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American Airlines has many unpublished award routing rules that you learn through trial and error.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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