Regular flyers on American Airlines should familiarize themselves with the AAdvantage rewards program. Gaining and redeeming miles is a breeze with the AAdvantage program, and there are many tiers of elite status that provide access to exclusive perks and advantages. Being one of the biggest airlines around the world, passengers have several opportunities to rack up and cash in on miles. Here is information about the program that is required reading.
What is the value of an AAdvantage mile?
Knowing the value of American AAdvantage miles is a necessary first step before exploring the many earning and spending opportunities they provide. The Points Guy, a resource for frequent flyers, estimates that one AAdvantage mile is worth 1.77 cents when redeemed for airfare. However, the value of your miles will change based on how you redeem them. AAdvantage points are only worth 0.6 cents each when used for hotel stays instead of flights. However, if you reserve a first-class airline flight, you might receive more than 2 cents for each mile. In the end, how you use your miles will determine how much they are worth.
AAdvantage Mile Earning Strategies
AAdvantage miles may be earned via a variety of activities, including but not limited to airfare, credit card use, and financial transactions. What makes American Airlines stand out is that numerous of these actions may get you both redeemed miles & Loyalty Credits toward elite status. See below for a breakdown of the many routes to accumulating AAdvantage miles.
Flying Earns AAdvantage Miles
Travelling is, of course, the best method to rack up American Airlines miles. You may earn miles for your AAdvantage account while flying with more than a dozen other airlines, not only American. The amount of miles you gain while flying a member airline varies by cabin & pricing class. To find out how many miles you may earn with AA's partner airlines, just visit their website.
Acquiring American Airlines' frequent flyer points via transfer partners
Unlike with some other airline reward programmes, accumulating AAdvantage points via transfer partners is more difficult. This is because none of the main transferable currency programmes, including Chase Ultimate Rewards & Citi ThankYou Rewards, recognize the AAdvantage programme as a transfer partner. Nevertheless, Bilt Rewards may be transferred to AAdvantage at a scale of 1: 1. You also have the option of transferring your points from Marriott Bonvoy to American Airlines, although the ratio is less beneficial at 3-to-1, and you will only get a bonus of 5,000 credits per every 60,000 credits transferred. Even if having some choices is preferable to having nothing at all, earning AAdvantage miles through transfer partners remains more challenging than it is with other programs.
Other Travel Earns AAdvantage Miles
As a result of American Airlines' many alliances, you may also rack up miles by booking hotel stays and car rentals. Bonus points may be earned on a wide variety of travel expenses, including vehicle rentals, hotel stays, cruises, and vacation packages. For every $1 you spend on a rental vehicle with Hertz, for instance, you'll get one mile back. As an alternative, Avis and Budget offer discounts of up to 35% and the opportunity to rack up extra AAdvantage miles with every rental. You may also rack up extra miles on hotel stays. You may receive up to 10,000 extra miles and 1,000 Reward Points toward elite status with every night you reserve a hotel through American. World of Hyatt offers 1,000 extra points for each two-night residence until Sept. 5, 2022. Last but not least, for each penny invested on eligible fees throughout your Marriott Bonvoy accommodations, you'll get two miles.
Dining Earns AAdvantage Miles
If you use the AAdvantage Dining program, you may rack up miles with each meal you purchase. You may earn up to 5 extra miles for every penny spent at a partner restaurant after signing up, registering your credit card, and making a dining reservation. Those who join AAdvantage Dining & spend $25 within 30 days while also writing a review are eligible for 1,000 extra miles. As a regular diner, you may take advantage of the program's extra perks that help you rack up even more miles. If you use the AAdvantage Platinum card when eating out, you may earn up to 7 miles every dollar.
Donating Earns AAdvantage Miles
Consider making a contribution to rising Up to Leukemia if you are looking for a way to help a worthy cause & receive AAdvantage miles at the same time. Contributions of $25 or more are rewarded with 10 miles every dollar via the organization's partnership with American Airlines. These gifts, which are eligible for the tax deduction, are an excellent method to increase your AAdvantage account and prevent your miles from becoming invalid.
Steps for Cashing in Your American AAdvantage Miles
The ideal way to redeem AAdvantage miles requires some forethought. Award availability may be low, particularly during busy travel times. On the other hand, there is an undeniable benefit to be gained. If you have a large amount of AAdvantage points, there are many ways you may spend them, but booking a trip is where your miles will be most valuable.
Book a Flight Using Your Accumulated American AAdvantage Miles
The greatest method to maximize the value of your AAdvantage points is to use them for airfare. It's important to note that American Airlines seems to have an extensive system of partner airlines which allows you to use your miles for trips anywhere in the world.
American AAdvantage Miles May Be Redeemed Via Travel Partners
AAdvantage members may use their points for more than just plane tickets. You may use your American Airlines points for airfare, auto rentals, hotels, and vacation packages. Typically, you may expect to earn about 0.6 cents a mile for such reservations. That's a lot lower than what you'd get if you redeemed points for a plane ticket.
Donate and Be Rewarded With American Airlines Points
Your AAdvantage miles will expire if they are unused for two years. Donating a modest amount of AAdvantage miles is a great strategy to prevent them from ending; unfortunately, you won't receive much value in exchange. You may receive up to ten miles per dollar contributed while flying American and making a gift of $25 or more to rise Up to Leukemia via American's connection with the organization.
Bottom line
American Airlines, in general, has a great loyalty program. Flying and the airline's many alliance partners make it simple to accumulate points. In addition, there is a wide variety of opportunities to cash in those miles, and regular flyers and heavy spenders may take advantage of a number of perks designed to improve the experience of air travel.
