AAdvantage is American Airlines’ frequent flyer program. It offers a range of benefits that make it easier to earn miles for your travels.
You can also get AAdvantage elite status, which includes free checked bags, priority boarding and more. It can be worth the effort, especially if you travel frequently.
Earning AAdvantage Miles
AAdvantage miles are a great way to get free flights and other travel benefits. They’re also a key component of American Airlines’ elite status program, which allows members to earn more valuable perks like free checked bags and seat upgrades.
Getting started with AAdvantage is easy and fast. First, sign up for an AAdvantage credit card to earn points on every purchase you make. Many cards come with generous welcome bonuses and regular spending categories that offer additional AAdvantage bonus miles.
Another great way to earn AAdvantage miles is by booking hotel rooms through American Airlines Vacations. Most of these hotels are AAdvantage partner hotels, which means you can earn AAdvantage miles when staying at their properties.
You can also use AAdvantage miles to book car hire with many major rental agencies, including Avis and Budget. Some car hire companies offer a flat number of miles per reservation, while others give you miles per dollar or day spent.
Transferring AAdvantage Miles
If you want to transfer AAdvantage miles to another member, you can do so via their website. However, you’ll have to pay a fee for the transfer.
You can earn AAdvantage miles through many different sources, including purchasing flights on American or its partners, hotel stays, car rentals, cruises, shopping portals and dining. They’re also available through several co-branded credit cards and are the currency for American Airlines Admirals Club airport lounge access.
One of the best ways to save on travel is to use AAdvantage miles to book awards. For example, a round-trip flight from the United States to Asia Region 2 in business class is 70,000 miles.
This can be a great value, especially since the award chart is very flexible and allows up to four segments on most routes. However, you need to be sure that you’re getting the best price possible – otherwise, it might not make financial sense to purchase the miles.
Redeeming AAdvantage Miles
AAdvantage miles can be redeemed for flights on American Airlines and Oneworld alliance airlines, as well as many partner carriers. You can also use them to book hotel stays, car rentals, gift cards and more.
Flying remains the most popular way to redeem AAdvantage miles, and for good reason. It’s an easy way to get the most value from your miles, and you can easily find award space with American Airlines or its extensive network of partner airlines.
However, it’s important to note that American Airlines has introduced dynamic pricing for awards on its own fleet, so you may not always get the best deal. You can compare AAdvantage award prices against those of other carriers on the AAdvantage website.
If you’re interested in getting as much value out of your AAdvantage miles as possible, consider using them to pay for premium upgrades on American or its partners, such as Main Cabin Extra seating. These are redeemable at a fixed rate of around 100 miles per dollar.
Getting AAdvantage Elite Status
One of the benefits of flying American Airlines or its partners is elite status. It offers many opportunities to earn bonus airline miles, free checked bags and more.
Getting elite status can be a big deal for frequent flyers, but it’s not always easy to achieve. In January 2022, American Airlines completely revamped the way it rewards flyers with status.
With the new system, earning AAdvantage status is much simpler. Instead of a confusing combination of Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs), Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQDs) and segments, it’s now based on the number of Loyalty Points earned within a year.
If you’re interested in AAdvantage Gold, the first tier of AAdvantage status, you can earn it by accruing 30,000 Loyalty Points during a 12-month period. Among other things, Gold members get complimentary upgrades on all flights within North America.
Alternatively, you can also earn AAdvantage Platinum status by reaching a million AAdvantage qualifying miles. AAdvantage Platinum members get a choice of three rewards: Priority check-in, security and Group 4 boarding for one trip; four one-way systemwide upgrades; or a $200 donation to a charity of your choice.