Buy American AAdvantage Miles With up to a 40% Discount

American Airlines seems to have a never-ending sale on miles, and there’s no end date listed for this offer. Right now, you can buy AAdvantage miles with up to a 40% discount.

Using this sale, AAdvantage members can purchase up to 300,000 miles. Here’s what you need to know.

Purchase AAdvantage Miles for 2.26 Cents per Mile

American Airlines is offering a discount on purchased AAdvantage miles. The more miles you buy, the greater your discount will be.

Depending on your account, you may be targeted for different discount tiers, but the most widely available is:

• Purchase 3,000 to 9,000 miles and get a 10% discount
• Purchase 10,000 to 29,000 miles and get a 15% discount
• Purchase 30,000 to 89,000 miles and get a 20% discount
• Purchase 90,000 to 150,000 miles and get a 30% discount
• Purchase 151,000 to 300,000 miles and get a 40% discount (2.26 cents per mile)
• Direct link to purchase

There’s no end date listed in this offer.

Typically, American Airlines charges 3.76 cents per mile, but if you maximize this promotion and purchase 200,000 miles, you’ll pay 2.26 cents per mile.

Unfortunately, the best offer — a 40% discount — is only available if you purchase at least 151,000 miles. Thus, you’ll need to spend over $3,400 to unlock the 2.26-cents-per-mile pricing. That’s no small task.

We value American Airlines AAdvantage miles at 1.4 cents apiece, so even with the 40% discount, buying miles with this offer is more expensive than they are typically worth. However, this deal could still be worth it if you have a specific redemption in mind.

Note that American processes miles purchases directly, so any transaction will count as an airfare purchase. This means you’ll want to use a credit card that rewards you for spending on airfare. The Platinum Card^® from American Express, for example, earns 5 points per $1 spent directly with airlines (up to $500,000 per year, then 1x points), which is among the best you’ll find in the industry.

How To Redeem AAdvantage Miles

The AAdvantage program offers numerous compelling ways to use miles.

For example, you can fly from the U.S. to the Middle East with Qatar Airways Qsuite for just 70,000 miles each way, between the U.S. and Japan with Japan Airlines in first class for 80,000 miles, or between the U.S. and Europe in British Airways in Club World for just 57,500 miles each way, among many other options.

Compared to other programs with numerous transfer partners, AAdvantage miles aren’t the easiest currency to earn. Miles can only be transferred from Citi ThankYou Rewards at a 1:1 ratio from premium cards and Marriott Bonvoy at a 3:1 ratio. However, there are multiple American Airlines credit cards that can help you boost your balance.

Final Thoughts

You can buy AAdvantage miles with a discount nearly any day of the year, and right now you can do so with up to a 40% discount.

Speculatively buying miles isn’t a good idea, but if you know you can redeem the miles for more value than what you paid for them — or just need a few more miles to unlock a redemption — this sale can make sense. This deal is available for the foreseeable future, as there’s no end date listed in this offer.