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AAdvantage Hotels is American Airlines' hotel booking platform that allows you to earn AAdvantage® bonus miles and Loyalty Points on accommodation. AA Hotels can be a great way to increase your rewards balance or put the next elite-status tier within reach. The platform also allows members to redeem miles for hotel stays, but we don't recommend it. The value per mile is often far below what you can get when booking flights.
However, there are significant drawbacks to consider when booking hotels through any third-party platform. In this post, we'll break down the pros and cons of using AAHotels — and help you decide when it actually makes sense for your travel goals.
Page Contents
How Does AA Hotels Work?
AAdvantage Hotels is a booking platform powered by Rocket Travel and linked with your American Airlines account. You'll log in using your AAdvantage credentials, and any eligible bookings will earn bonus miles and Loyalty Points automatically.
While many frequent-flyer programs have dedicated portals that offer redeemable miles for booking hotels, rental cars, and other travel, AA Hotels sets itself apart by awarding Loyalty Points that count toward elite status.
How many miles and Loyalty Points will I earn?
When you pay the cash rate for accommodation, your earnings are based on the price of your stay (excluding taxes and fees). If you hold an American Airlines credit card or have qualified for elite status (or both), you'll earn significantly more.
According to the AA Hotels website, a co-brand cardholder or AAdvantage elite can earn up to five times more base miles on hotels. If you meet both criteria, the additional earning power is combined for potential earnings of up to 10 times the rewards. This makes AAdvantage Hotels especially valuable for frequent flyers looking to boost their Loyalty Point balance without flying.
Earning rates are clearly displayed in the hotel search results, so it's easy to compare options before you book. Once you complete your stay, your miles and Loyalty Points are typically deposited into your AAdvantage account within a few weeks.
What you give up by booking through AA Hotels
While AA Hotels is a great way to earn AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points, there are tradeoffs — especially if you're booking a hotel from a major chain like Marriott, Hilton, IHG, or Hyatt.
Because these bookings are made through a third-party platform, they typically don't qualify for elite credit or points within the hotel's own loyalty program. That means:
- You won't earn elite night credits or qualifying points that get you closer to status with the hotel.
- You won't earn redeemable points in the hotel program
- You won't have access to elite benefits like free breakfast or parking, upgrades, or late checkout during your stay.
In some cases, these tradeoffs will be easy to justify. If you don't hold elite status with the hotel, you're not missing any perks. And if you have no intention of pursuing status, the lack of credit toward elite qualification isn't a concern.
In these scenarios, you need to weigh the value of the AAdvantage miles you'd earn through AA Hotels against the points you'd earn by booking directly through the hotel. American miles tend to be worth significantly more than most hotel points — Hyatt being a noteworthy exception — so don't just compare the number of points or miles on offer. Focus on their actual value. If you aren't sure how to do this, our Point and Mile Values page is a great place to start.
Lastly, it's worth noting that many hotels guarantee the lowest rate to loyalty members who book directly. Sometimes AAdvantage Hotels will match the lowest rate. Other times, booking directly will be cheaper — so it's always worth checking both options.
How to Book Through AA Hotels
To begin your search, enter the city or location where you want to stay, your check-in and check-out dates, and the number of rooms and guests. Then, click “Search” to see your results.
When your results come up, you'll have several options to refine your search. First, you can filter your search by clicking the “Show Map” button on the upper left of the search results. If you need to stay in a specific part of the city, this can be especially helpful!
Alongside the map or list view, you'll find useful filters to customize your results. For instance, you can filter by star rating (1–5), minimum/maximum price, and guest rating. You can also choose features like complimentary breakfast, pet-friendly, and pool availability. The results can be sorted by lowest price, best rating, and maximum miles earned.
Each search result will show the hotel cost per night and the miles and Loyalty Points earned for the entire stay. In the example below, the first hotel will cost $271 per night for $542 per stay. This stay will earn a total 7,400 miles and Loyalty Points.
Once you’ve selected your hotel, you’ll be able to choose from available room types based on your travel party. You’ll see both refundable and non-refundable options, along with the deadline to cancel for a full refund. Note that the number of miles you'll earn varies by room type and cancellation policy.
The rewards for a specific room may not be the same as what was shown on the list of hotels, so be sure to review the options carefully. Some rates offer additional bonus miles, but it isn't always worth the higher nightly cost.
Why we don't recommend redeeming miles for accommodation
If you want to redeem miles instead of earning them, you can switch from “Earn Miles” to “Redeem Miles” in the left-hand sidebar. This will update the results to show the cost of each hotel in AAdvantage miles. The results will be updated to show the miles cost for your entire stay — rather than the nightly rate displayed for cash bookings.
While this option may seem appealing, redeeming miles for hotels typically offers poor value. In many cases, you'll get around 1 cent per mile — which is already lower than the 1.5–1.8 cents per mile value that’s often achievable on flight redemptions. For business-class travel, American miles are often worth 3 cents or more apiece. Some hotels offer as little as 0.5 cents per mile, which borders on insulting.
Unless you're out of cash and brimming with miles, you're better off saving them for flights.
If you're determined to redeem miles but you don't have enough to cover the full stay, AA Hotels also offers a “Miles + Cash” option. This still suffers from the same poor redemption value, but it can be useful in situations where you want to spend a small number of miles that you don't have an easy way to redeem elsewhere.
On the final summary page, you'll see a helpful roundup of your booking details, including rewards earned, cancellation deadlines and included perks like breakfast.
If you book a cash rate, you should expect to see your rewards post to your AAdvantage account a few weeks after you complete your stay. If you redeem miles, they'll be deducted from your balance at the time of booking.
Should You Book Through AA Hotels?
If you're deciding whether or not to book through AA Hotels, here's a recap of the key factors to consider for each booking:
Book through AA Hotels if:
- You're staying at an independent or boutique hotel with no loyalty program.
- You don’t have elite status with the hotel — or don’t care about foregoing your elite perks.
- You're not working toward hotel status.
- The rate on AA Hotels is similar to or better than booking direct.
- You want to maximize AAdvantage Loyalty Points for elite qualification.
- You're chasing a bonus mile promo that adds extra value to your stay.
Book directly with the hotel if:
- You have elite status with the hotel and want to enjoy perks (upgrades, breakfast, etc.).
- You're actively pursuing elite status with the hotel's loyalty program.
- You value hotel points, elite credits, or other perks from the hotel's program more than the American miles on offer.
- The hotel’s member rate is significantly cheaper than the AA Hotels price.
Final Thoughts
AA Hotels can be a powerful tool for earning extra AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points — especially for travelers focused on American elite status. If you're staying at an independent property or a chain where you don’t care about hotel perks, the AA Hotels portal is a great way to earn meaningful rewards.
Just make sure to compare prices and consider what you're giving up. If hotel points, elite perks, or free nights matter more to you, booking directly with the hotel may still be the better option.
As for redeeming miles through AA Hotels? The value is almost always worse than using those same miles for flights. Unless you're out of cash or have miles to burn, save your redemptions for airfare.
Would you consider AAdvantage Hotels for your next stay?
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