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As a number of the most useful U.S. airline rewards, there are numerous methods to redeem American Airways miles. The airline has a plethora of Oneworld and non-alliance companions, so you possibly can redeem AAdvantage miles for journey to many locations on numerous airways.
And now, American has sweetened the deal on its Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Choose® World Elite Mastercard®, so for a restricted time, you possibly can earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $3,500 inside the first 4 months of account opening.
On this information, we’ll discover a number of the many strategies you possibly can earn American Airways AAdvantage miles.
However first, two notes. Be certain that to create a free AAdvantage account on the American Airways web site, as you’ll want one earlier than you possibly can earn AAdvantage miles. And notice that just some American Airways miles are Loyalty Level-eligible — so examine our information about how you can earn Loyalty Factors in case you’re additionally all for incomes American Airways elite standing.
Earn American miles by flying
Incomes AAdvantage miles by flying might appear to be it wants no rationalization, however the way you earn miles for flying has modified through the years. Right here’s how you can earn AAdvantage miles flying on American and its companions.
Flying on American Airways
When flying on American Airways, you’ll sometimes earn miles based on the bottom worth of your ticket minus taxes and costs. The miles you earn additionally range primarily based in your AAdvantage elite standing. As you’d anticipate, the upper your standing, the extra miles you will earn.
Right here’s what number of miles every standing tier earns per greenback spent:
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- No standing: 5 miles.
- Gold: 7 miles.
- Platinum: 8 miles.
- Platinum Professional: 9 miles.
- Govt Platinum: 11 miles.
So in case you purchase a one-way American Airways ticket from Miami Worldwide Airport (MIA) to Los Angeles Worldwide Airport (LAX) that prices $120 and contains $20 in taxes (notice that we’ve rounded these quantities), you’d sometimes earn 500 miles ($100 at 5 miles per greenback) as an AAdvantage member with out elite standing. In the meantime, an Govt Platinum member sometimes earns 1,100 miles on the identical ticket.
Nevertheless, watch out for American Airways’ particular fares, as these fares earn primarily based on the fare class and distance flown as an alternative of the particular fare paid. American Airways’ web site says you might earn primarily based on particular fares in case you ebook via a “specialised agent, third occasion or as a part of a bundle together with air transportation and lodging.”
Flying with companions
Whenever you fly with an American Airways accomplice, you possibly can earn American miles in two methods. If the accomplice flight was booked via American and ticketed on American Airways ticket inventory, you’d earn miles the identical as in case you have been flying on an American Airways flight. That is typically the case in case you ebook a ticket operated by a accomplice airline on the American Airways web site.
The way you earn American miles modifications if you ebook a ticket on a accomplice’s web site and add your AAdvantage quantity to the reservation. On this case, you’ll earn miles primarily based in your flight distance. Nevertheless, the precise incomes charge depends upon the fare class of your ticket. Right here’s an instance of the incomes chart for British Airways-operated flights:
You may see your fare class by taking a look at your e-ticket or by calling the airline and asking.
When you’ve situated the fare class, go to American’s record of accomplice airways, click on on the working provider of your flight and discover the corresponding fare class on that record. Then, multiply the mileage flown (use Nice Circle Mapper to shortly calculate the space between two airports) by the share within the fare class column.
When you’re flying in a premium fare class, you’ll additionally earn the bonus listed within the “Cabin bonus” column. And AAdvantage elite members earn bonus miles along with base miles on the following charges when flying on eligible accomplice airways:
- Gold: 40%.
- Platinum: 60%.
- Platinum Professional: 80%.
- Govt Platinum: 120%.
For instance, as an instance you’re a normal AAdvantage member flying British Airways enterprise class within the C fare class from Los Angeles to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR). In accordance with the above chart, you’ll earn 100% base miles plus a 150% cabin bonus. Because the flight clocks in at 5,456 miles, this comes out to 13,640 AAdvantage miles earned every manner. However, an Govt Platinum member flying on this identical ticket would earn 6,547 extra miles every manner because of the 120% elite bonus.
Associated: Fast Factors: Earn American AAdvantage standing shortly with accomplice flights
Earn American miles via bank cards
Past flying, one of many best methods to earn American AAdvantage miles is thru sign-up bonuses and spending on American Airways playing cards. Citi and Barclays presently concern AAdvantage bank cards that allow you to earn American Airways miles when utilizing your card for purchases.
Citi’s American AAdvantage portfolio is probably the most engaging of the 2 issuers if you wish to earn miles on on a regular basis bank card spending. Listed below are the sign-up bonuses and incomes charges on a number of the currently-available Citi AAdvantage playing cards:
- Citi® / AAdvantage® Govt World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 50,000 miles after you spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. Earn 2 miles per greenback on eligible American Airways purchases. Earn 1 mile per greenback spent on different purchases. This card has a $450 annual price.
- Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Choose® World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 75,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,500 on purchases within the first 4 months of account opening. Plus, earn 2 miles per greenback spent at gasoline stations, eating places and on eligible American Airways purchases and 1 mile per greenback spent on all different purchases. This card has a $99 annual price that is waived for the primary 12 months.
- CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Choose® Mastercard®: Earn 65,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 on purchases inside the first 4 months of account opening. Plus, earn 2 miles per greenback spent on eligible American Airways purchases and purchases at telecommunications retailers, cable and satellite tv for pc suppliers, automobile rental retailers and gasoline stations. Earn 1 mile per greenback on all different purchases. This card has a $99 annual price that is waived for the primary 12 months.
- American Airways AAdvantage® MileUp®: Earn 10,000 bonus miles and a $50 assertion credit score after you spend $500 on purchases inside the first three months of account opening. Plus, earn 2 miles per greenback spent at grocery shops and on eligible American Airways purchases and 1 mile per greenback spent on all different purchases. This card has no annual price.
The data for the CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum card has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or offered by the cardboard issuer.
Then again, Barclays gives a number of American AAdvantage playing cards. Listed below are two Barclays AAdvantage playing cards which might be presently open to new candidates:
- AAdvantage® Aviator ®Purple World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 50,000 AAdvantage bonus miles after making your first buy and paying the $99 annual price in full, each inside the first 90 days. Earn 2 AAdvantage miles per greenback spent on eligible American Airways purchases and 1 mile per greenback spent on all different purchases.
- AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Enterprise Mastercard®: Earn 60,000 AAdvantage after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first 90 days, and earn 10,000 bonus miles after a purchase order is made on an worker card. Earn 2 AAdvantage miles per greenback spent at eligible workplace provide, telecommunications and automobile rental retailers and on eligible American Airways purchases. Earn 1 mile per greenback on all different purchases. This card has a $95 annual price.
The data for the AAdvantage Aviator Purple and AAdvantage Aviator Enterprise playing cards has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or offered by the cardboard issuer.
If you’d like American Airways standing, notice that miles earned from sign-up bonuses and class bonuses on spending aren’t Loyalty Level eligible. As such, you’ll earn simply 1 Loyalty Level per greenback spent on the AAdvantage talked about above bank cards.
Associated: What it’s essential to find out about incomes one other American Airways card sign-up bonus
Earn American miles via companions
You can too earn American miles (and even Loyalty Level-eligible miles, in some circumstances) via AAdvantage companions. You could earn miles via companions for actions you already do, like buying, eating and banking.
AAdvantage eShopping mall
The American Airways AAdvantage eShopping portal awards miles in your on-line purchases.
Utilizing the portal is straightforward: Join an account and click on via to your service provider of selection on AAdvantage eShopping earlier than making a purchase order. By clicking via the AAdvantage eShopping portal slightly than going on to the service provider’s web site, you’ll earn AAdvantage miles on prime of the rewards you’d already be incomes if you use a rewards bank card to make your buy.
Associated: Maximizing buying portals to your on-line purchases
AAdvantage Eating
Consider American Airways AAdvantage Eating as a buying portal for consuming out. Simply join an account, hyperlink your favourite bank cards and earn miles if you swipe one at taking part eating places.
You may earn:
- 5 AAdvantage miles per greenback in case you’re a VIP member (turn out to be a VIP member via the top of the following calendar 12 months after you make 11 transactions in a calendar 12 months and elect to obtain emails from AAdvantage Eating).
- 3 AAdvantage miles per greenback in case you’re a choose member (turn out to be a choose member by opting to obtain emails from AAdvantage Eating).
- 1 AAdvantage mile per greenback in case you’re a primary member.
Like a buying portal, the miles you earn via AAdvantage Eating are along with the usual charges on the bank card you utilize, so you’ll want to pay with the most effective playing cards for eating.
Associated: 11 of probably the most beneficiant airline and lodge eating rewards applications
Switch factors from lodge applications
You may switch lodge factors from numerous applications straight into your AAdvantage account. Whereas most provide a comparatively poor worth proposition, one exception is Marriott Bonvoy.
Marriott factors switch to American AAdvantage at a ratio of three Marriott factors to 1 AAdvantage mile. In contrast to most Marriott airline switch applications, you will not earn an additional 5,000 miles for each 60,000 Marriott factors you switch.
Associated: Right here’s what it’s best to know earlier than transferring Marriott factors to airline miles
Switch factors from Bilt Rewards
Bilt Rewards is a loyalty program for renters. You should use the Bilt Mastercard® (see charges and costs) to earn factors if you pay lease and make different purchases. Then, you possibly can switch Bilt factors to numerous switch companions, together with AAdvantage, at a 1:1 switch ratio.
Editor’s notice: TPG founder Brian Kelly is a Bilt advisor and investor.
Resort stays
There are a number of methods to earn AAdvantage miles in your lodge bookings.
The primary is reserving motels straight via Hyatt, Marriott and IHG. Every lodge loyalty program allows you to earn AAdvantage miles as an alternative of normal lodge factors in case you set your incomes desire to AAdvantage miles in your member profile. Particularly, you possibly can earn American Airways miles on the following charges:
- World of Hyatt: 500 miles per keep.
- Marriott Bonvoy: 1 to 2 miles per greenback spent.
- IHG One Rewards: 1 to 2 miles per greenback spent.
Be certain that to check the variety of lodge factors you’d earn with the variety of AAdvantage miles you’d earn earlier than opting to earn AAdvantage miles. You’ll often come out forward if you earn lodge factors as an alternative of airline miles in your lodge stays.
As well as, there is a separate solution to hold your Hyatt incomes desire as factors and nonetheless earn miles in your stays, thanks. If in case you have elite standing American (and hyperlink your accounts right here), you will earn 1 AAdvantage mile for each $1 spent on Hyatt stays.
On this instance from TPG director of content material Nick Ewen, he paid a base charge of $152 for a one-night keep, and along with incomes World of Hyatt factors, he took dwelling 152 American miles, and people additionally counted as Loyalty Factors.
Word that World of Hyatt elites also can earn bonus Hyatt factors on American-operated flights (1 factors per greenback on the bottom fare), so when you’ve got standing with each applications, it is a good way to double-dip. Simply ensure your accounts are linked.
Exterior of the most important lodge loyalty applications, you may as well earn AAdvantage miles on lodge stays by reserving motels via Rocketmiles. You may earn as much as 10,000 miles per evening, with promoted and dearer motels typically incomes probably the most miles. Nevertheless, Rocketmiles generally costs motels larger than in case you booked straight. So cross-check costs earlier than reserving a keep.
Lastly, reserving via American Airways Resorts can earn AAdvantage miles on lodge stays. Reserving.com powers this platform, so that you’ll discover numerous lodge choices. As with Rocketmiles, American says you possibly can earn as much as 10,000 miles per evening when reserving via American Airways Resorts. Nevertheless, just some motels provide AAdvantage miles via this platform, and plenty of provide fewer than 10,000 miles per evening. So that you’ll should be versatile to maximise this reserving methodology.
Associated: We examined incomes American Airways miles for 3 totally different lodge stays — right here’s what we discovered
E book trip packages with American Airways Holidays
You may earn miles on trip packages by reserving via American Airways Holidays. With American Airways Holidays, you possibly can ebook flights, motels and automobile leases as a bundle and make the most of discounted charges. You’ll additionally earn at the very least 1,000 AAdvantage miles on all packages booked via American Airways Holidays.
You may earn extra miles by reserving lodge stays at a lodge with a bonus. These motels are listed on American Airways Holidays’ promotions web page and are up to date repeatedly. The very best gives I see now provide as much as 25,000 AAdvantage miles per keep, however generally you’ll see gives for as much as 30,000 AAdvantage miles per keep.
You could need to examine the promotions web page on the American Airways Holidays website earlier than you ebook your subsequent trip. However keep in mind that you possible received’t earn lodge factors or get lodge elite standing advantages if you ebook motels via American Airways Holidays, as you often have to ebook straight with the lodge to make the most of these advantages.
Associated: Wish to earn Loyalty Factors? Right here’s why reserving via American Airways Holidays isn’t at all times greatest
E book your cruise with American Airways Cruises
You may earn American Airways miles when reserving a cruise with American Airways. As a normal AAdvantage member, you possibly can earn 1 mile per greenback (as much as 10,000 AAdvantage miles per reserving) for cruises via Dec. 31, 2025. Better of all, this incomes is Loyalty Level-eligible.
AAdvantage cardholders can earn a further 1 mile per greenback (as much as 10,000 extra AAdvantage miles per reserving) for cruises via Dec. 31, 2024, however these further miles aren’t Loyalty Level eligible.
Look ahead to promotions via American Airways Cruises that present further perks like onboard credit and cabin upgrades in your crusing.
Different methods to earn miles with AAdvantage companions
This part coated only a sampling of American Airways’ many companions. You may see the total record on American’s web site, however right here’s a fast glimpse at a number of the different methods to earn American miles with AAdvantage companions:
- Rental vehicles: American companions with all kinds of automobile rental companions.
- Charity: You may earn AAdvantage miles by donating to Stand Up To Most cancers. When donating over $25, you’ll earn 10 miles per greenback donated to the charity, which raises funds for most cancers analysis and consciousness applications.
- Bask Financial institution: Bask Financial institution and American Airways have a partnership that lets AAdvantage members earn curiosity in miles.
- SimplyMiles: American gives a program referred to as SimplyMiles that permits you to earn miles on on a regular basis purchases with choose retailers. To take part, you have to be a U.S.-based member, enroll within the give you need to use earlier than making an eligible buy and use a Mastercard you’ve enrolled in this system when making your eligible buy.
- Fuel: When filling up at a Shell location, you possibly can earn 2 miles per gallon of gas via the Gasoline Rewards program. Join right here and use the most effective playing cards for gasoline purchases in your subsequent fill-up.
Backside line
Regardless of AAdvantage not partnering with many transferable factors applications, you possibly can simply earn miles by flying, spending on cobranded bank cards, opening a financial savings account and buying with quite a few retail companions.
When you select the bank card route, we advocate signing up for the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Choose World Elite Mastercard. This card has an elevated welcome bonus and gives bonus classes for purchases with American Airways, gasoline stations and eating places. And in case you’re searching for concepts on redeeming American Airways miles, try our publish on one of the best candy spots within the American Airways AAdvantage program.
Extra reporting by Ehsan Haque and Kyle Olsen.
For charges and costs of the Bilt Mastercard, click on right here.
For rewards and advantages of the Bilt Mastercard, click on right here.