American Airlines is one of the largest airlines in the world, with the most commercial flights in operation at any given time.AAdvantage is American Airlines’s loyalty program, which is very useful not only for unlocking American Airlines flights at a discount, but also for accessing award flights with other Oneworld carriers.In this guide, we’ll cover everything there is to know about American Airlines AAdvantage, including how to optimize your earning and redemptions within the program.
Earning American Airlines AAdvantage Miles
For Canadians, and even for Americans, earning American Airlines AAdvantage miles is quite difficult, although it’s not impossible. With fewer transfer partners than other programs, and therefore fewer avenues to earn miles, you'll just have to be more intentional with your earning approach.
Transferring Points to AAdvantage Miles
One of the easiest ways to rack up airline loyalty miles is to transfer points from a major credit card or bank program to a frequent flyer program.With the American Airlines AAdvantage program, it’s no different; however, unlike a majority of airline loyalty programs, AAdvantage doesn’t have as many credit card transfer partnerships.In fact, the only bank or credit card transfer option is through RBC Avion. You can transfer RBC Avion points to AAdvantage miles at a rate of 1:0.7, with the occasional transfer bonus making the rate more favourable.![](https://pftraveldev.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-14-at-1.33.17-PM.png)
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Credit Cards
While there aren’t any Canadian-issued credit cards that earn AAdvantage miles, there are a fair number of US-issued credit cards offered by CitiBank and Barclays.Depending on the card, you can earn between 10,000–80,000 AAdvantage miles as a welcome bonus, with the ability to earn more AAdvantage miles by using your credit card for daily spending.Most cards earn 2 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent on American Airlines, as well as on card-specific categories. Otherwise, you'll earn a base rate of 1 mile per dollar spent.All of these cards, along with their earn rates and current welcome bonuses, can be found on the American Airlines website.Earn Miles by Flying
You can also earn AAdvantage miles when you book with cash and fly with American Airlines, other Oneworld airlines, or some other airlines outside of the Oneworld Alliance.The AAdvantage earning structure differs depending on the airline you’re flying with. All airline partners, and the number of AAdvantage miles you’ll earn with each, can be found on the American Airlines website.If you’ve paid for an American Airlines flight with cash, you’ll earn AAdvantage miles based on the amount you spend on the base fare plus carrier-imposed surcharges, but excluding government-imposed taxes and fees.Furthermore, the amount you earn fluctuates depending on your status. Passengers will earn the following amount of AAdvantage miles on the base fare plus carrier-imposed fees:- AAdvantage member: 5 AAdvantage miles per US dollar spent
- AAdvantage Gold: 7 AAdvantage miles per US dollar spent
- AAdvantage Platinum: 8 AAdvantage miles per US dollar spent
- AAdvantage Platinum Pro: 9 AAdvantage miles per US dollar spent
- AAdvantage Executive Platinum: 11 AAdvantage miles per US dollar spent
Shopping Portal
In addition to transferring points into the AAdvantage program and earning miles from paid flights, you can earn AAdvantage miles by shopping through the aadvantageeshopping.com portal.![](https://pftraveldev.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-14-at-1.48.22-PM.png)
Buy AAdvantage Miles
By far the fastest way of acquiring AAdvantage miles is to buy them outright. American Airlines allows you to purchase AAdvantage miles at a regular rate of 3.5 US cents per mile.The airline tends to run promotions from time to time that offer discounts on AAdvantage miles if you purchase a certain amount. As always, it's best to wait for one of the better promotions if you're looking to pad your balance this way.Other Ways to Earn AAdvantage Miles
In addition to the above, AAdvantage miles can also be earned through a variety of travel activities. These include, cruises, hotel stays, and car rentals. For example, you can earn up to 10,000 miles per night with American Airlines Hotels.Just how many AAdvantage miles you can earn for staying at hotels and renting vehicles depends on the hotel you stay at and the car rental company you book through.For hotels, you can earn 2 AAdvantage miles for every US dollar spent at Marriott and InterContinental Hotels, and 500 AAdvantage miles for each stay at eligible Hyatt properties.![](https://pftraveldev.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/intercontinental-bora-bora-4001642118-2x1-2-e1669080701922.jpeg)
Redeeming American Airlines AAdvantage Miles
The best value to be found in the American Airlines’s AAdvantage program is by redeeming your miles for flights.
Flights
American Airlines has a region-based award chart for redeeming AAdvantage miles on American Airlines flights. In April 2023, it officially shifted to a dynamic pricing model, even though flights were already subject to dynamic pricing prior to it taking effect.For flights with American Airlines, the award chart lists the minimum prices you can expect to find for award bookings in different classes of service to various parts of the world.![](https://pftraveldev.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-06-at-9.36.21-AM-1.png)
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Other Ways to Redeem AAdvantage Miles
While you’ll always get the most value out of your AAdvantage miles by booking award flight tickets, you can also use your AAdvantage miles for car rentals, hotels, or other vacation packages.In general, it’s advisable to avoid this, as you’ll be getting suboptimal value out of your AAdvantage miles. You’re much better off saving your AAdvantage miles for flights.There are more than 100 Admirals Club lounges and partner lounges, and American Airlines allows AAdvantage members the opportunity to use AAdvantage miles to purchase either day passes or annual memberships.An annual membership will get you access to these lounges with up to two guests in tow.A day pass costs 5,900 AAdvantage miles, while the price of an annual membership fluctuates depending on your AAdvantage status level. A new annual membership for an individual ranges from 55,000–65,000 AAdvantage miles.You can also purchase these same day-passes and annual memberships with cash instead of using AAdvantage miles. It's important to note that the AAdvantage miles required price out at 1 cent per mile (USD), which isn't necessarily a great deal.![](https://pftraveldev.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/176_image-asset.jpg)
American Airlines AAdvantage Sweet Spots
While there are many ways to redeem AAdvantage miles, the program has several sweet spots that you should be aware of.
Booking with Partner Airlines
While AAdvantage miles are great if you want to book American Airlines flights, arguably the best value lies in booking premium cabins with partner airlines.Similar to the American Airlines award chart, the flight award chart for Oneworld and other partner airlines is region-based.![](https://pftraveldev.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-14-at-3.11.44-PM.png)
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American Airlines AAdvantage Tips & Tricks
If you're looking to redeem American Airlines AAdvantage miles, here are a few tips and tricks to help along the way.
Calendar Search Function
Even if you never fly with American Airlines or earn a single AAdvantage mile, you should know about American Airlines's powerful search function.If you’re looking for award availability for any Oneworld products, such as Japan Airlines First Class or Qatar Airways Qsuites, American Airlines’s online booking tool is the best place to search.This is because American Airlines allows you to search for award flights without having to create an account. What's more, you can select calendar view, and search award space between two locations for an entire month at a time.It’s really easy to use and navigate, and once you find the flight you’re looking for, you can then either book it with AAdvantage miles, or with your other Oneworld airline member’s loyalty program.For example, if you're looking for a flight from Montreal to Doha with Qatar Airways, simply enter your origin and destination, check "Redeem miles", and choose any date throughout the year.![](https://pftraveldev.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-14-at-4.22.15-PM.png)
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Upgrades
You can also use your AAdvantage miles to upgrade your seat or for someone whom you’ve designated to the next cabin of service on eligible one-way American Airlines flights. The caveat here is that you can’t upgrade award tickets or basic economy fares.So, in order to be able to use your AAdvantage miles to upgrade your American Airlines ticket, the original flight must have been booked with cash.The amount of AAdvantage miles required can be found on the American Airlines website.![](https://pftraveldev.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-17-at-1.57.29-PM.png)
Award Holds
American Airlines will hold an award seat on your behalf for up to five days. This gives you time to finalize your travel plans and transfer points into your account (need be) without having to worry about your seat disappearing.With AAdvantage, you can put holds on American Airlines flights and flights with partner airlines. Note that the hold time may be restricted if you're booking a special fare or with particular partner airlines.The amount of time AAdvantage will hold your seat depends on how far in advance you're booking:- Booking 15–331 days prior to departure, you can hold a seat for up to five days
- Booking 1–14 days prior to departure, you can hold a seat for up to one day
- Booking within 24 hours of departure, you can hold a seat for up to two hours prior to departure
American Airlines AAdvantage Status
If you’re loyal to American Airlines, you can earn different status levels that will afford you benefits when flying with American Airlines and other Oneworld partners.
AAdvantage Status Tiers
In AAdvantage, there are four primary status levels: Gold, Platinum, Platinum Pro, and Executive Platinum.The different tiers are reached by earning Loyalty Points, which we’ll explore below.Beyond those four status levels, American Airlines has higher statuses that are much harder to reach through their Million Miler program and Concierge Key.Earning Loyalty Points is the only way to reach one of the four main AAdvantage elite statuses, and can be earned in one of three ways:- Flying on eligible American Airline flights and crediting the flight to the AAdvantage program
- Flying on eligible partner flights and crediting the flight to the AAdvantage program
- Spending money with an AAdvantage co-branded credit card
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- AAdvantage Gold: 30,000 Loyalty Points
- AAdvantage Platinum: 75,000 Loyalty Points
- AAdvantage Platinum Pro: 125,000 Loyalty Points
- AAdvantage Executive Platinum: 200,000 Loyalty Points
Benefits & Privileges with Status
As you might imagine, you'll get access to a greater number of perks with higher status tiers. While the full list of benefits from the various statuses can be found on the American Airlines website, here are some of the highlights of the programAAdvantage Executive Platinum members are eligible for complimentary upgrades on American Airlines award tickets. If you’re a Platinum Pro or Executive Platinum member, you’ll be eligible for upgrades on Alaska Airlines flights, too.You can earn anywhere from 40–120% extra AAdvantage miles on eligible American Airlines and partner airline flights with your status, which will help unlock reward flights much sooner.Earning elite status through the AAdvantage program will also automatically match you to elite status with Oneworld alliance, providing you with further benefits when you're travelling around the world.![](https://pftraveldev.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-17-at-2.23.12-PM.png)
Million Miler Program
If you fly one million miles on an American Airlines or partner airline flight and credit it to AAdvantage, you’ll receive lifetime AAdvantage Gold status, as well as 35,000 AAdvantage miles.![](https://pftraveldev.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screen-Shot-2023-02-17-at-2.23.57-PM.png)