Easy methods to earn miles within the American Airways AAdvantage program

Editors be aware: This can be a recurring publish, recurrently up to date with new data.

When you’re simply entering into the world of factors and miles, the array of loyalty applications from airways, inns and bank cards might be overwhelming. Nevertheless it’s vital to know the fundamentals in regards to the main loyalty applications.

As the most important airline by passengers carried, there’s probability that you just’ll come throughout American Airways and its AAdvantage program sooner or later in your travels. American Airways’ plethora of Oneworld and non-alliance companions means you possibly can redeem AAdvantage miles for journey to many locations on quite a lot of airways.

This publish will describe many strategies you need to use to earn American Airways AAdvantage miles. However first, two notes. Make certain to create a free AAdvantage account on the American Airways web site, as you’ll want an account earlier than you can begin incomes AAdvantage miles. And be aware that just some American Airways miles are Loyalty Level-eligible — so test our information about earn Loyalty Factors for those who’re additionally involved in incomes American Airways elite standing.

Earn American miles by flying

Incomes AAdvantage miles by flying could seem to be it wants no rationalization, however the way you earn miles for flying has modified over time. Right here’s how one can earn AAdvantage miles flying on American and its companions.

Flying on American Airways

When flying on American Airways, you’ll sometimes earn miles based mostly on the bottom value of your ticket minus taxes and costs. The miles you earn additionally range based mostly in your AAdvantage elite standing. As you’d count on, the upper your standing, the upper the variety of miles earned.

Nonetheless, watch out for American Airways’ particular fares, as these fares earn based mostly on the fare class and distance flown as a substitute of the particular fare paid. American Airways’ web site says you could earn based mostly on particular fares for those who guide via a “specialised agent, third social gathering or as a part of a package deal together with air transportation and lodging.”

Flying with companions

Whenever you fly with an American Airways associate, you possibly can earn American miles in one in every of two methods. If the associate flight was booked via American and ticketed on American Airways ticket inventory, you’ll earn miles the identical as for those who have been flying on an American Airways flight. That is typically the case for those who guide a ticket operated by a associate airline on the American Airways web site.

The way you earn American miles adjustments while you guide a ticket on a associate’s web site and add your AAdvantage quantity to the reservation. On this case, you’ll earn miles based mostly in your flight distance. Nonetheless, the precise incomes fee relies on the fare class of your ticket. Right here’s an instance of the incomes chart for British Airways-operated flights:

You’ll be able to see your fare class by taking a look at your e-ticket or by calling the airline and asking.

When you’ve situated the fare class, go to American’s checklist of associate airways, click on on the working service of your flight and discover the corresponding fare class on that checklist. Then, multiply the mileage flown (use Nice Circle Mapper to rapidly calculate the gap between two airports) by the proportion within the fare class column.

When you’re flying in a premium fare class, you will additionally earn the bonus listed within the “Cabin bonus” column. And AAdvantage elite members earn bonus miles along with base miles on the following charges when flying on eligible associate airways:

• Gold: 40%.
• Platinum: 60%.
• Platinum Professional: 80%.
• Government Platinum: 120%.

For instance, for those who’re a normal AAdvantage member flying British Airways enterprise class within the C fare class from Los Angeles to London, you’ll earn 100% base miles plus a 150% cabin bonus. Because the flight clocks in at 5,456 miles, this comes out to 13,640 AAdvantage miles earned every method. However, an Government Platinum member flying on this identical ticket would earn 6,547 extra miles every method as a result of 120% elite bonus.

Associated: Fast Factors: Earn American AAdvantage standing rapidly with associate flights

Earn American miles via bank cards

One of many best methods to earn American AAdvantage miles is thru sign-up bonuses and spending on American Airways playing cards. Citi and Barclays at present concern AAdvantage bank cards that allow you to earn American Airways miles when utilizing your card for purchases.

Citi’s American AAdvantage portfolio is essentially the most enticing of the 2 issuers if you wish to earn miles on on a regular basis bank card spending. Listed below are the sign-up bonuses and incomes charges on a few of the currently-available Citi AAdvantage playing cards:

• Citi® / AAdvantage® Government World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 80,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,500 on purchases inside the first three months of account opening. For a restricted time, earn 4 miles per greenback spent on eligible American Airways purchases (via Dec. 31, 2022; after that, earn 2 miles per greenback on eligible American Airways purchases). Earn 1 mile per greenback on all different purchases. ($450 annual payment.)
• Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Choose® World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,500 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. Plus, earn 2 miles per greenback spent at fuel stations, at eating places and on eligible American Airways purchases and 1 mile per greenback spent on all different purchases. ($99 annual payment, waived for the primary 12 months.)
• CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Choose® Mastercard®: Earn 65,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 on purchases inside the first 4 months of account opening. Plus, earn 2 miles per greenback spent on eligible American Airways purchases and purchases at telecommunications retailers, cable and satellite tv for pc suppliers, automobile rental retailers and fuel stations. Earn 1 mile per greenback on all different purchases. ($99 annual payment, waived for the primary 12 months.)
• American Airways AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card: Earn 10,000 bonus miles and a $50 assertion credit score after you spend $500 on purchases inside the first three months of account opening. Plus, earn 2 miles per greenback spent at grocery shops and on eligible American Airways purchases and 1 mile per greenback spent on all different purchases. (No annual payment.)

The knowledge for the CitiBusiness AAdvantage Platinum card has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or supplied by the cardboard issuer.

However, Barclays affords a number of American AAdvantage playing cards. Listed below are two Barclays AAdvantage playing cards which might be at present open to new candidates:

• AAdvantage® Aviator ®Purple World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 50,000 AAdvantage bonus miles after making your first buy and paying the $99 annual payment in full, each inside the first 90 days. Earn 2 AAdvantage miles per greenback spent on eligible American Airways purchases and 1 mile per greenback spent on all different purchases.
• AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Enterprise Mastercard®: Earn 80,000 AAdvantage bonus miles and a $95 assertion credit score after you spend $2,000 on purchases within the first 90 days. Earn 2 AAdvantage miles per greenback spent at eligible workplace provide, telecommunications and automobile rental retailers and on eligible American Airways purchases. Earn 1 mile per greenback on all different purchases. ($95 annual payment.)

The knowledge for the AAdvantage Aviator Purple and AAdvantage Aviator Enterprise playing cards has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or supplied by the cardboard issuer.

If you would like American Airways standing, be aware that miles earned from sign-up bonuses and class bonuses on spending aren’t Loyalty Level eligible. As such, you will earn simply 1 Loyalty Level per greenback spent on the above-mentioned AAdvantage bank cards.

Associated: What that you must find out about incomes one other American Airways card sign-up bonus

Earn American miles via companions

You can too earn American miles (in some circumstances, you possibly can even earn Loyalty Level-eligible miles) via AAdvantage companions. You could possibly earn miles via companions for actions you already do, like procuring, eating and banking.

The American Airways AAdvantage eShopping portal awards miles in your on-line purchases.

Utilizing the portal is straightforward: Join an account and click on via to your service provider of alternative on AAdvantage eShopping earlier than making a purchase order. By clicking via the AAdvantage eShopping portal quite than going on to the product owner’s web site, you’ll earn AAdvantage miles on high of the rewards you’d already be incomes while you use a rewards bank card to make your buy.

Associated: Maximizing procuring portals on your on-line purchases

AAdvantage Eating

Consider American Airways AAdvantage Eating as a procuring portal for consuming out. Simply join an account, hyperlink your favourite bank cards and earn miles while you dine at collaborating eating places.

You’ll be able to earn:

• 5 AAdvantage miles per greenback for those who’re a VIP member (change into a VIP member via the tip of the subsequent calendar 12 months after you make 11 transactions in a calendar 12 months and elect to obtain emails from AAdvantage Eating).
• 3 AAdvantage miles per greenback for those who’re a choose member (change into a choose member by opting to obtain emails from AAdvantage Eating).
• 1 AAdvantage mile per greenback for those who’re a primary member.

Like a procuring portal, the miles you earn via AAdvantage Eating are along with the usual charges on the bank card you employ, so be sure you pay with the most effective playing cards for eating.

Associated: Maximize restaurant spending with eating rewards applications

Switch factors from lodge applications

You’ll be able to switch lodge factors from varied applications instantly into your AAdvantage account. Whereas most supply a comparatively poor worth proposition, one exception is Marriott Bonvoy.

Marriott factors switch to American AAdvantage at a ratio of three Marriott factors to 1 AAdvantage mile. Till Oct. 31, 2022, you will get a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 Marriott factors you switch to an airline associate. However, Marriott is eliminating this bonus for choose switch companions (together with American Airways AAdvantage) on Oct. 31, 2022.

Associated: Right here’s what you must know earlier than transferring Marriott factors to airline miles

Switch factors from Bilt Rewards

Bilt Rewards is a loyalty program for renters. You should use the Bilt Mastercard to earn factors while you pay lease and make different purchases. Then, you possibly can switch Bilt factors to numerous switch companions, together with AAdvantage, at a 1:1 switch ratio.

Editor’s be aware: TPG founder Brian Kelly is a Bilt advisor and investor. The knowledge for the Bilt Mastercard has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or supplied by the cardboard issuer.

Lodge stays

There are a number of methods to earn AAdvantage miles in your lodge bookings.

The primary is reserving inns instantly via Hyatt, Marriott and IHG. Every lodge loyalty program permits you to earn AAdvantage miles as a substitute of normal lodge factors for those who set your incomes choice to AAdvantage miles in your member profile. Particularly, you possibly can earn American Airways miles on the following charges:

• World of Hyatt: 500 miles per keep.
• Marriott Bonvoy: 1 to 2 miles per greenback spent.
• IHG One Rewards: 1 to 2 miles per greenback spent.

Make certain to check the variety of lodge factors you’d earn with the variety of AAdvantage miles you’d earn earlier than opting to earn AAdvantage miles. You may normally come out forward while you earn lodge factors as a substitute of airline miles in your lodge stays.

You can too earn AAdvantage miles on lodge stays by reserving inns via Rocketmiles. You’ll be able to earn as much as 10,000 miles per evening, with promoted and costlier inns typically incomes essentially the most miles. Nonetheless, Rocketmiles typically costs inns increased than for those who booked instantly. So cross-check costs earlier than reserving a keep.

Lastly, you possibly can earn AAdvantage miles on lodge stays while you guide via American Airways Lodges. Reserving.com powers this platform, so you will discover varied lodge choices via it. As with Rocketmiles, American says you possibly can earn as much as 10,000 miles per evening when reserving via American Airways Lodges. Nonetheless, just some inns supply AAdvantage miles via this platform and lots of supply fewer than 10,000 miles per evening. So you will should be versatile to maximise this reserving technique.

Associated: We examined incomes American Airways miles for 3 completely different lodge stays — right here’s what we discovered

Hyatt stays

In March 2019, American and Hyatt introduced a partnership that enables Hyatt elite members to earn factors on American flights and American elite members to earn miles on Hyatt stays.

After you hyperlink your World of Hyatt and AAdvantage accounts (on this web page for Hyatt elites and this web page for AAdvantage elites), all American elite members will earn 1 AAdvantage mile per greenback spent on Hyatt stays.

These miles are Loyalty Level-eligible and are along with World of Hyatt factors. So Hyatt and American elite standing members can actually get the very best of each worlds. We extremely advocate enrolling on this program in case you have elite standing with both firm.

Guide trip packages with American Airways Holidays

You’ll be able to earn miles on trip packages while you guide via American Airways Holidays. With American Airways Holidays, you possibly can guide flights, inns and automobile leases as a package deal and make the most of discounted charges. You’ll additionally earn a minimal of 1,000 AAdvantage miles on all packages booked via American Airways Holidays.

You’ll be able to earn extra miles by reserving lodge stays at “featured inns.” Featured inns are listed on American Airways Holidays’ promotions web page and are up to date recurrently. The perfect affords I see now supply as much as 25,000 AAdvantage miles per keep, however typically you will see affords for as much as 30,000 AAdvantage miles per keep.

You could need to test the promotions web page on the American Airways Holidays web site earlier than you guide your subsequent trip. However do not forget that you probably will not earn lodge factors or get lodge elite standing advantages while you guide inns via American Airways Holidays, as you normally must guide instantly with the lodge to make the most of these advantages.

Associated: Need to earn Loyalty Factors? This is why reserving via American Airways Holidays is not all the time greatest

Guide your cruise with American Airways Cruises

You’ll be able to earn American Airways miles when reserving a cruise with American Airways. As a normal AAdvantage member, you possibly can earn 1 mile per greenback (as much as 10,000 AAdvantage miles per reserving) for cruises via Dec. 31, 2024. Better of all, this incomes is Loyalty Level-eligible.

AAdvantage cardholders can earn an extra 1 mile per greenback (as much as 10,000 extra AAdvantage miles per reserving) for cruises via Dec. 31, 2024, however these additional miles aren’t Loyalty Level eligible.

Hold an eye fixed out for promotions via American Airways Cruises that present additional perks like onboard credit and cabin upgrades in your crusing.

Different methods to earn miles with AAdvantage companions

This part coated only a sampling of American Airways’ many companions. You’ll be able to see the complete checklist on American’s web site, however here is a fast glimpse at a few of the different methods to earn American miles with AAdvantage companions:

Backside line

Regardless of AAdvantage not partnering with many transferable factors applications, you possibly can simply earn miles by flying, spending on cobranded bank cards, opening a financial savings account and procuring with quite a few retail companions.