The AAdvantage® program is the frequent flier program for American Airlines, and it rewards frequent flyers for their travel with American Airlines. As a member, you’ll be able to earn points (also called “miles”) and work your way toward elite status, which offers benefits like free checked bags and seat upgrades. As a standard AAdvantage member, the biggest benefit you’ll get is the ability to earn miles on American Airlines tickets, as well as car rentals, hotel stays, cruises and vacation packages.
AAdvantage members earn points when they spend money with American, and those points can be redeemed for free flights and other perks. You can also utilize this program to earn elite status and all the VIP privileges it affords. For every dollar you spend with the airline — or one of its partners — you’ll get 5 miles. Elite status members earn anywhere from 7 to 11 miles per dollar spent with American, depending on their status tier.
If you’re eager to travel and hoping to pool your loyalty with a single airline, the American AAdvantage program is worth considering. Our comprehensive guide explains what you need to know about this program.
| American Airlines AAdvantage quick facts | |
|---|---|
| Airline lounges | Admirals Clubs®, Joint Premium Lounges, Flagship® Lounges and an Arrivals Lounge in London Heathrow. |
| Countries served | 350 destinations in more than 60 countries |
| Hub airports (U.S.) | Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. |
| Airline alliance | oneworld Alliance |
| How many AAdvantage miles for a flight? | Domestic flights start at 7,500 miles |
| American Airlines miles value | 1.8 cents |
| Do American Airlines miles expire? | Yes, American Airlines miles expire after 24 months with no activity. |
We estimate that American Airlines miles are worth on average 1.8 cents per mile. This is the highest value of the five major domestic airlines, though a lot of that will depend on how you choose to redeem your miles. You can find lower as well as higher values than this per mile, depending on how much work you put into it and how flexible you are with your travel plans.
| Usability overall score = 3.7 (Good) | |
|---|---|
| Miles expiration | 4 out of 5 |
| Flight network | 4.5 out of 5 |
| Award availability | 4 out of 5 |
| Ease of booking | 4 out of 5 |
| Complexity | 1.5 out of 5 |
Joining the AAdvantage frequent flier program is free, and there is really no reason not to join the program itself. But whether it makes sense to chase after American AAdvantage elite status will depend on your individual travel patterns. As a general rule, pursuing American Airlines AAdvantage elite status is worth it if you fly with American often enough to earn the status organically. While the lack of an award chart can make finding deals challenging, there are enough deals (especially on domestic economy flights) that can make earning American AAdvantage miles worth it.
American Airlines is a member of the oneworld Alliance and also partners with several different non-alliance airlines. The exact details vary depending on the specific partner, but generally you can earn AAdvantage miles when you fly on a partner airline and also redeem AAdvantage miles for trips with American Airlines partners. You can also usually get the benefits of your AAdvantage elite status when flying partner airlines.
The oneworld Alliance includes 13 different airlines that partner together to help you travel worldwide. The alliance has three different elite status tiers (Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald) that are recognized by all of the member airlines. Earning AAdvantage status will also give you a corresponding oneworld elite status and the benefits that come with that status.
Here is a list of the oneworld Alliance members:
American Airlines also has 11 other non-alliance partners:
The exact level of partnership varies by the individual airline, but generally includes some level of reciprocal miles earning and benefits. If you have AAdvantage miles or elite status and want to fly one of these non-alliance partners, it’s best to check out the American Airlines airline partner page to see exactly what benefits you can expect.
As an American Airlines frequent flyer, you can earn miles toward free travel by buying American Airlines tickets, using American Airlines’s co-branded credit cards and shopping on the airline’s online portal. The options below will help you get the most mileage from your AAdvantage membership.
The simplest way to earn American Airlines miles is to buy flights on American Airlines or one of the carrier’s partners.
The airline uses a revenue-based miles earning system, which means you earn miles based on how much you spend. This is in contrast to a distance-based system, which awards points for every physical mile you fly.
If you’re a new AAdvantage member and don’t have elite status, you’ll have a base earning rate of 5 miles per dollar on plane tickets.
| AAdvantage membership level | Base miles per dollar spent |
|---|---|
| General member | 5 |
| Gold | 7 |
| Platinum | 8 |
| Platinum Pro | 9 |
| Executive Platinum | 11 |
There are a few ways that you can increase the number of miles you earn per dollar:
The example below illustrates how a $1,000 fare earns vastly different award miles depending on its fare class:
| First Class (F) and First Class (A) | Business Class (J) | Business Class (D) | Business Class (R) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base miles at 5 miles per dollar | 5,000 | 5,000 | 5,000 | 5,000 |
| Bonus miles | 5,000 | 5,000 | 3,750 | 2,500 |
| Fare class bonus | 100% | 100% | 75% | 50% |
| Total miles earned | 10,000 | 10,000 | 8,750 | 7,500 |
You’ll earn miles when you fly with American Airlines, but you can also earn miles when you fly with its oneworld airline partners. The number of miles varies depending on the airline and the fare class you select.
When you fly on a partner airline, such as British Airways, you typically earn miles based on the number of miles flown with an added cabin bonus for first class, business class and premium economy fares.
The American Airlines partners page can tell you everything you need to know about earning miles with each oneworld partner. Be aware that this changes frequently, so you should check back before you book to find out how many miles you can expect to earn.
Second to earning miles with paid flights, the most effective and consistent way to earn AAdvantage miles is to open an American Airlines credit card and use it for your everyday purchases.
| Card | Earning rate | Sign-up bonus | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Card | Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for each $1 spent at grocery stores, including grocery delivery services. Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases. | Earn 15,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after making $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. | $0 |
| Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® | Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles per $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases, and on purchases at telecommunications merchants, cable and satellite providers, car rental merchants and at gas stations. Earn 1 AAdvantage® mile per $1 spent on other purchases. Earn 1 Loyalty Point for every 1 eligible AAdvantage® mile earned from purchases. | For a limited time, earn 75,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $5,000 in purchases within the first 5 months of account opening. | $99, waived for first 12 months |
| Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® | 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 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $2,500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. | $99, waived for first 12 months |
| Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® | Earn 1 Loyalty Point for every 1 eligible AAdvantage® mile earned from purchases | Earn 70,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $7,000 within the first 3 months of account opening. | $595 |
| AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard® | Earn 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases and 1 AAdvantage® mile per $1 spent on all other purchases | Earn 60,000 AAdvantage® bonus miles after making your first purchase and paying the $99 annual fee in full, both within the first 90 days. | $99 |
You’ll earn at least 1 mile per dollar on every purchase you make. Premium cards earn 2 miles per dollar on American Airlines purchases, and some cards will also earn 2 miles per dollar in bonus categories like gas, groceries and restaurants.
Another way to earn points for your everyday purchases is to sign up for AAdvantage Dining. This program allows you to earn miles for every qualifying purchase you make at an affiliated restaurant. You can check for restaurants in your area at the AAdvantage Dining website.
To join AAdvantage Dining, all you have to do is sign up for an account and link your debit and credit cards. You’ll automatically earn miles each time you spend at an eligible restaurant at the following rate:
AAdvantage members can get extra miles for online shopping by making purchases through the AAdvantage eShopping portal. Through the portal, you can shop at hundreds of hotels, booking companies, clothing companies and other retailers, earning miles on each purchase. There are also one-time bonus offers that reward you with a few thousand miles for making a purchase at a select retailer.
You can also rack up miles when you book other types of travel with American Airlines. Partners include select rental car partners and hotel brands like Hertz, Avis, Hyatt, Marriott and Best Western.
The number of miles varies depending on the travel you book, but it’s possible to earn up to 500 miles or more per car rental or 500 miles or more per hotel stay.
You can book entire vacation packages through American Airlines, and you’ll earn bonus miles and Loyalty Points when you do. The deals change all the time, but you could earn 20,000 miles (or more) for purchasing a vacation package with hotel and airfare included. You can frequently score special discounts or upgrades in these packages, so make sure to check them often.
You can earn AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points when you book select cruises through the American AAdvantage program. All the major cruise lines are available, including brands like Carnival and Royal Caribbean.
Buying miles should be a last resort option, as purchased miles are often priced unfavorably.
On the American Airlines website, you can buy up to 150,000 miles. Keep in mind that they don’t come cheap: The current going rate for 10,000 miles is $376.25 (3.76 cents per mile). American Airlines does occasionally run promotions on buying points, where you can buy miles at a discount or get bonus miles with your purchase. If you are looking to buy American Airlines miles, try to time your purchase for one of these promotion periods.
If you’ve already checked in, you can still add Mileage Multiplier up to 45 minutes before your flight departure time. To do this, you can either go to an airport kiosk to reprint your boarding pass or you can log into your account at AA.com, click “My reservations” and choose the Mileage Multiplier option. You can even request to add the Mileage Multiplier option after your flight.
American Airlines bonus miles purchased through Mileage Multiplier should post rather quickly and may even hit your account before your plane touches down.
It’s important to note, though, that bonus miles purchased through Mileage Multiplier won’t count toward AA elite status qualification and can’t be transferred to a family member or friend.
American has over 1,000 partners that can help you earn miles. These companies offer goods and services in a range of categories, including business products, financial services, home, health and even charities. You can earn anywhere from a few hundred miles for taking a survey to tens of thousands of miles for buying a house.
Here are a few more ways to pump up the balance in your AAdvantage account:
Of course, it only makes sense to buy or sign up for a product or service if it actually will benefit you. But if you’re in the market for one of these items or already thinking of making a purchase anyway, it may make sense to rack up AAdvantage miles at the same time.
Once you’ve accumulated AAdvantage miles, you can use them on award travel, upgrades, lounge access, vacation packages and Main cabin seat selection. You can also use your miles to purchase newspaper subscriptions, or donate them to important causes and nonprofit organizations.
One of the most valuable options for redeeming miles is on American Airlines tickets. You can do this online at American Airlines’ award booking portal. American Airlines no longer has a published fixed award chart — instead, the number of miles needed for a flight redemption changes depending on time of year, cabin and destination.
Since American Airlines now uses dynamic pricing, the number of miles for a flight varies depending on time of year, cabin and destination. American does have somewhat of an award chart, but lists the prices on its award chart as “starting from.” Examples include:
However, it’s not uncommon for the actual cost in miles to be several times those amounts, depending on where and when you’re looking to fly. It’s also possible to see domestic economy flights as low as 6,000 miles one way.
To redeem American miles on a partner airline, you can’t actually transfer your miles from AAdvantage to that partner. Rather, you redeem your miles through the American Airlines AAdvantage program for a flight on the partner airline. Not all partners are searchable on AA.com, so you may need to search the partner site to find the flight then call AAdvantage customer service at 800-882-8880 to book. Using AA miles to book on partner airlines can be a good source to find outstanding value for your miles.
On most American Airlines flights, you can use your miles to move up to the next cabin. However, American Airlines upgrades may or may not be a good value depending on the itinerary you book and the normal cash price. Here is the cost to upgrade with miles:
Make sure to compare the full cash price of a flight and the cost of upgrading later before you select this option.
In 2023, American replaced its three metrics for earning status (EQDs, EQMs, EQSs) with a single metric: Loyalty Points. You can earn Loyalty Points in a variety of ways:
This is a simpler system for earning elite status, but you may have to spend quite a bit more to earn the same level of status.
For example, previously you needed 20,000 Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) to earn Gold elite status. Now you’ll need double the Loyalty Points (and potentially double the spending) to earn the same status.
Here is how many Loyalty Points you’ll need to qualify for each level of AAdvantage status.
| American AAdvantage Status Qualifications | Gold | Platinum | Platinum Pro | Executive Platinum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loyalty Points (LPs) | 40,000 | 75,000 | 125,000 | 200,000 |
The level of benefits you receive from American Airlines elite status vary depending on how high you climb on the elite status ladder. Obviously, Gold benefits are less substantial than perks for Executive Platinum elites, but all levels of status come with some incentives. Here are the main perks of status you can expect with each tier:
| Basic member | Gold | Platinum | Platinum Pro | Executive Platinum | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miles earned per $1 spent on flights | 5 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 |
| Free checked bags | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Same-day flight change fees | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Upgrades confirmed before departure as early as | N/A | 24 hours | 48 hours | 72 hours | 100 hours |
| Free Main Cabin Extra and Preferred seats | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Airport lounge access (when flying internationally) | No | No | Business Class and frequent flier lounges | First and Business Class and frequent flier lounges | First and Business Class and frequent flier lounges |
The American Airlines AAdvantage program is free to join.
You can find your American AAdvantage number by logging into your American AAdvantage account. Your AAdvantage number is made up of a combination of letters and numbers and it will be listed prominently on the home page under your name.
The American AAdvantage program is a frequent flier program that awards its members with miles when they fly or make qualifying purchases. You can redeem your miles for free flights, flight upgrades, vacation packages, charitable contributions and more.
You can add a past flight to your AAdvantage account on American’s website as long as it’s been at least three days since your flight. You just need to add your AAdvantage number and the 13-digit ticket number from your flight.
Yes, you can transfer AAdvantage miles from one account to another, but it comes with a cost. It costs $15 per 1,000 miles to transfer AAdvantage miles to another account.
Yes, American AAdvantage miles expire after 24 months of inactivity on your account. So make sure to have at least some amount of earning or redeeming miles within that period to keep your account active.
To sign up for the American AAdvantage program, all you have to do is head to the AA.com website and select the option to create a new account. From there, you’ll provide basic information like your name, address, birthdate, gender and contact information. You’ll also answer some security questions that’ll be used to protect your account information and your miles.
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