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American’s mileage loyalty program is known as AAdvantage; it is one of the industry’s original loyalty programs and remains the largest with millions of members.
AAdvantage has been acclaimed as one of the more customer-friendly airline mileage programs, with elite status acquired solely via Loyalty Points that can be earned via many different means, including flying.
Miles can be earned by spending with American, Oneworld partners, other select participating airlines, and over 1,000 non-airline partners.
Accrued miles can then be used on any American flight, upgrade, or redemption travel on a partner airline, as well as some vacations, car rentals, hotels, and other retail products.
Enrollment is easy; you do not have to fly American before applying. Simply fill out the form, and you’re on your way!
You will gain the ability to earn miles, redeem awards, and work your way up toward elite status, which we will discuss in the next section.
Sign in on the aa.com homepage. You must enter your last name, AAdvantage account number, and password.
Hot Tip: You can search for award flight availability on the American Airlines website without logging in to your account.
Detailed AAdvantage account activity is limited to 6 months. By visiting the new Account Activity page, you can see some activity as far back as 12 months.
Particularly if you have many partner flights that can have errors in awarding miles, it’s a good idea to print out your account activity every few months for your records.
AAdvantage miles expire after 24 months of inactivity, except for members who are under 21 years of age.
Any miles earning or redeeming activity counts, so you have many options beyond taking flights, such as using an American Airlines credit card, using the AAdvantage shopping portal, or enrolling in AAdvantage Dining to earn a few miles. All these activities reset the 24-month clock!
AAdvantage has 4 elite status levels.
AAdvantage Gold: While other airlines have silver as their first elite status tier, American starts with Gold. Like other airlines, benefits at this level are few, but here are some highlights:
AAdvantage Platinum (comparable to Gold status with Delta and United):
All Silver benefits plus:
AAdvantage Platinum Pro (comparable to Platinum status with Delta and United):
All Platinum benefits plus:
AAdvantage Executive Platinum (comparable to Delta Diamond and United 1K):
All Platinum Pro benefits plus:
Check American’s site for the full line-up of elite benefits.
Overall, many travelers perceive that American Airlines’ elite status is losing value, and its Gold and Platinum levels lag behind the competition.
Frequent international travelers may consider their Oneworld Sapphire status among the best benefits of Platinum and Platinum Pro since it grants access to partner business class lounges.
At the top, Executive Platinum has long been respected as one of the highest-value airline status levels. Still, in recent years the primary benefit of systemwide upgrades (SWUs) was cut in half from 8 to 4, assuming the member selects those upgrades as part of their Loyalty Choice Rewards.
Unique among U.S. airline programs, Executive Platinum grants Oneworld Emerald status, which provides access to partner first class lounges even when flying economy. Comparable status with Delta and United only grants business class or similar lounge access, but not first class.
Requirements for reaching elite status were recently revised to a Loyalty Points-based system.
| Gold | PlatinumOneworld Sapphire | Platinum ProOneworld Emerald | Executive PlatinumOneworld Emerald |
Loyalty Points | 40,000 | 75,000 | 125,000 | 200,000 |
Loyalty Points can be earned in numerous ways, including flying American or partners, staying in a Hyatt hotel, renting a car booked through American, eating at an American dining partner, and so much more. You do not need to fly to earn status on American.
There are a variety of ways to earn miles. From flying on American or its partners to utilizing other services, you will always be able to find ways to earn AAdvantage miles.
Mileage earning on American Airlines flights is now based on ticket price (base fare plus carrier-imposed fees, excluding government-imposed taxes and fees):
What you earn with airline partners depends on the partner, fare class, and marketing carrier (codeshare).
Other partner bonus miles are a great way to earn extra miles for less frequent travelers.
Sign up for newsletters or follow the airline or mileage program via its Facebook or Twitter accounts to find out the latest promotions for earning bonus miles.
Make sure to use partner services for car rentals and hotel reservations, and add your AAdvantage number to all reservations.*
American’s preferred car rental agencies are Avis and Budget, but you can earn miles with other rental car agencies as well.
You can also earn miles through dining and shopping with the AAdvantage Dining program and the eShopping Mall.
*Note: If you add your airline loyalty program to other services, you won’t also earn status points with these franchises (unless it’s a preferred car rental agency that has specifically partnered with the airline; this partnership acts as a sort of alliance between airline and rental agency).
There are several credit cards that can help you earn American miles that can be redeemed for some great award flights.
American Airlines has a credit card partnership with both Citi and Barclaycard. You can earn American miles directly with any one of them. One can even help you earn elite status.
Status lovers will enjoy the variety of benefits that come with this card. From free bags to reduced-price inflight beverages, AA still flies in style.
The AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite card is a great option for American Airlines frequent flyers who want to earn more miles on their daily purchases and score perks such as free checked bags, preferred boarding, and savings on inflight food and beverage purchases.
Access to Admirals Clubs, tons of added benefits, and a way to spend towards elite status make this a great option for American Airlines loyalists.
The Citi®/AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® is a go-to card thanks to its exclusive perks and benefits for people who love to fly American Airlines. With a complimentary Admirals Club membership, free checked bags, inflight discounts, and the ability to earn Loyalty Points for every $1 you spend, there is plenty to love about the card.
Earn 2x miles per dollar spent on American Airlines flights and at grocery stores, all without needing to pay an annual fee.
The American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® is perfectly suited for those looking for a way to earn more American Airlines miles and earn Loyalty Points, all with a $0 annual fee.
A low annual fee, a free checked bag, and tons of perks and discounts make this card valuable for business owners who frequently travel with American Airlines.
With the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®, you get a card that helps you earn more miles on all of your business expenses, and gives you perks like preferred boarding, free checked bags, and discounts on inflight purchases, while also helping you qualify for higher levels of elite status.
You can earn Marriott Bonvoy points and transfer those to American at a transfer rate of 3:1.
Recommended Marriott Bonvoy Cards
A great option for Marriott hotel fans who want a no annual fee card and automatic Marriott Bonvoy elite status.
Casual travelers who like to frequent properties that are part of the Marriott Bonvoy collection of brands may want to consider the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card.
The Marriott Bold card rewards cardholders for Marriott stays and gives them a boost towards Marriott Bonvoy elite status.
Marriott loyalists will love this card's annual Free Night Award, automatic elite status, and up to 17x points per $1 on Marriott hotel stays.
If you’re a frequent traveler and a Marriott loyalist, there’s a lot to love about the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card. The card comes packed with several great benefits like a free hotel night once a year, automatic Silver Elite status (with a fast-track to Gold Elite status), and multiple options for redeeming points.
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesThe Marriott Bonvoy Bevy card gives you automatic Marriott elite status and helps you earn more Marriott Bonvoy points on your everyday purchases.
If you're approved and accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card, the latest mid-tier offering in the Marriott Bonvoy lineup of cards, offers cardholders automatic elite status and ways to earn more Marriott Bonvoy points on each of their stays and daily purchases.
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesA premium card for Marriott fans who want perks like an annual statement credit and Free Night Award, plus a fast track to Marriott elite status.
If you're approved and accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card is a premium card designed with road warriors and Marriott Bonvoy loyalists in mind.
So is the card a worthwhile addition to your wallet?
Several other hotel programs will let you transfer points to American Airlines. However, this is almost always a poor use of hotel points. Unless you are really in a bind, save your hotel points for hotel award stays at your destination.
American Airlines one standard form of awards, simply called Flight Awards. What you see on AA.com is the price you’ll pay. There are no longer “milesAAver” or “AAnytime” awards.
In a 3-cabin aircraft with separate economy, business, and first classes (such as JFK-LAX/SFO transcontinental routes or select international routes), American will charge higher rates for first than for business.
If you’re interested, we’ve dedicated an entire post to the best of the best ways to redeem 100K AAdvantage miles.
AAdvantage has a separate Oneworld and other airline partner award chart with its own pricing.
American Airlines has many unpublished award routing rules that you learn through trial and error. For instance, a U.S.-Australia route is not allowed to transit via Asia unless you pay the more expensive U.S.-Asia one-way price plus the Asia-Australia one-way price. It is cheaper to fly direct, but award availability on American and partner Qantas is scarce.
Both Etihad and Qatar now have certain transit exceptions providing for single-award pricing to Africa and other areas.
Not all American Airlines partners can be booked online, so don’t give up. Call American Airlines to check for availability.
Only these partners can be booked online: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Cape Air, Fiji Airways, Finnair, Hawaiian Airlines, Malaysian, Qantas Airways, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian Airlines, S7, SriLankan, and Air Tahiti Nui.
To save time, do research on partner airline websites prior to calling American Airlines:
Hot Tip: To book business or first class awards on Etihad, you need to call AAdvantange in Australia at +61-02-9101-1948. This team can put the award on hold for you; then call AAdvantage in the U.S. to issue the ticket. If you call the U.S. directly, you will be told there are no Etihad award seats.
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