How To Use American Airlines Miles

You need to know a few things about how to earn American Airlines miles before you can start using them. You can use your miles to get free flights on American or one of its partner companies. You can also use your miles for other things, like better seats or a rental car. This article has step-by-step directions for how to use American Airlines miles.

Know all the ins and outs of using AAdvantage miles to book free flights and more with our comprehensive guide.

Instructions for redeeming AAdvantage miles

To book a flight using your miles, follow these steps:

✅ Proceed to access your AAdvantage profile.

✅ Go ahead and enter your departure airport, arrival airport, and the dates you would like to search for flights.

✅ Click on “Redeem Miles” to get the flight cost in miles.

✅ From the options provided, choose the flight you would like to book.

✅ Verify traveller information and get in touch with them.

✅ When prompted, choose your seat.

✅ Verify that all of the information regarding your trip is accurate.

✅ Choose a form of payment to pay any applicable taxes or fees.

✅ Pay for your reservation by selecting “Pay Now.”

How to Use AAdvantage Miles on Flights with Other Airlines?

✅ Like redeeming AAdvantage miles on American Airlines flights, redeeming miles on partner flights is a breeze. How to use American Airlines miles online? Direct online booking is available for all members of the Oneworld alliance.

✅ Except for China Southern Airlines, which requires you to contact AAdvantage to search and redeem, you may book most of American Airlines’ other partners online. The availability of partner awards may be much lower than expected for American Airlines trips.

✅ Each partner handles it differently when deciding which partners to release available award space to. The availability of a seat as an award redemption is not necessarily contingent upon its availability for purchase.

✅ Searching for partner awards on the American Airlines website and app can be challenging. To verify availability, it’s sometimes better to search segment by segment. Call AAdvantage to make a reservation if the results of the online award search don’t match your findings.

✅ You may also find American Airlines’ crucial routing rules in the partner award chart. For instance, the Atlantic is the only way to fly from the US to Europe, Africa, or the Middle East.

✅ When booking with American Airlines’ overseas partners, it’s important to remember that any layover of 24 hours or more could be billed as two distinct awards.

✅ Keep in mind that partner awards are subject to a variety of taxes and fees. Award flights on British Airways are notoriously expensive.

How to Use AAdvantage Miles for Other Experiences?

Although AAdvantage miles are most valuable when redeemed for flights, you can still use them for other experiences.

With AAdvantage miles, you can plan a whole vacation. AAdvantage offers a travel portal where members may plan their entire vacation by searching for hotels and vehicle rentals and redeeming their miles for these services. Again, compared to flight awards, the value of other redemption alternatives, such as an annual Admirals Club membership, is often lower when using AAdvantage miles.

Many people think that using miles to upgrade their purchased flights is a simple method to fly first Class or business class. You can do this on flights operated by Iberia, American Airlines, and British Airways. Nevertheless, extra fees and limitations are associated with upgrading flights using miles.

American Airlines allows customers to redeem points for upgrades on certain flights, but only in certain pricing classes, including discounted economy rates. A full-fee economy ticket, the most expensive economy rate, is required for upgrades with British Airways and Iberia.

You can donate your miles through AAdvantage because they partner with charitable organisations. Categories such as “miles for social good” and “miles for our planet” allow you to narrow your search of their organisations.

Donating miles is another great strategy to keep them active for longer if your AAdvantage account is about to expire after 24 months of inactivity. One thousand miles is the bare minimum that you can contribute.

Redeeming your AAdvantage miles in unusual ways

While redeeming miles for free flights is a fantastic perk, it’s far from the only one. There are many different ways you can use those miles. Keep an eye on the redemption values. When compared to booking flights, the value of most other uses for AAdvantage miles is significantly lower per mile.

However, there are a few additional methods for how to use American Airlines miles for free:

✅ Upgrades for flights:- You can use your points to upgrade to the following cabin on American Airlines, British Airways, and Iberia flights.

✅ Cars, lodging, and vacations:- You can reserve a range of rental cars, hotel accommodations, and vacation packages through the American Airlines portal.

✅ Extravagant adventures:- Helicopter transportation to and from the airport and private airport escorts are two examples.

✅ Status as an Admirals Club member:- A membership to the Admirals Club, which you can buy or renew, grants you and two guests access to airport lounges all over the globe.

✅ Subscriptions to newspapers:- Depending on your area, you can redeem miles for digital subscriptions to a selection of publications.

✅ Donations:- The AA portal also allows you to donate miles to a good cause.

How often are the best times to redeem American Airlines miles?

You should always book your travel using your American Airlines miles if you come across an award flight that allows you to obtain at least the average value for each mile you redeem. Before the price increases due to demand or other circumstances, it is advisable to proceed with booking a local or international flight that allows you to earn 1.5¢ per mile.

Other options include paying with cash to save points or utilising additional airline miles to book a different route. It is not a good idea to accumulate miles you will never redeem because reward currencies weaken annually. Unless you’re planning an extravagant vacation, the only use for airline miles is to “earn and burn,” so doesn’t hold on to them. 

Using American Airlines miles: A Quick Guide

Consider how you might make the most of your American Airlines miles before you rush to redeem them. You can maximise the value of your miles by following these instructions.

Here are some pointers that can make better use of your AAdvantage miles:

✅ In most cases, redeeming miles for award flights is the most efficient use of those miles. You should save your AAdvantage miles for award tickets to get the most out of them. American Airlines miles are worth 1.7 cents each, according to NerdWallet. Value is usually lower for other redemption choices, such as hotel stays.

✅ To discover the most budget-friendly dates for award flights, check American Airlines low fare calendar. You can use the calendar function to locate the most cost-effective redemption dates. The search results page is where you’ll find this utility. You can redeem fewer miles for an award flight if you are flexible with your travel dates.

✅ Remember to include taxes and fees. It is your responsibility to pay any applicable taxes and fees when redeeming your award flights. Ensure you’re still getting a fair deal and making good use of your AAdvantage miles by reviewing the entire expenses cost before booking.

✅ You can use your AAdvantage miles to book flights on American Airlines and other partner airlines through the oneworld alliance. With few exceptions, you may book most of these flights immediately online. Searching for awards is very similar to searching for paid flights. You can also use your AAdvantage miles to buy other travel-related things or donate them to charity.