American Airlines Now Lets You Redeem AAdvantage Miles for Gift Cards (But Please Don’t)

American Airlines has rolled out a new way for its AAdvantage members to spend their miles: redeeming them for gift cards from popular retail and dining brands.

On the surface, it sounds like a convenient new option. But if you care about getting decent value from your miles, this is probably a redemption you’ll want to skip.

Here’s what you need to know.

American Airlines Launches Gift Card Redemptions With AAdvantage Miles

American Airlines has introduced a new online platform that allows members to redeem AAdvantage miles for gift cards from a variety of popular brands. Options currently include retailers such as Sephora, Nike, and Best Buy, along with dining and entertainment brands.

Gift cards are available in denominations ranging from $10 to $500, and members can redeem miles directly through the new portal at aadvantagegiftcards.com. The platform will also support redemptions across some of American’s partner reward programs, potentially expanding the variety of available gift cards over time.

This move is part of a broader effort by American Airlines to make AAdvantage miles more flexible. In recent years, the airline has rolled out several non-flight redemption options, including merchandise through AAdvantage Exchange, cruises through AAdvantage Cruises, and curated experiences through Mastercard Priceless. Now, gift cards join that growing list.

However, just because you can redeem miles for gift cards doesn’t mean you should. Based on current pricing, most gift card redemptions are topping out at around 0.7 cents per AAdvantage mile — well under a penny per mile.

At Upgraded Points, we currently value American Airlines AAdvantage miles at about 1.4 cents each, which means redeeming them for gift cards at roughly 0.7 cents per mile cuts their value by at least half compared to what they’re typically worth.

Additionally, it’s often possible to get 2 cents per mile or more when booking premium cabin flights or high-value international awards, making gift card redemptions a pretty poor use of your miles compared to the value available elsewhere.

Final Thoughts

American Airlines now lets AAdvantage members redeem miles for gift cards through its new online portal. While it’s always nice to see more (and easy) ways to use your miles, the value here is simply too low to make much sense.

If you want to get the most out of your AAdvantage miles, you’re far better off saving them for flights instead.