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American Airlines AAdvantage Loyalty Program Review

Q: Where can I sign up for AAdvantage?

Sign up to the AAdvantage program by filling out this online form.

Alex Miller

- Updated: March 27, 2023|

26Comments

Travel /
Airlines

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American Airlines Summary Table

Home Country U.S.
Airline Website AA.com
Loyalty Program AAdvantage
Major Hubs Charlotte, Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York LaGuardia/JFK, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Washington Reagan
Airline Alliance Oneworld
Points Are Worth 1.4 cents/point
Signature Lounge Admirals Club, Flagship Lounge, and International First Class Lounge
Earn Points/Miles
Redeem Points/Miles
Airline Review
- American Airlines Review – Seats, Amenities, Customer Service, Baggage Fees & More
- American Airlines Boarding Groups — Everything You Need To Know
Airline Fees
- American Airlines Baggage Fees (& How To Avoid Paying Them)
Award Chart Link
- American Airlines award chart
- Oneworld and other airline partner award chart

Branded and Partnered Credit Cards

There are several credit cards that can help you earn American miles that can be redeemed for some great award flights.

American Airlines Credit Cards

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.

Marriott Bonvoy Credit Cards

You can earn Marriott Bonvoy points and transfer those to American at a transfer rate of 3:1. Plus, for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points that you transfer, you’ll receive an extra 5,000 American miles bonus.

Recommended Marriott Bonvoy Cards

Other Hotel Partner Credit Cards

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 Overview

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, and other select participating airlines, as well as over 1,000 other 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.

Joining AAdvantage

Enrollment is easy and 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 and redeem awards, as well as work your way up toward elite status, which we will discuss in the next section.

How To Sign in to Your AAdvantage Account

AA Login Screen — The login screen for AAdvantage.

Hot Tip: You can search award flight availability on the American Airlines website without logging in to your account.

Viewing Your Account Activity

Detailed AAdvantage account activity is limited to 6 months. By visiting the new Account Activity page, you can now 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.

Miles Expiration

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 Program

AAdvantage Elite Status

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:

Complimentary upgrades on all eligible flights.
Complimentary preferred seats
Complimentary Main Cabin Extra seats within 24 hours of departure (50% advance purchase discount eliminated)
Complimentary same-day standby
1 free checked bag
Oneworld Ruby status for priority check-in and security with partners
Earn 1 mile per dollar spent at Hyatt with the AAdvantage – World of Hyatt promotion (link accounts here)

AAdvantage Platinum (comparable to Gold status with Delta and United):

All Silver benefits plus:

Complimentary Main Cabin Extra seats
2 free checked bags
Oneworld Sapphire status for access to partner business class lounges (not American Admirals Club)

AAdvantage Platinum Pro (comparable to Platinum status with Delta and United):

All Platinum benefits plus:

Complimentary same-day flight changes
Oneworld Emerald status
1 Loyalty Choice Reward

AAdvantage Executive Platinum (comparable to Delta Diamond and United 1K):

All Platinum Pro benefits plus:

Complimentary award change and redeposit
Expanded award seat availability
3 free checked bags
Oneworld Emerald Status for access to partner first class lounges (not American Admirals Club)
Loyalty Choice Rewards

Check American’s site for the full line-up of benefits.

Value of AAdvantage Elite Status

Overall, the perception among many travelers is 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, but in recent years the major 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.

Earning AAdvantage Elite Status

Requirements for reaching elite status were recently revised to a Loyalty Points based system.

	Gold Oneworld Ruby	Platinum Oneworld Sapphire	Platinum Pro Oneworld Emerald	Executive Platinum Oneworld Emerald
Loyalty Points	30,000	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.

How To Earn AAdvantage Miles

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.

Earning Miles Through Flying

Mileage earning on American Airlines flights is now based on ticket price (base fare plus carrier-imposed fees, excluding government-imposed taxes and fees):

Base member – 5 miles/U.S. dollar
Gold member – 7 miles/U.S. dollar (40% bonus)
Platinum member – 8 miles/U.S. dollar (60% bonus)
Platinum Pro member – 9 miles/U.S. dollar (80% bonus)
Executive Platinum member – 11 miles/U.S. dollar (120% bonus)

What you earn with airline partners depends on the partner, fare class, and marketing carrier (codeshare).

Earning Bonus Miles in Other Ways

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).

How To Redeem American AAdvantage Miles

American Airlines has 3 core types of flight awards:

MileSAAver — cheapest economy awards (increasingly difficult to find availability)
AAnytime Level 1 — peak rates
AAnytime Level 2 — even higher peak rates

There are 2 additional types of MileSAAver awards:

MileSAAver Off Peak — seasonal discounted rates for economy travel between specific regions (see regions and dates here)
MileSAAver (U.S. and Canada flights under 500 miles) — discounted short flight rate for economy/business travel

See the full award chart here. Here is travel within the Continental U.S.:

Continental U.S.	MileSAAver Off Peak	MileSAAver (under 500 miles)	MileSAAver	AAnytime Level 1	AAnytime Level 2
Economy	Not in this region	7,500	12,500	20,000	30,000
Business/First (2-cabin)*	–	15,000	25,000	45,000	55,000
Business (3-cabin)*	–	–	32,500	52,500	62,500
First (3-cabin)*	–	–	50,000	85,000	95,000

*Business and first class pricing can be confusing. Many routes and planes only have 2-cabin service, so it may be called “Business” or “First” but the price will be the same.

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.

Hot Tip:You can now redeem miles for premium economy awards. Award availability so far has been RARE.

If you’re interested, we’ve dedicated an entire post to the best of the best ways to redeem 100K AAdvantage miles.

Oneworld and Partner Awards

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.

Booking Online

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:

Use the British Airways or Qantas website for Oneworld partners
Use the Etihad website for Etihad flights (look for GuestSeat availability, not OpenSeat)

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.

The information for the CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® and Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™ Mastercard® was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Business™ American Express® Card, click here.

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Featured Image Credit: Jan Rosolino via Unsplash

Frequently asked questions

What is the American Airlines AAdvantage program? Is it worth it? What are the benefits?

AAdvantage is the loyalty or frequent flyer program for American Airlines. It is a free program, and by signing up you can earn a range of benefits and gain the ability to earn free flights.

Benefits are earned based on elite status. The 4 tiers of elite status in the program are Gold, Platinum, Platinum Pro, and Executive Platinum.

Depending on your level, you will get access to free bags, priority check-in and boarding, premium seats, security priority, access to upgrades, and more.

In 2022, AAdvantage moved to a system based on Loyalty Points, taking into account the amount of loyalty you provide to the airline through flying, dining, staying in hotels, and more.

Once you have earned enough miles by flying with American or earning with its partners, you can redeem for travel through AA or any of its Oneworld or other airline partners.

In AAdvantage, who are the partners? Can I transfer miles to them?

Partners in AAdvantage are many, including travel partners (airlines, hotels, etc.) and shopping partners. You can utilize miles to travel with all Oneworld partners and other partner airlines. However, you can't directly transfer miles to these partners.

You can use miles to transfer to hotel partners for booking, and you can also use miles to shop at a variety of other partners.

What is the American Airlines AAdvantage login?

You can sign in to AAdvantage here.

Where can I sign up for AAdvantage?

What is my AAdvantage number?

You can find your AAdvantage number by signing in to your account, on your membership card, or through a variety of marketing emails you may be sent.

If you can't find it there, try using the "forgot my password" tool to reset your account so you can get in. Alternatively, try calling the customer service desk to find your number.

When did the AAdvantage program start?

The program started on May 1, 1981, and is credited as the first major airline loyalty program.

Are US Airways and American Airlines the same company? Do they share loyalty programs?

US Airways and American Airlines finalized their merger in 2015. The loyalty program is under American's AAdvantage name.

When do miles post in AAdvantage?

It can take up to a week after your flight for miles to post, but sometimes it takes longer. If you are earning miles through partners, wait 6 to 10 weeks to ensure your miles are credited.

When do AAdvantage miles expire?

Miles will expire after 24 months of inactivity, except for members who are under 21 years of age. Simply earn or redeem once every 24 months to keep your miles active. Any type of mileage earning or redemption activity counts, such as online shopping mile bonuses.

When does AAdvantage status expire?

Your status will be good through the next calendar year and February of the following year. For instance, if you earn status in June 2022, your status is good through February 2024.

Is there an American Airlines credit card?

Yes, there are several American Airlines-branded cards from Citi and Barclays. Visit our guide for full details.

In AAdvantage, what is a segment?

A segment is each take-off and touch-down of your flight. If you have a one-way flight out and then you stop in 1 other city before returning home, that is a total of 3 segments.

What is an AAdvantage hold?

If you find a reservation you may want to book, you can hold the reservation for 24 hours instead of booking it to decide whether the fare is right for you.

The hold option is available at checkout as an alternative to paying.

About Alex Miller

Alex has been traveling for over 25 years and from a young age was lucky enough to set out on numerous family trips all over the world, which gave him the travel bug. Alex has since earned tens of millions of travel points and miles, mainly through maximizing every opportunity to earn the most points possible on each dollar spent.

Disclaimer: Any comments listed below are not from the bank advertiser, nor have they been reviewed or approved by them. No responsibility will be taken by the bank advertiser for these comments.

26 comments

Maryjane Eldred July 16, 2018
Be careful of the fees. I cancelled a flight I purchased with points and to reinstate those points would cost me $150, about half the cost of the original ticket. I was truly disappointed in that it took me a year to earn those points and I had to cancel due to illness. The ticket was for a family event that won’t happen again before the points expire. I also don’t expect to fly again this year so basically I lost all my points/miles.
Reply
David I Reichman November 7, 2018
Given it is November 7th 2018, is there any partner or AA offering double/triple EQM this year ?
Reply
- Jeff Brownson November 8, 2018
  Hi David, we haven’t seen any offers for EQM multipliers yet this year but you should definitely keep an eye out. AA has been known to send them out in the past.
  Reply
Julie Burke May 18, 2019
Hello,
May I donate my AA Advantage miles to my daughters AA Advantage account? If so, please advise as to where I can find instructions. Thanks!
Julie Burke
Reply
- Christine Krzyszton May 18, 2019
  Hi Julie. Yes, it is possible to transfer miles to your daughter’s account but it is quite expensive to do so. You can book flights for anyone you wish from your account for no extra cost. Here is the link to learn more, however. https://buymiles.americanairlines.com/en/share
  Reply
M. N. June 15, 2019
AA miles are pretty much worthless as hardly any premium cabin is available under milesaver. AA is so bad that when I was looking at NRT-ORD on a specific date, they had no seats for several month out. However, when I go to JAL’s ( oneworld partner) site they have 4 seats in Business class on the same AA flight #154 available under JAL’s mile saver which is 50,000 miles. AA will not open any seats for their own customers but they will for a partner airline frequent flyer. There is something really wrong here.
Reply
jacqueline wurn July 3, 2019
How do I sign up?
Reply
- Jarrod West July 3, 2019
  Hi Jacqueline,
  You can sign-up for an American Airlines AAdvantage account through this link: https://www.aa.com/loyalty/enrollment/enroll?anchorLocation=DirectURL&title=enroll
  Reply
Luis Ramos-Garcia July 23, 2019
I have been an AAvantage member for a number of years, but many times AA employees had trouble to find my AAdvantage number, thus they asked me to report it my trips to AA at a later time, I am never sure if I had those miles credited to me. I believe this is happening because the AAdvantage name different from my legal name, which contains a middle name. Could you please correct this in your records, and send me a new membership card with the correct name? Thank you for your help. Luis
Reply
- Stephen Au July 23, 2019
  Luis,
  For security reasons, we removed your AAdvantage number, address, and phone number. We are NOT American Airlines, so we cannot provide any guidance in this matter. Please contact American Airlines and address the issue with them. Thanks.
  Reply
Roger Masse July 29, 2019
Can a Spouse use my frequent flyer miles? Nowhere can I find an answer to this simple question. Thanks!
Reply
- Christine Krzyszton July 29, 2019
  Hi Roger. You, as the owner of your AAdvantage frequent flyer account, can book tickets using miles for anyone. Hopefully this answers your question. If not, please clarify.
  Reply
Guy Nanney September 26, 2019
When did it start costing an extra $75 to book a flight using AAdvantage miles?
Reply
- Andrew Kunesh September 26, 2019
  Hey, it should only cost $75 extra when booking less than 21 days from departure. Unfortunately, American calls this a “close-in” fee.
  Reply
Barry B. Culpepper Jr. November 6, 2019
My name on my American mileage account does not match my passport or my tickets when they are booked. How can I change my name on my American Airlines AAdvantage account to reflect my passport?
Thanks,
Barry B. Culpepper Jr.
Reply
- Christine Krzyszton November 7, 2019
  Hi Barry. You can log in to your AAdvantage account online at AA.com and under “Information and Password” you can change your name to match your passport.
  Reply
Lucille Simpson November 16, 2019
How do I cancel a booked flight do to a medical condition?
Reply
- Katie Seemann November 17, 2019
  Hi Lucille,
  This article should help: How To Cancel An American Airlines Flight
  Reply
Richard P. Ellis March 1, 2020
How can I get mileage after I took a trip to Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji?
I started out with American then Qantas, and finished up my trip with
FIJI airways. Is there anyway I can get credit for all those miles? My AADVANTAGE # is 5XXXX.
I do have all my tickets to verify if needed plus I also had my girlfriend with me and I have all her tickets.
Please advise me. Thank you.
Reply
- Christine Krzyszton March 2, 2020
  Hi Richard. Please be advised that we are not American Airlines, we are Upgraded Points, a blog specializing in providing information resources regarding points, miles, and travel. I have removed your actual AAdvantage number for privacy. You can request your miles (and those for your girlfriend) via this link or you can call American Airlines AAdvantage customer service (800-882-8880) for assistance. https://www.aa.com/forms/request-flight-miles/?v_locale=en_US&v_mobileUAFlag=AA#/request
  Reply
Joanne Garland April 16, 2020
We are 73 years old. American has just changed our one-way September award flight from Amsterdam to the US. The new flight takes seven hours longer and arrives after midnight, which will not work for us! We have paid over $100 in taxes. What are our options?
Reply
- Stephen Au April 16, 2020
  Hi Joanne,
  If you change the ticket, you won’t be double-charged for taxes and fees. You’ll get your taxes and fees refunded and your new taxes and fees will be charged. You’ll just need to find availability for a different flight that fits your schedule. After your find availability, you should be able to change it.
  Reply
Klaude Konrad July 20, 2020
How do I talk to someone about my account?
Reply
- Jarrod West July 21, 2020
  Hi Klaude,
  You will need to contact the AAdvantage customer service line by calling 1-800-433-7300.
  Reply
RUSSELL CLINE December 19, 2020
My son was a frequent flyer with American. He was killed in a very untimely manner. Can his daughter get any benefits from his accumulated miles?
Reply
- Jarrod West December 22, 2020
  Hi Russell,
  I’m very sorry for your loss. According to American: “If a loved one dies, call the AAdvantage customer service line and they will send you an email requesting a copy of the death certificate and an affidavit. The affidavit will need to include the deceased member’s account number and the account info of the person(s) you would like to transfer the miles to.”
  Reply