Everything You Need To Know About American Airlines AAdvantage

AAdvantage from American Airlines is the world’s oldest operating airline loyalty program.

It was a reaction to the introduction of the Airline Deregulation Act in 1978, which introduced heightened competition in American Airlines’ traditional markets.

AAdvantage was designed to attract and retain loyal customers, mitigating the risk of them defecting to competing carriers by offering a genuine differentiator.

The program was initially by invitation only, with the airline identifying its most frequent travelers and inviting them to join. As other airlines launched their own programs, AAdvantage was opened up to all and continued to innovate.

It became the first loyalty program to collaborate with another airline, allowing members to earn and redeem miles on British Airways flights, setting a cornerstone for the eventual creation of the oneworld alliance.

Today the AAdvantage program has over 115 million members, second only to the Delta Air Lines SkyMiles program in size, with scores of partners where members can earn and redeem miles and loyalty points. So let’s take a closer look at everything you need to know about AAdvantage.

Earning loyalty points and elite status

Before getting into earning and redeeming miles, it’s important to understand elite status with AAdvantage, as this has a significant multiplier effect on the value that a member gets from the program.

American Airlines keeps this simple (unlike many other airline programs), with one eligible mile earned equaling one Loyalty Point. As you accumulate these points you attain the following elite status levels:

• Gold: 40,000 points.
• Platinum: 75,000 points.
• Platinum Pro: 125,000 points.
• Executive Platinum: 200,000 points.

American Airlines made a conscious move to Loyalty Points as a means of simplifying the journey to earning elite status. Heather Samp, managing director of the AAdvantage program at the time of the change said the following:

“We recognize that earning elite status has become too complicated and confusing. Our members inspired us to introduce Loyalty Points this year, with the easy conversion of one mile earned equals one point earned, to really simplify the process and bring excitement back to earning status. We’ve been thrilled with the positive feedback we’ve heard from our members so far, which really confirms we’re on the right track.”

So what do these elite status levels mean? Well, a basic AAdvantage member with no elite status earns five miles per dollar spent and no bonus. But attain just Gold status, and the increased miles earned and mileage bonus nearly doubles the miles earned per dollar spent.

It also adds several other very attractive perks - see the table below.

For many American Airlines loyalists, the biggest benefit of AAdvantage elite status is the complimentary upgrade eligibility, especially if this is confirmed well in advance of departure.

Even if you’re on a busy flight and not able to snag the upgrade, there is the opportunity to secure either a preferred seat (e.g. aisle seat) or a Main Cabin Extra seat, which includes early boarding, more legroom, dedicated overhead bin space and a free adult beverage.

It is also important to realize that AAdvantage status lines up with status on oneworld alliance partners as follows: Gold corresponds to oneworld Ruby, Platinum to oneworld Sapphire, and AAdvantage Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum to oneworld Emerald.

Earning miles with AAdvantage

In parallel to earning Loyalty Points, all AAdvantage members also earn miles from the dollars they spend in the American Airlines “universe”. Rather than counting for status, these can be accumulated and later redeemed for rewards and benefits.

But with more than 30 different ways to earn AAdvantage miles, it can get a little confusing, so let’s break it down.

Earning miles when you fly

The most obvious way to earn miles is by booking a ticket on American Airlines. The miles are not based on how far you travel, but rather on the dollar amount you spend on the ticket in base fare and carrier-imposed fees.

As explained above, the number of miles earned on a ticket purchase will vary depending on the elite status of a member. The same $500 ticket will earn a basic member 2,500 miles compared to 12,100 miles for an Executive Platinum member.

AAdvantage members also earn miles when flying with other airlines that operate in partnership with American Airlines. These come in two categories:

• oneworld Partner Airlines: Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia Airlines, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, and Sri Lankan Airlines.
• Other select partners: Aer Lingus, Air Tahiti Nui, Cape Air, China Southern Airlines, Etihad Airways, Fiji Airways, GOL Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, IndiGo, JetSMART

Earning AAdvantage miles with a credit card

Like most other airlines, American Airlines offers co-branded credit cards that allow you to earn miles with your credit card spend. What is unusual, though, is that the carrier has credit card agreements with two different issuers (Citibank and Barclays), a legacy of its merger with US Airways.

Credit cards that earn AAdvantage miles include:

• Citi / AAdvantage MileUp: The base-level card has no annual fee, and users earn 15,000 bonus miles after making $1,000 in purchases within the first three months.
• Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite: The most popular card, this has a $99 annual fee (waived for the first year), which pays for itself with the checked bag benefit after just a few flights. It also earns two miles for every dollar spent on eligible American Airlines purchases and has a great sign-up bonus of 75,000 miles after $3,500 in purchases in the first four months.
• Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite: This comes with a hefty $595 annual fee, but is the only card that provides access to American Airlines Admirals Club airport lounges for up to ten authorized users. Normally, an Admirals Club membership costs $750-850 for AAdvantage members, depending on elite status. The card also offers more generous miles accumulation on credit card spend (four miles for every dollar), and a 70,000 sign-up bonus after $7,000 in purchases in the first three months
• Barclays / AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite: With a $99 annual fee, the Barclays-issued card provides 60,000 bonus miles after making your first purchase. There is also a Silver World Elite card from Barclays that earns more miles and carries more benefits, which can be requested as an upgrade from the Red card.

Earning AAdvantage miles through partners

American Airlines also provides a wide array of opportunities to earn miles via its extensive partner network. Any new AAdvantage member (or even established members who haven’t been paying attention) should review the AAdvantage partner-earning opportunities to make sure they aren’t missing out on free miles. These include:

• Hotels: Earn AAdvantage miles at major hotel chains such as Marriott, Hyatt, and IHG. In some cases, members will earn 1-2 miles per dollar spent, while other hotels provide a flat number of miles per stay.
• Dining: Register a credit card with AAdvantage Dining, and every time you use that card at a participating restaurant, club, or bar, you'll earn 1-5 miles per dollar spent. There are more than 11,000 participating locations.
• Auto rentals: Hertz, Avis, and Budget provide AAdvantage members with savings of up to 35% and miles for every dollar spent.
• Vacations/Cruises: Members can earn bonus miles when booking a flight and hotel through AA Vacations, and three miles per dollar spent when booking through AA cruises.
• Shopping: Members can earn miles for every dollar spent by shopping through the AAdvantage eShopping mall, which has more than 950 retailers.
• Fuel: AAdvantage partners with Shell's Fuel Rewards program, allowing members to earn 2 miles for every gallon of gas bought at Shell stations.

Redeeming miles with AAdvantage

Once you’ve accumulated all those miles, you’ll want to redeem them, and AAdvantage has options that include award flights, upgrades, car rentals, hotel stays, vacations, Admirals Club airport lounge access, and more.

The simplest way to redeem AAdvantage miles for award flights and upgrades is with American Airlines, as that redemption can be carried out on the carrier's website.

Just be aware that American Airlines makes use of dynamic pricing for redemptions, so the amount of miles for an award flight can vary considerably depending on the demand for that flight. The airline provides an award chart as guidance on the anticipated miles required (see screenshot below).

You can also redeem miles with any of American Airlines’ oneworld partners, either directly or on the American Airlines website. In general, redeeming AAdvantage miles for a flight on a partner airline will cost the same as redeeming them for a flight on American Airlines itself.

However, pay close attention to the fees and surcharges, as some carriers like British Airways often have exceptionally high surcharges.

Beyond flights, there are numerous other options for redeeming miles, such as booking hotels, car rentals, or lounge access.

In almost all cases, miles will go further with flight awards, and lose half their inherent value or more when applied to redemptions outside of the American Airlines immediate ecosystem.

However, if you have moved cities and your preferred airline has changed (e.g., from Miami to Atlanta) or if you don’t fly as much anymore, these provide interesting alternative options for using up those miles.