How To Redeem American Airlines Miles

AAdvantage miles are the award currency of American Airlines’ frequent flyer program. Once you start earning miles by flying with American Airlines and its partners or using an American Airlines credit card, you’ll be on your way to planning your redemptions.

In 2023, American Airlines adopted dynamic pricing for flight award redemptions. That means the number of miles required to fly on an American Airlines flight varies depending on the date and flight. Redemptions start at 7,500 miles for an economy flight within the U.S. and Canada. AA publishes an award chart that provides the minimum number of miles for each award on its own aircraft, but remember that these are only the starting points. Fortunately, AA continues to use a fixed award chart for flight redemptions with its partners, and this is where you will find the best value for your AA miles.

Redeeming AAdvantage Miles on American Airlines flights is relatively simple. You can book award flights on the AA website, app or over the phone.

It’s best to start your award search on the American Airlines website or the app. Depending on where and when you want to travel, there could be many different award flights at vastly different rates.

You can search for award flights the same way you search for paid flights; you just need to check the “Redeem Miles” box before initiating the flight search.

First, you must select a round-trip, one-way or multi-city itinerary. Each search option will show you the award price for each segment of your trip separately, so if you are flexible, it’s best to search for one-way flights first.

Then, input your destinations in the “From” and “To” fields and select the dates you want to travel. If you are flexible with your dates, American Airlines’ website lets you view a monthly calendar for award pricing.

When using the app, the search automatically shows you award rates a week before and after your initial travel date selection.

Finally, specify the number of tickets you are looking for. On the American app, you can also select whether you want to search for business- or first-class flights. You can do the same on the American Airlines website after you search, view the award pricing calendar and make a selection.

Once the search is complete, you can view the available award flights, the miles needed to redeem and any applicable taxes and carrier-imposed fees. Then, you will select your preferred itinerary, confirm the award redemption rate, verify the passenger details and select your seats.

Lastly, you will need to pay for your trip. If you still need time to decide on your award redemption, American Airlines offers up to five-day holds on award flights with no credit card required. If you’re ready to book your award trip, proceed with making the payment and click “Pay Now.”

That’s it. Your award redemption on American Airlines is complete. Your miles will be deducted, and the award itinerary will be on its way to your inbox.

Read More: Best Travel Apps

American Airlines has a vast array of travel partners thanks to its membership in the Oneworld alliance. You can redeem AAdvantage miles for award travel on partner flights, car rentals, hotels and more.

Redeeming AAdvantage miles on partner flights gives access to nearly 1,000 destinations worldwide. These redemptions provide excellent value, often better than redeeming on American Airlines flights directly. Oneworld alliance airline partners include:

• Alaska Airlines (AS)
• British Airways (BA)
• Cathay Pacific (CX)
• Finnair (AY)
• Iberia (IB)
• Japan Airlines (JL)
• Malaysia Airlines (MH)
• Qantas (QF)
• Qatar Airways (QR)
• Royal Air Maroc (AT)
• Royal Jordanian Airlines (RJ)
• SriLankan Airlines (UL)

Additionally, American Airlines partners with the following airlines outside of the Oneworld alliance for flight redemptions:

• Aer Lingus (EI)
• Air Tahiti Nui (TN)
• Cape Air (9K)
• China Southern Airlines (CZ)
• Etihad Airways (EY)
• Fiji Airways (FJ)
• GOL Airlines (G3)
• Hawaiian Airlines (HA)
• JetBlue (B6)
• JetSmart (JA)
• Silver Airways (3M)

You can redeem American Airlines AAdvantage miles through the AA travel portal for other travel needs, such as hotels, car rentals, lounge access or upgrades. AAdvantage miles can also be redeemed to support a few charitable organizations.

Redeeming AAdvantage miles on partner flights is similar to redeeming miles on American Airlines flights. All Oneworld alliance members can be booked directly online. Most of American Airlines’ other partners can also be booked online, except for China Southern Airlines, where you must call AAdvantage to search and redeem. Partner award availability can be significantly less than what you’re used to seeing for American Airlines flights.

Each partner is different when releasing available award space to other partners. Just because a seat is available to purchase does not mean a seat is available as an award redemption.

The American Airlines website and app aren’t perfect regarding partner award searches. Sometimes it’s best to search segment-by-segment to check for availability. If the award search online doesn’t match what you’ve pieced together, give AAdvantage a call to book.

American Airlines also has some important routing rules, detailed in the partner award chart. For example, flying from the U.S. to the Middle East, Europe and Africa can only be transatlantic.

Another essential point to consider when booking American Airlines’ international partners is that any stopover of 24 hours or longer could be priced as two separate awards.

You should also be mindful of the taxes and fees on partner awards. British Airways is known for charging high fees on award flights.

You will also want to be mindful of the different taxes and fees charged on partner awards. British Airways is known for having high fees on award flights.

While redeeming AAdvantage miles for flights will most likely give you the best value, you have other options for redeeming your miles for different experiences.

It is possible to book your entire vacation with AAdvantage miles. AAdvantage has a travel portal where you can search and redeem your miles for hotels and car rentals to book the complete vacation package. You can even redeem AAdvantage miles for an annual Admirals Club membership, but again, these options often provide less value than flight awards.

Upgrading paid flights with miles is often viewed as an easy way to fly in business or first class. It is possible to upgrade on American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia and Qantas flights; however, upgrading flights with miles has additional costs and restrictions.

On American Airlines flights, specific fare classes must be booked to upgrade with miles, but that does include some discount economy fares. Upgrading with British Airways or Iberia requires at least a full-fare economy ticket, which is the highest priced economy fare. And Qantas has its own set of rules for which flights are eligible for upgrades, which excludes certain international sale fares.

AAdvantage partners with several charitable organizations where you can donate your miles. You can search its organizations based on categories, including miles for social good and our planet.

Donating miles is also an effective way to extend the life of your miles if you are coming close to the 24-month expiration date due to inactivity on your AAdvantage account. The minimum number of miles you can donate is 1,000.

American Airlines AAdvantage miles can be redeemed for flights on American Airlines, Oneworld alliance airlines and other partners. Most of these flights can be booked directly online with few exceptions, and the award search is just like searching for a paid flight. You can also redeem AAdvantage miles for other travel-related experiences or donate them to a good cause.