Aadvantage miles how does it work

This means you should earn bonus points when using many of the top travel rewards cards , such as:. This will also apply to the above American Airlines cobranded cards. You could earn 2 AAdvantage miles per dollar on these eligible purchases by making them with one of these cards. Related: The best cards for airfare purchases. As of July 23, this is the only card that offers Admirals Club lounge access so if you are an AA flyer this card might make sense for you.

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Based on our most recent analysis, NerdWallet values American Airlines miles at 1. To determine the value of reward miles, we compared cash prices and reward redemptions for economy roundtrip routes across several destinations and dates. Read more about how we arrived at these figures. This is therefore a baseline value for American Airlines miles, based on real-world data collected from hundreds of economy routes, not a maximized value.

In other words, you ought to aim for award redemptions that offer 1. Check out our separate valuations page. You earn miles when you fly on American or with one of its partner airlines, and through hotel stays, car rentals, vacations, cruises, dining, shopping portals , various promotions or simply by buying miles usually a bad idea.

You can redeem them for award flights, upgrades, car rentals, hotel stays, vacations, Admirals Club airport lounge access and much more.

In general, AAdvantage miles will expire if you go 18 months without earning or redeeming miles on American or one of its partner airlines. However, as of July 1, , members under age 21 are exempt from mileage expiration. Also, if you have an American Airlines-branded credit card, your miles will remain valid as long as you continue to use the card. Earning on American: The number of miles you earn for a flight depends on how much you spend on the ticket in base fare and carrier-imposed fees.

If you have AAdvantage elite status, you will earn additional bonus miles for your trip. NOTE: You earn miles only on airfare and airline fees. Government-imposed taxes and fees do not earn miles. However, not all routes or flights may qualify.

If you purchase a flight on a booking code not listed as eligible for awards, you will not earn any award miles for your flight. In addition, some routes or affiliate airlines may not earn miles. American Airlines offers co-branded credit cards through both Citi and Barclays.

It gives you:. The first checked bag is free for you and up to four others traveling on your reservation. You also get preferred boarding, so you can get on the plane relatively early and find space for your carry-on. Hotels: You can earn AAdvantage miles at most major hotel chains.

In some cases, you earn 1 or 2 miles per dollar spent; in others, you earn a flat number of miles per stay. See partner hotels and earning rules here. 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 to 5 miles per dollar spent.

There are more than 11, participating locations. Auto rentals: Most major car rental agencies offer an option to earn AAdvantage miles. See the rules here. Shopping: When you shop online through the AAdvantage eShopping mall, you earn miles for every dollar you spend at more than retailers.

Vacations: When booking a flight and hotel through AA Vacations , you could earn extra miles. Purchasing miles through American's website can work to your advantage, particularly if you have certain international awards in mind. But in most cases, we recommend you stay away from buying miles, as it's an expensive way to accrue them.

Miles generally cost 2. However, even with any discounts, purchasing miles should be a last resort e. AAdvantage miles are redeemable for flights through American Airlines and its partners in the Oneworld alliance. Some airlines do not show up on AA. MileSAAver award seats are bookable for as little as 7, miles on certain one-way trips in North America. MileSAAver awards may be available in all classes, but the price you'll pay for business or first-class award seats is often more expensive than economy seats.

Given the low price of MileSAAver seats, there may be only a limited number of them available on a given flight. AA also offers off-peak MileSAAver awards to Hawaii and international destinations based on dates the airline considers to be low-season for travel. In this instance, all that will show are AAnytime awards. Booking these awards is generally not advisable given the poor cent-per-mile value.

Web Specials are extremely discounted awards as low as 5, miles to certain destinations. The miles price varies by region and date, and the award tickets have some restrictions. Generally speaking, the best redemptions are in business and first class cabins. Why is this? Because the cash cost increase from an economy ticket to a business or first class ticket is less than the cost increase in miles from an economy ticket to a business or first class ticket.

For example, a round-trip award from the continental U. Economy award. After deducting the cost of taxes, you arrive at a 0. Business class. In business class, the redemption looks very different given the high cost of the flight. This redemption results in a value of 2. This disproportionate miles to money increase explains why a premium cabin award often provides a much higher redemption value.

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