AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers.
American Airlines may be restricting last-minute award bookings made on partner airline programs. First flagged by DansDeals, these restrictions appear to take place 144 hours (6 days) before departure, and could make it pricer to book last-minute awards through other airlines.
Note that these restrictions only affect partner airline programs. Last-minute bookings directly with American Airlines AAdvantage remain available.
Which American Airlines Flights Are Blocked From Partner Programs
These changes apply to flights departing within 144 hours (6 days) of the time of booking. Nonstop saver awards are blocked by American within that window. The flights are still bookable directly through American Airlines, but typically require more miles since they're priced dynamically.
Cash fares for American domestic flights also rise at this same 144-hour mark. If this is a permanent change, it would more align partner award bookings with the airline's cash bookings.
Let's use the route from New York to Miami as an example. Below is a look at available American Airlines flights through Alaska Airlines Atmos for the coming week.
For Friday, June 5, American flights are available for 7,500 miles between the two cities for a direct flight. But take a look at the listed dates above the flight search results; the 144-hour threshold for “last-minute” awards for this award search is Thursday, June 4, where costs jump to 15,000 miles. Those direct flights are blocked by American once they cross that threshold.
For 15,000 miles, you'd have to make a connection somewhere on what was previously a simple direct hop from New York to Miami:
Below is the same route on American AAdvantage with nonstop service available between New York and Miami. These are the flights that are now blocked on partner airline programs.
However, American also seems to be applying a slight upcharge for its last-minute award flights. In our case, it's an addition of a few thousand AA miles (16,000 instead of 12,500 miles):
Why This Restriction Matters
Last-minute bookings have been a sweet spot for booking American Airlines flights, especially through partner programs. Despite cash prices rising the closer you get to departure day, saver awards were still generally available — sometimes even more so. That meant snagging a saver award just a few days out provided a great opportunity to get great value for your points.
Additionally, partner airline programs that use distance-based pricing — like Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards and The British Airways Club — can offer lower-cost awards than AAdvantage. These programs offer easier ways to earn miles through their numerous transfer partners, as opposed to American AAdvantage, where you need to earn AAdvantage miles directly or transfer Citi ThankYou Points to AAdvantage.
- Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $600 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com.
- Earn 10 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on CitiTravel.com.
- Earn 3 Points per $1 on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases, at Restaurants, Supermarkets, Gas and EV Charging Stations.
- Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases
- $100 Annual Hotel Benefit: Once per calendar year, enjoy $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when booked through CitiTravel.com. Benefit applied instantly at time of booking.
- No expiration and no limit to the amount of points you can earn with this card
- No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases
- 10X on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked through CitiTravel.com
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Restaurants
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Supermarkets
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Gas and EV Charging Stations
- 1X – Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
If this is a long-term change by American, this could be a blow to many who enjoy using partner airline programs within the United States. Travelers should keep this 144-hour threshold in mind — or plan to use American AAdvantage miles for these last-minute bookings.
Related: Best Ways To Use American Airlines AAdvantage Miles, From Domestic Deals to First Class Suites
Bottom Line
American Airlines may be blocking Saver awards on partner airline programs 144 hours (6 days) out, and reserving those spaces for its own AAdvantage program. Once a lucrative sweet spot, last-minute domestic award bookings through partners may now face higher costs and more complex routing.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Citi Strata Premier® Card (Rates & Fees)
