American Airlines AAdvantage: The Ultimate Guide

Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors’ opinions or evaluations.

American Airlines is one of the most recognized aviation brands in the world, which makes sense considering it is also one of the world’s largest airlines. AAdvantage, the loyalty program of American Airlines, is just as known and is a favorite among frequent flyers. Although the AAdvantage loyalty program is massive, fortunately it’s not too complicated. Add in the convenience of having such a large presence plus its numerous partners, and American Airlines offers just about everything a frequent flyer could need.

History

The world’s largest airline didn’t become that way overnight. American Airlines’ humble beginnings stretch all the way back to 1926. At the time, “American Airlines” was just a common brand name for several small independent carriers. What was actually considered its first flight was piloted by none other than Charles Lindbergh, who flew mail from St. Louis to Chicago.

In 1930, Robertson Aircraft Corporation and Colonial Air Transport, with their fleet of around 80 small aircraft, came together and officially formed American Airways. The airline was a success and grew rapidly. By 1961, with its new name, American Airlines (AA) was the second largest carrier in the world—second only to Russian airline Aeroflot.

American Airlines made history in 1964 when it hired the first Black pilot to fly for a commercial airline, Dave Harris. Harris worked for American Airlines for over 30 years until he retired.

Over the next 90 years, American Airlines merged with various carriers including with US Airways in 2015. This merger led AA to become the world’s largest airline, a title it still contends with these days.

Today, American Airlines serves around 350 destinations worldwide and runs a fleet of over 900 aircraft. 

Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, AA has hubs conveniently spread throughout the U.S., including:

• Charlotte (CLT)
• Chicago–O’Hare (ORD)
• Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)
• Los Angeles (LAX)
• Miami (MIA)
• New York (JFK)
• Philadelphia (PHL)
• Phoenix–Sky Harbor (PHX)
• Washington–National (DCA)

How To Earn American Airlines AAdvantage Miles

AA’s loyalty program, AAdvantage, dates back to 1981 and is the oldest airline loyalty program still in existence.

Enrolling in the American Airlines AAdvantage loyalty program is simple and free. First, you’ll need to head over to aa.com and select the option to “join.” You’ll be asked for some basic information like your birth date and address. Make sure this information is the same as it is on your government issued ID so you can avoid problems with your identification matching your tickets on future flights.

Now that you are enrolled in the AAdvantage loyalty program, it’s time to start earning miles.

Flying American Airlines

With AA, you can earn AAdvantage miles based on your elite status and the price of your ticket, less taxes and fees (the base price). This means that a Basic status member, for example, will earn 5 AAdvantage miles on their ticket whereas a Gold elite status holder would earn 7 miles—the higher the elite status, the more AAdvantage miles earned. 

You can earn up to 75,000 miles per ticket, although that cap will go away beginning March 2023.

Status Miles

American Airline status has one base-level tier and four elite tiers publicly available. There is a fifth elite status tier, which is called Concierge Key, but it is only available through invitation.

• Member: Earn 5 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent on American Airlines flights and select Oneworld flights.
• Gold: Earn 7 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent on American Airlines flights and select Oneworld flights.
• Platinum: Earn 8 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent on American Airlines flights and select Oneworld flights.
• Platinum Pro: Earn 9 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent on American Airlines flights and select Oneworld flights.
• Executive Platinum: Earn 11 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent on American Airlines flights and select Oneworld flights.

Ultimately, your elite status will determine how many AAdvantage miles you earn. A flight for a basic member with no elite status, for example, who purchases a ticket in the main cabin (any of the fare codes in economy, including basic economy) for $141 could expect to earn 705 AAdvantage miles.

Related: Best Travel Credit Cards Of 2023

Featured Partner Offer

Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®

Apply Now

On Citi’s Website

Click Here To Apply Now

3.0

Forbes Advisor created additional star ratings so that you can see the best card for specific needs. This card shines for this use, but overall the star ratings may differ when compared to other cards.

Apply Now

On Citi’s Website

Up to 2X Reward Rate

Earn 2X AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent at gas stations and restaurants, and on eligible American Airlines purchases; EarnRead More

Welcome Bonus

75,000 miles

Annual Fee

$99, waived for first 12 months

Regular APR

20.74% – 29.74% (Variable)

Credit Score

Excellent, Good (700 – 749)

Editorial Review

For American Airlines frequent fliers, this card brings a nice set of perks and a strong welcome bonus. The miles you can earn on American Airlines, gas and restaurant purchases can easily justify the annual fee – so long as you don’t carry a balance on this high APR card.

Pros & Cons

• Free checked bag for you and up to four companions on domestic American Airlines flights
• Preferred boarding privileges
• No foreign transaction fees
• No limit on mileage earnings

• Lackluster ongoing rewards
• First checked bag free perk not applicable for international flights
• Doesn’t have other perks like lounge access or travel protections

Card Details

• For a limited time earn 75,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after making $3,500 in purchases within the first 4 months of account opening.
• Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent at gas stations and restaurants, and on eligible American Airlines purchases
• Earn 1 Loyalty Point for every 1 eligible AAdvantage® mile earned from purchases
• Earn a $125 American Airlines Flight Discount after you spend $20,000 or more in purchases during your card membership year and renew your card
• No Foreign Transaction Fees
• First checked bag is free on domestic American Airlines itineraries for you and up to four companions traveling with you on the same reservation
• Enjoy preferred boarding on American Airlines flights

For a limited time earn 75,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after making $3,500 in purchases within the first 4 months of account opening.

Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed.

Earning Status With American Airlines

Before we break down how to earn elite status with American Airlines, let’s first take a look at what status can get you.

• American Airlines Gold:

  • Complimentary upgrades on American and Alaska Airlines flights

  • 24-hour upgrade window

  • 40% status mileage bonus

  • Complimentary Main Cabin extras at check-in

  • Complimentary preferred seats

  • One free checked bag

• American Airlines Platinum:

  • Complimentary upgrades on American and Alaska Airlines 

  • 48-hour upgrade window 

  • 60% status mileage bonus

  • Complimentary Main Cabin Extra and Preferred Seats

  • Two free checked bags

• American Airlines Platinum Pro:

  • 1 Loyalty Choice Reward

  • Complimentary upgrades on American and Alaska Airlines

  • 72-hour upgrade window

  • 80% status mileage bonus

  • Complimentary Main Cabin Extra and Preferred Seats 

  • Three free checked bags

• American Airlines Executive Platinum:

  • Loyalty Choice Rewards

  • Complimentary upgrades on American and Alaska Airlines 

  • 100-hour upgrade window 

  • 120% status mileage bonus 

  • Complimentary Main Cabin Extra and Preferred Seats 

  • Three free checked bags

On Jan. 1, 2022, American Airlines completely revamped and ultimately simplified the way elite status is earned. No longer are EQMs, EQDs and EQSs required, but, a single metric called Loyalty Points is used. Members will need to earn a set number of Loyalty Points each year to qualify and/or maintain elite status.

And speaking of a year, AA’s qualification year begins March 1 and is valid through March 31 of each year. 

The fundamentals of earning a Loyalty Point is that 1 Base Mile converts to 1 Loyalty Point. The following are the Loyalty Points requirements for each tier:

• AAdvantage Gold:

  40,000 Loyalty Points

• AAdvantage Platinum:

  75,000 Loyalty Points

• AAdvantage Platinum Pro:

  125,000 Loyalty Points

• AAdvantage Executive Platinum:

  200,000 Loyalty Points

Members have several options for earning Loyalty Points.

• Flying:

  All members, regardless of elite status, earn 5 Base Miles per dollar spent on eligible tickets. Basic economy tickets earn 2 miles per dollar. 

• Credit card spending:

  Now, members can earn Loyalty Points each time they use their American Airlines branded credit card. For every dollar spent, 1 Loyalty Point is earned. Welcome offers and bonus category miles for spending do not count as Loyalty Points. Additionally, transferable currencies like

  Citi ThankYou Points

  or

  Bilt Rewards

  will not qualify as Loyalty Points when transferred to American Airlines.

• Shopping portals and Dining Rewards

  : When you shop using the AAdvantage shopping portal or connect your card and eat at a participating restaurant in the AAdvantage Dining Rewards Network, you can earn Loyalty Points. American Airlines has said that only base points will earn loyalty points, not any multipliers.

AA members can also enjoy benefits when hitting mileage milestones. Known as Loyalty Point Rewards, each time you reach a level, you’ll get awarded with a new benefit. Benefits range from priority boarding, to elite status with Hertz, bonus miles, upgrades and more. Levels top out at the 5,000,000 Loyalty Point mark.

Flights on Partner Airlines

As a member of the Oneworld airline alliance, American Airlines AAdvantage miles can be earned when flying on each of its Oneworld partners. AAdvantage members can also meet elite status qualifications when flying on partner airlines. Oneworld alliance members include:

• Alaska Airlines (AS)
• British Airways (BA)
• Cathay Pacific (CX)
• Finnair (AY)
• Iberia (IB)
• Japan Airlines (JL)
• Malaysia Airlines (MH)
• Qantas (QF)
• Qatar Airways (QR)
• Royal Air Maroc (AT)
• Royal Jordanian Airlines (RJ)
• SriLankan Airlines (UL)

American Airlines also partners with several non-Oneworld members. You can earn AAdvantage miles and meet elite status requirements on these airlines as well:

• Air Tahiti Nui (TN)
• Cape Air (9K)
• China Southern Airlines (CZ)
• Etihad Airways (EY)
• Fiji Airways (FJ)
• GOL Airlines (G3)
• Hawaiian Airlines (HA)
• IndiGo (6E)
• JetBlue (B6)
• Silver Airways (3M)

The number of miles you earn on these partner airlines will usually depend on the flight distance and fare class, but ultimately, each partner has a different earning chart, so make sure to check it before booking.

Alaska Airlines, for example, is a partner of American Airlines. The chart below represents what an American Airlines member will earn when flying Alaska Airlines flights. Mileage is determined by flight distance—this is the base fare.

The fare class will also impact mileage earned. As you can see from the following chart, each cabin is subdivided into fare classes.

Although the specifics of this chart are for earning with Alaska Airlines, the same general setup applies to each partner—it’s the actual rates and requirements which vary.

Credit Cards

There are several co-branded credit cards, both personal and business, which earn AAdvantage miles. In addition to helping you earn AAdvantage miles at a faster rate, some of these cards offer perks like a free checked bag and priority boarding. Currently available cards are issued by Citi and Barclays banks.

Personal cards:

Business Cards:

American Airlines and JetBlue Partnership

American Airlines AAdvantage and JetBlue TrueBlue recently added reciprocal loyalty program benefits to their Northeast Alliance. AAdvantage elite status holders can enjoy certain benefits when flying on JetBlue, and alternatively, TrueBlue elites can experience several Mosaic benefits when flying on American.

For AA elites Flying on JetBlue, these perks include:

• Priority check-in
• Priority security (where available)
• Priority boarding
• Priority bag delivery (not available for Gold elites)
• Checked bag benefits

And for Mosaic elites flying on American:

• Priority check-in
• Expedited security lanes
• Group 4 priority boarding
• Priority bag delivery
• Up to two free checked bags
• Complimentary same day changes to flights

In addition to earning miles and enjoying other benefits, AAdvantage members can redeem miles on most JetBlue flights. Economy class domestic flights will run 12,500 AAdvantage miles. For seats in JetBlue’s premium cabin Mint Class, awards will be priced at the American Airlines first class pricing, which will depend on various factors such as route and demand.

Read More: American, JetBlue Add Reciprocal Elite Benefits, Share Details of Upcoming Mileage Redemptions

Transfer Partners

American Airlines is currently transfer partners with just one of the six major credit card rewards programs: Bilt Rewards. Members of the Bilt Rewards program can transfer their Bilt Points to the AAdvantage program at a 1-to-1 rate. In late 2021, Citi briefly offered a transfer option for ThankYou points to AAdvantage, but there are no indications that it will return at this time.

American Airlines is also a transfer partner of Marriott Bonvoy and several other hotel programs. Here are the current hotel programs which allow points to be converted to American Airlines AAdvantage miles and the rates at which they transfer:

• Hyatt: 5,000 World of Hyatt points to 2,000 AAdvantage miles.
• Marriott: 3 Marriott Bonvoy points to 1 AAdvantage mile. Get a 5,000 AAdvantage mile bonus when you convert 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.
• IHG: 10,000 IHG® Rewards Club points equals 2,000 AAdvantage miles.

It’s also important to note that American Airlines flights can be booked with the miles of its partners, like Oneworld member British Airways Avios.

Shopping Portals

Shopping portals are a fantastic way to stock up on AAdvantage miles by allowing you to earn bonus miles on the things you are already spending money on.

In order to use the AAdvantage shopping portal, you’ll need to have an AAdvantage account. Once accessed, make sure you are logged in. Then, search for your desired store and use the website’s link to shop.

American Airlines should track your purchase within three to five business days, but usually sooner. Miles earned using the AAdvantage shopping portal are in addition to the miles you earn if using a rewards credit card. Also note that you can use any form of accepted payment by the merchant and still earn shopping portal miles; it does not have to be a co-branded AA card.

American Airlines can also be earned through SimplyMiles. This program allows any AAdvantage member with a Mastercard to activate personalized offers and earn miles on everyday shopping with popular retailers and service providers such as Uber, Dropbox, Wine Insiders and more.

AAdvantage Dining

Another easy way to earn AAdvantage miles is by linking your credit or debit card to AAdvantage Dining. By doing this you earn miles on meals at restaurants associated with the program. You’ll need to make sure to pay for your meal with your linked card.

Partnership With Shell

AAdvantage members can earn 2 miles for each gallon every time you fill up at participating Shell fuel stations. You’re limited to earning AA miles on 20 gallons per purchase, per vehicle.

All you have to do to get going is:

• Sign up for both an AAdvantage account and a Shell Fuel Rewards account.
• Link your AAdvantage account to your Shell Fuel Rewards account.
• Make sure your first name and last name on both accounts match.
• Switch how you earn by going to the Fuel Rewards app and selecting American Airlines under “Link Partner Accounts.”
• Earn 2 AA miles for each gallon of Shell fuel purchased at participating locations.
• When you opt in to earn AAdvantage miles, you will no longer be eligible for your Gold or Silver status fuel savings.

Buying AAdvantage Miles

Buying miles, especially speculatively, is almost never recommended, even when they appear to be highly discounted. Don’t let a pitch like “get a 100% bonus on miles when you purchase…” fool you. They are still incredibly expensive and there are much better ways to accumulate them—think credit card welcome offers or spending on a co-branded AA card.

Occasionally, there are times when it can make sense to purchase miles, like when you need to top off an account for an award redemption. And if you do plan on buying AAdvantage miles, try waiting around until they go on sale.

An economy award ticket from the United States to Europe can cost as low as 22,500 AAdvantage miles, like this flight from New York (JFK) to Paris (CDG).

If you were to buy those miles, you would have to shell out $778.84, and that is just for one-way. A roundtrip ticket to Europe when buying AAdvantage miles for an award redemption would cost a grand total of $1,354.50, not including the taxes and fees you would pay. That is a high price to pay for an economy ticket to Europe.

That same flight, roundtrip from New York (JFK) to Paris (CDG) on American Airlines costs $801. That is almost half the price you would pay if buying AAdvantage miles.

Other Ways To Earn American Airlines AAdvantage Miles

RocketMiles

One of the lesser known ways to earn AAdvantage miles is by booking hotels through special third-party sites. Websites like RocketMiles give members up to 10,000 miles per night when booking through it.

Hotel Stays

By connecting your hotel loyalty account to your AAdvantage account, you can earn miles with Hyatt, Marriott and IHG hotel stays. Each qualifying night at a Hyatt hotel earns 500 AAdvantage miles, while qualifying charges with Marriott and IHG earn 2 miles per dollar.

World of Hyatt and American Airlines AAdvantage actually have a partnership that allows members of both programs to “double-dip” and earn 1 AA Base Mile for every $1 spent on qualifying Hyatt stays in addition to earning the World of Hyatt points you would normally earn on stays.

Car Rentals

Earn AA miles each time you rent a car with an eligible partner company.

Avis and Budget: 500 base miles for AAdvantage® members. 750 base miles for Citi® / AAdvantage® cardmembers and AAdvantage® Aviator® Mastercard® cardmembers without AAdvantage® status. 1,000 base miles for AAdvantage Platinum Pro®, AAdvantage Platinum® and AAdvantage Gold® members. 1,250 base miles for AAdvantage Executive Platinum® members

• Payless: Earn 500 base miles per rental on all qualifying rentals at participating Payless locations.
• Alamo: Earn 50 base miles per rental day on all qualifying paid rentals at participating Alamo location
• National: Get 50 base miles per rental day on all qualifying paid rentals at participating National locations.
• Hertz: Earn 1 base mile for every $1 spent.
• Dollar: Earn 50 AAdvantage® base miles per rental day at participating Dollar locations worldwide.
• Thrifty: Earn 50 AAdvantage® base miles per rental day at participating Thrifty locations worldwide.

American Airlines Vacations and Cruises

AAdvantage members can earn miles when booking a vacation through American Airlines Vacations. The earnings will vary and change as promotions begin and end.

One example of a current promotion allows members to earn up to 10,000 bonus miles when booking a trip to Aruba. You’ll need to spend at least $3,000 and purchase your vacation package September 1, 2022 through September 30, 2022. Package must also include hotel stays at Aruba (AUA).

You can also earn 1 mile for every $1 spent, up to 10,000 AAdvantage® miles, when you book a cruise through American Airlines. Each eligible mile you earn on your cruise booking also counts as a Loyalty Point and therefore goes towards your elite status qualifications.

Find the Best Travel Credit Cards For 2023

Find the best travel credit card for your travel needs.

Learn More

How To Redeem American Airlines AAdvantage® Miles

On American Airlines Flights

American Airlines is fully dynamic which means that an award redemption cost will reflect the cash price of the same flight. When the cash price is high, the amount of miles you need will also be and vice versa. Despite dynamic pricing, AA still maintains an award chart showing the lowest point costs you can expect to pay. The following chart shows the pricing for one way flights on American Airlines.

 

 

On Flights With Partners

Partner airline flights booked with American Airlines AAdvantage miles can provide outsized value. American Airlines partners with some of the best airlines in the world and those airlines can be booked with your AAdvantage miles. Note that not all partners are bookable online, however, the following airlines are available to book at aa.com:

• Air Tahiti Nui
• Alaska Airlines
• British Airways
• Cape Air
• Cathay Pacific
• Fiji Airways
• Finnair
• GOL Airlines
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Iberia
• Japan Airlines
• JetBlue
• Malaysia Airlines
• Qantas Airways
• Qatar Airways
• Royal Air Maroc
• Royal Jordanian Airlines
• Silver Airways
• SriLankan Airlines

To book an award flight with partners, the process is nearly identical to booking flights on American Airlines. First, head over to aa.com. Then, login and enter your desired flight search. Make sure to tick the small box that shows it’s an award redemption.

Once you initiate the search, you can narrow down your results by airline. For a flight from Seattle (SEA) to Los Angeles (LAX), the airline options are American Airlines, Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air.

You can also see which airline is operating the flight by looking at the results of the search. The “AS” shows that this flight is operated by partner Alaska Airlines.

Fees

Domestic Flights

One of the great things about American Airlines is that it does not tack on any additional fees when flying on an AA plane. For flights within the U.S., AA charges just $5.60 for government imposed security fees with one way award flights.

International Flights

International flights can be slightly higher in taxes due to various countries adding taxes or departure fees, but AA itself does not add on any carrier imposed fees for international flights.

For partners like British Airways, it’s a different story. British Airways is notorious for charging exorbitant fees when routing flights through the U.K.

30,000 AAdvantage miles for a one-way award flight from London (LHR) to Las Angeles (LAX) in economy may look like a pretty decent redemption at first look, but check out those fees––$260.07.

Booking, Change and Cancellation Fees

You have the option to cancel your award redemption at any time through aa.com. Your miles will be reinstated and eligible taxes and fees refunded within a year from the date the ticket was issued, as long as the cancellation is made prior to the first flight’s departure. If you cancel on aa.com, your miles will automatically be reinstated and a refund requested with no fee for the mileage reinstatement.

Infant Fees

American Airlines considers children under two as eligible to fly as a lap infant. Lap infants fly free with American Airlines on domestic tickets, including for both revenue and award flights. For international trips, a lap infant ticket will cost 10% of what the adult’s revenue ticket would cost plus taxes and fees. Children who turn 2 years old during a trip are no longer eligible to ride as a lap infant and will be required to have a seat.

You’ll need to make sure and call into American Airlines reservations in advance and inform them of your lap infant. The phone number for reservations within the United States is 1-800-433-7300.

Sweet Spots

Partner Awards

Dynamic pricing normally favors those with flexibility in their travel plans, and while that’s still mostly the case here, AA cuts you a break when redeeming your miles with partner airlines. A business-class flight to Europe on AA metal, for example, will run at around 78,000 AA miles, but a flight on partner British Airways will run starting at 57,500 miles.

Quirks

Expiration

American Airlines AAdvantage miles are some of the few loyalty programs remaining in which mileage can still expire. AAdvantage miles expire after 24 months of no activity. However, you can prevent your miles from expiring by earning or redeeming any number of AAdvantage miles, and if you have an AAdvantage credit card your miles won’t expire as long as it’s open.

Family Travel

A positive quirk of the program is the consistent MileSAAver award availability in economy class for multiple seats. Families can travel together thanks to this great feature.

This flight from SLC to CDG with just one quick stop, and leaving and arriving at reasonable hours, has six open seats in economy class at the MileSAAver level.

Helping You

Make Smart

Financial Decisions When You Travel

Get Forbes Advisor’s ratings of the best travel credit cards and helpful information on how to utilize travel rewards and benefits to get the best deals for your next adventure.

Thanks & Welcome to the Forbes Advisor Community!

By providing my email I agree to receive Forbes Advisor promotions, offers and additional Forbes Marketplace services. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information and details on how to opt out.

Family Pooling

American Airlines AAdvantage program does not offer free family pooling. Members can “gift” or “transfer” miles to a friend or family member, but it comes at a hefty price. Rather than paying to share miles, you are better off booking the flight with your AAdvantage miles for your friend or family member.

If you still don’t have enough miles for a redemption, before paying for miles, check out some of the ways mentioned above, like using a shopping portal or dining program, to top off your account.

Find the Best Travel Credit Cards For 2023

Find the best travel credit card for your travel needs.

Learn More

Bottom Line

American Airlines AAdvantage loyalty program is a favorite among frequent fliers and for good reason. Not only is it easy to earn AAdvantage miles thanks to several co-branded cards, shopping portals and dining programs, but the miles can be easy to use, especially if you are able to utilize an American Airlines Web Special.