choose motels.
Rocketmiles: Earn as much as 10,000 miles every night time.

Additionally, Hyatt and American loyalists can earn extra rewards by linking accounts. After linking accounts, AAdvantage elites can earn one AAdvantage mile for each eligible greenback spent on qualifying Hyatt stays and experiences.

In addition to the resort and rental automobile companions talked about above, you may earn miles on trip packages booked at aavacations.com. You can even earn American miles on cruises booked at bookaacruises.com.

Open a financial savings account

If you open a financial savings account with Bask Bank, you may elect to earn AAdvantage miles as an alternative of money because the curiosity in your account. You can learn our evaluation right here: Introducing Bask Bank, a brand new technique to earn miles. Unfortunately, miles earned with Bask Bank don’t rely as Loyalty Points.

Take surveys

You can earn AAdvantage miles for every survey you’re taking with Miles for Opinions.

Donate to charity

If you donate to Stand Up To Cancer, you may earn 10 miles per greenback donated, as long as the donation is $25 or extra.

Buy AAdvantage miles

Finally, you should buy American Airlines miles. Keep a watch out for promotions that can help you purchase American Airlines miles with a bonus or a reduction.

How to redeem AAdvantage miles

American has an award chart but additionally employs dynamic pricing. ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

You’ll normally get the most effective worth out of your American miles once you redeem for flights, so that is what we’ll talk about on this part. TPG’s most up-to-date valuations estimate American miles to be price 1.77 cents apiece, so attempt to get at the least this worth when redeeming miles.

Redeeming miles for American-operated flights

One of essentially the most easy methods to redeem AAdvantage miles is on American-operated flights. To learn how many miles an American-operated flight will value, head to the American Airlines web site or cell app and do an award search.

That mentioned, American nonetheless has award charts with AAnytime and MileSAAver charges. You can see these award charts on the American Airlines web site. The charges you see are for one-way journey, and every award is topic to taxes and charges ranging from $5.60 per individual.

You could get an important deal for those who snag a MileSAAver off-peak award. For instance, you may guide American Airlines off-peak awards to Europe for 45,000 miles round-trip.

But, once you do an award search, you may possible see many different award charges for American-operated flights. And that is as a result of the airline additionally presents Web Special awards that value lower than both the AAnytime or MileSAAver award degree. You cannot change a Web Special award, however you may cancel and reinstate your miles totally free.

Partner awards

American companions with over a dozen airways, lots of that are world-renowned for his or her wonderful premium-cabin merchandise. That means you should use your American miles to fly merchandise akin to Japan Airlines’ first-class from New York to Tokyo (80,000 miles every means) or Qatar Qsuite to the Maldives (70,000 miles every means).

One of the main variations you may discover when reserving awards on American Airlines’ companions is consistency in worth. For instance, you may anticipate to pay 57,500 miles when flying to Europe in enterprise class. However, look ahead to carrier-imposed charges and surcharges once you guide on accomplice airways. British Airways is notorious for routinely tacking on $500 or extra in taxes for Europe-bound flights.

American Airlines Business Extra

The American Airlines Business Extra program lets firms with at the least three workers earn rewards for his or her workers’ journey.

This program is free, and the registration course of is simple. Once you enroll, your corporation can “double dip” on American and choose Oneworld flights. Business Extra members earn 1 level per 5 {dollars} spent on qualifying flights on American, British Airways, Iberia and Japan Airlines, and Finnair and Qantas flights bought by American.

The redemption choices in this system range from prime quality to low worth. But the most effective worth is utilizing your Business Extra factors totally free flights and upgrades. Redeeming for award journey on American, British Airways, Iberia and Japan Airlines is feasible.

Upgrades are solely legitimate on American metallic. Note that you just should be booked in a particular fare class to redeem your improve, and upgrades from discounted fare lessons usually value greater than full-fare tickets.

Sweet spots

There are some hidden gems in American’s award chart — let’s take a more in-depth look.

Premium cabin flights to Japan or South Korea

American Airlines divides Asia into three award areas: Asia Region 1, Asia Region 2 and South Pacific. Asia 1 covers Japan and Korea, whereas Asia 2 consists of China and Hong Kong.

The decrease costs on premium flights to Asia 1 apply to Oneworld companions akin to Japan Airlines. So, you may guide JAL first-class from San Francisco to Tokyo for under 80,000 miles.

Qatar Qsuite to the Middle East

Another of my favourite redemptions is Qatar’s implausible Qsuite product — arguably one of the best ways to get to the Middle East on factors and miles.

Awards value 70,000 miles every means between the U.S. and the Middle East or Indian subcontinent. 75,000 miles every means from the U.S. will get you to locations in Africa like Seychelles, Mauritius or South Africa.

Off-peak awards

Another implausible candy spot is to make use of off-peak awards for journey outdoors the nation. These are often called MileSAAver off-peak awards. That means it can save you various miles for those who will be versatile along with your dates.

For instance, you may fly from the U.S. to Providenciales International Airport (PLS) in sunny Turks and Caicos in Main Cabin for simply 10,000 miles one-way in January 2023.

Or you may fly to Seoul, which falls below Asia Region 1, in March 2023 for 32,500 miles in Main Cabin:

Web Specials for premium flights

As mentioned, whereas American nonetheless has an award chart, a lot of the AAdvantage program consists of variable Web Special award pricing.

Web Specials can typically prevent just a few thousand miles per ticket. For instance, I discovered a flight from Dallas to Cancun for 10,000 miles one-way in economic system. In this case, you’d get a pleasant 5,000-mile low cost from the usual 15,000 MileSAAver price.

But that’s not all — you may as well discover premium award availability. For instance, I ran a search between New York-area airports and Fort Lauderdale. I first noticed the AAnytime Level 1 pricing of 20,000 miles every means in Main Cabin.

But after scrolling down a bit, I discovered a number of one-stop Web Special awards for six,000 miles in Main Cabin and 16,000 miles in home first-class.

Bottom line

The American Airlines AAdvantage program is much from good. But if you know the way to make it work, there’s nonetheless loads of worth.

If you’re considering of incomes miles with the AAdvantage program, we suggest making use of for an American Airlines bank card. Doing so can provide you a giant stash of miles from the sign-up bonus and the power to proceed to earn miles along with your day by day spending. It’s additionally price utilizing the AAdvantage buying portal and SimplyMiles, particularly if you wish to earn Loyalty Points and qualify for American Airlines elite standing.

Additional reporting by Ehsan Haque and Andrew Kunesh.