How to Earn American Airlines Miles How to Earn American Airlines Miles

How to Earn American Airlines Miles

Bonus Points

AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. Terms Apply to the offers listed on this page. 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 miles are some of the most valuable and versatile rewards you can earn. You can redeem them for travel on 22 different AAdvantage partner airlines to reach over 1,000 destinations.

If you like the finer things in life, AAdvantage miles should be a key part of your rewards earning strategy. Mileage partners like Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Etihad, and Qatar offer some of the industry's best business- and first-class products.

In this post, we’ll cover all of the ways you can build your balance of American Airlines miles. With the right strategy, you’ll have a steady flow of miles from spending on co-brand credit cards, online shopping, dining out, and flying with American and its partners.

How to Earn American Airlines Miles by Flying

Perhaps the most obvious way to earn AA miles is by flying with American Airlines (sometimes called ‘butt-in-seat' miles).

The first step to earning AA miles is to create an AA frequent flyer account and get an AAdvantage number. Make sure you keep that number handy, as you'll need it to claim miles for anything.

Pro Tip — AwardWallet allows you to save all of your loyalty program details in one place, allowing quick reference whenever necessary. Use this link to add your AAdvantage account to AwardWallet.

American Airlines Marketed Flights

Rather than basing mileage earnings on distance flown, AA awards redeemable miles based on ticket price (before taxes and fees) and elite status. As American Airlines puts it:

“The more you spend, and the higher your elite status, the more you'll earn.”

The higher your elite status, the more miles you'll earn. Flights with American Airlines flight numbers — even if operated by partners — will earn:

  • AAdvantage Member (no status) — 5 miles per U.S. dollar spent
  • Gold Member — 7 miles per U.S. dollar spent (40% bonus)
  • Platinum Member — 8 miles per U.S. dollar spent (60% bonus)
  • Platinum Pro Member — 9 miles per U.S. dollar spent (80% bonus)
  • Executive Platinum Member — 11 miles per U.S. dollar spent (120% bonus)

American AAdvantage miles earning chart for American marketed flights

American Partner Flights

For flights marketed by Oneworld partners and non-alliance partners, AA applies earning rates to determine the number of miles earned per flight. These rates are different for each airline and depend entirely on the distance flown and the booking class purchased.

For example, here is the earning chart for international flights on Oneworld partner Japan Airlines:

American Airline miles earning chart for Japan Airlines marketed flights

Let's say you book a first-class ticket with Japan Airlines from Tokyo (HND) to New York (JFK). The total flight distance is 6,772 miles, and first-class bookings earn mileage equal to 150% of the distance flown. Therefore, your total redeemable miles earned—if credited to AAdvantage—would be 150% of 6,772 miles = 10,158.

If you have elite status, it's important to note that you will only get an elite bonus on the base earning rate of 100%. Elite bonuses aren't applied to cabin bonuses. That means AAdvantage elites will earn:

  • Gold: 6,772 base miles + 3,386 cabin bonus + 2,709 elite bonus = 12,867 miles
  • Platinum: 6,772 base miles + 3,386 cabin bonus + 4,063 elite bonus = 14,221 miles
  • Platinum Pro: 6,772 base miles + 3,386 cabin bonus + 5,418 elite bonus = 15,576 miles
  • Executive Platinum: 6,772 base miles + 3,386 cabin bonus + 8,126 elite bonus = 18,284 miles

American Airlines Claim Miles Request

Don't forget to claim any miles missing after you fly! Just because you forgot to add your AAdvantage number before traveling doesn't mean you're out of luck. As long as it's been at least three days since traveling, you can use your ticket number on AA's ‘Request Flight Miles‘ tool to get any miles owed. Don't leave miles on the table!

Earn American Miles with Travel Partners

Book Your Hotel Through an AAdvantage Partner

Hotel stays can be an excellent way to supplement your AA miles, but you may have to sacrifice some benefits or points you could have enjoyed by booking directly with the hotel. American partners with three online travel agencies (OTAs) that offer a variety of accommodation options.

  • RocketMiles RocketMiles is an OTA that allows members to earn up to 10,000 AA miles per hotel booking. In general, the more you spend, the more points you'll earn—but that's not always the case. Featured hotels can earn higher bonuses, making the stay even more valuable.
  • PointsHound PointsHound is another OTA offering up to 10,000 points per booking. It operates much like Rocketmiles, so it's smart to compare the two before making a reservation.
  • American Airlines Hotels Lastly, AA offers its own hotel booking service powered by Booking.com. While the other two OTAs offer the choice to earn miles with several airline programs, this booking channel offers exclusively AA miles. On the plus side, this site has a more diverse selection of properties, including apartments and other home rentals. To claim your miles, just enter your AAdvantage number on the page where you enter your payment information.

earn AA miles with American Airlines hotels

Keep in mind that you won't receive any hotel points or status recognition for stays booked through these OTAs. That's because RocketMiles, PointsHound, and AA Hotels are third-party booking services and most hotel programs exclude earnings on third-party bookings.

If you're earning a ton of AA miles from the stay, this might not matter. But if you hold a hotel elite status that would normally entitle you to suite upgrades or free breakfast, you might be better off booking directly with that hotel.

Choose to Earn AA Miles Instead of Hotel Points

Several major hotel brands will let you choose to earn AAdvantage miles instead of points from their own loyalty program.

In general, the best return on hotel bookings is found when crediting the stay to the respective hotel loyalty program. However, if you have no interest in earning a hotel's points, you can choose to earn AA miles instead. With any of AA's hotel partners, simply select ‘Earn Miles' as your preference in your hotel account and select American Airlines.

Earn American Airline miles instead of IHG Rewards points
IHG allows you to choose to earn American Airlines miles instead of IHG Rewards points

Unlike the third-party booking sites listed above, these bookings can be made directly with the hotel brand. The only tradeoff is that you forgo the hotel points you'd earn with the hotel's own loyalty program.

Hotel PartnerAA Earning Rate
Hyatt500 miles per stay
Marriott2 miles per dollar spent at upscale brands, 1 mile per dollar at other brands
IHG2 miles per dollar spent at most brands, 1 mile per dollar at extended-stay brands
WyndhamBlue and Gold Wyndham Rewards Members — 1 mile per dollar spent
Platinum and Diamond Wyndham Rewards Members — 2 miles per dollar spent

Pro Tip — Be sure to keep an eye on the AA eShopping Mall when making hotel bookings. At the time of writing, AA's shopping portal is currently awarding five AAdvantage miles per dollar spent on PointsHound purchases. When you click from a shopping portal to a site like PointsHound, you can earn miles from both entities independently. You can learn more about stacking multiple promotions here. 

Earn AA Miles and World of Hyatt Points

If you hold elite status with American Airlines, there is one hotel partnership that allows you to earn American miles without giving up any of the hotel points or benefits you'd normally earn. AAdvantage members with elite status can earn one AA mile per dollar spent on qualifying Hyatt stays and experiences.

American Airlines AAdvantage reciprocal earning with World of Hyatt

To take advantage of this partnership, all you need to do is link your AAdvantage and World of Hyatt accounts. Once this has been completed, just book your hotel stays directly with Hyatt and you'll automatically earn bonus AA miles.

American Airlines Hyatt Dual Accrual

AAdvantage Car Rental Partners

In the same way, you can earn miles for hotel stays, you can also earn miles for car rentals. AA partners with several major car rental agencies, including favorites like National and Hertz.

The best deal is currently with Avis and Budget—AA's preferred car rental partners. Depending on your AAdvantage Elite Status, you can earn up to 1,250 miles per rental!

Screen-Shot-2020-07-22-at-4.16.34-PM-300x175

To earn miles for a car rental, you'll need to add your AAdvantage number to the booking. You can double-check that it's added by checking your rental agreement after you've picked up the car.

Here's the earning structure for AA's other car rental partners:

Rental AgencyMiles EarnedDiscount Code (If Applicable)
Payless500 miles per rentalK105200
Alamo50 miles per rental day
National50 miles per rental day
Dollar50 miles per rental day
Hertz1 mile per dollar spentCDP 217692
Thrifty50 miles per rental day

Earn American Miles with Vacation Packages

Need to put together a whole vacation? Save time and money by booking everything at once!

Screen-Shot-2020-07-22-at-6.18.28-PM-300x155

American Airlines Vacations is a booking platform that offers bonus miles and savings to AAdvantage members who book their vacations in a package. These packages always include flights and hotels but can also be modified to incorporate rental cars.

Every vacation booked through American Airlines Vacations earns the primary traveler 1,000 AAdvantage miles. From time to time, AA also offers bonus miles for booking vacation packages to specific destinations or with particular partners.

Earn AA Miles with Cruises

Screen-Shot-2020-07-22-at-6.21.52-PM-300x198

If cruising is your thing, you should check out American Airlines Cruises, AA's cruise booking platform. It allows AAdvantage members to earn miles every time they set sail.

As of this writing, the program offers one mile per dollar spent on cruise bookings, up to 10,000 miles. Better yet, each booking comes with a 110% price guarantee. That means that if you find a lower price after you've booked, AA will reimburse 110% of the difference.

If you're an avid cruiser, it's worth signing up for the email subscription. AA Cruises regularly offers increased bonuses for booking certain voyages—in some cases giving away tens of thousands of additional miles. The email subscription ensures that you don't miss out on a great deal.

Earning AAdvantage Miles with Credit Cards

The easiest and most efficient way to earn AA miles is through co-branded credit cards issued by Citi and Barclays. Besides the high-value sign-up bonuses and mileage earning based on spending, these cards can also provide valuable benefits that make flying more comfortable.

Editors Note: It's our policy to publish links to the best publically available offer for rewards cards even if we won't earn a commission on the card. However, offers are subject to change, so please make sure to carefully review offer terms on the card issuer's website before deciding to apply.

Best Card for Occasional American Flyers

Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®
Annual Fee$99, waived for first 12 months
Welcome Offer Earn 60,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after $3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
The AA Platinum Select card is a great choice for anyone who travels at least a few times per year with American Airlines. Cardholders get a free checked bag on domestic itineraries, priority boarding and a 25% discount on in-flight purchases.

With these perks, it's easy to justify the annual fee of $99, waived for first 12 months.
  • Free checked bags for you and up to 4 companions on domestic itineraries
  • Priority boarding to help you win the race for overhead bin space
  • A 25% discount on inflight food, beverage, and Wi-Fi purchases
  • Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent at restaurants
  • Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent at gas stations
  • Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases
  • Earn 1X mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases

  • First checked bag free — The primary cardholder and up to four (4) companions will receive the first checked bag free of charge on domestic flights operated by American Airlines.
  • Preferred boarding — The primary cardholder and up to four (4) companions will be invited to board American-operated flights before economy class travelers.
  • See our full card review

Best Card for Earning Elite Status

Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®
Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®
Annual Fee$450
Welcome Offer Earn 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after making $5,000 in purchases in the first 3 months of account opening
The AA Executive Card card is by far the most cost effective way to gain access to American Airlines Admirals Club lounges. Even better, you can extend the benefit to up to 10 authorized users on your account at no additional cost. In addition, this card offers a free checked bag, on domestic AA flights, priority checkin and boarding, and a credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
  • Complimentary Admirals Club membership for the primary cardholder
  • Complimentary Admirals Club membership for up to 10 authorized user accounts
  • No charge for authorized user accounts
  • First checked bag free on domestic AA flights for you and up to 8 companions
  • Priority check-in, TSA screening lines, and boarding
  • 10,000 bonus Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) after you spend $40,000 in purchases within the year
  • Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees
  • Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases
  • Earn 1X mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases
  • Earn 10,000 AAdvantage Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) after you spend $40,000 in purchases within the year

  • Admirals Club® Membership — Cardholders get Admirals Club membership and authorized users can access Admirals Club lounges by presenting a same-day boarding pass for travel with American Airlines or a Oneworld partner airline. Immediate family or up to two guests traveling with the cardmember will also receive complimentary access.
  • Earn up to 10,000 bonus Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs) — Cardholders can reach the next elite level faster by earning 10,000 EQMs after spending $40,000 in a calendar year.
  • First checked bag free — The primary cardholder and up to eight (8) companions can check their first bag free of charge on domestic flights operated by American Airlines.
  • See our full card review

Earn American Miles with No Annual Fee

American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp®
American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp®
Annual Fee$0
Welcome Bonus Earn 10,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles and receive a $50 statement credit after making $500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
  • 10,000 AAdvantage® miles and a $50 statement credit after making $500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
  • 2X AAdvantage® miles on eligible American Airlines purchases and at grocery stores, including grocery delivery services
  • Save 25% on inflight drinks and snacks when you use your card on American Airlines flights
  • $0 annual fee
  • 2 AAdvantage® miles for each $1 spent at grocery stores, including grocery delivery services
  • 2 AAdvantage® miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases
  • 1 AAdvantage® mile for every $1 spent on other purchases

  • Earn AAdvantage Miles on Every Purchase — Earn 2x miles at grocery stores (including grocery delivery services), 2x on eligible American Airlines purchases, and 1x on all other purchases.
  • Save 25% on eligible inflight purchases
  • Pay no annual fee for as long as you keep your AA MileUp Card.

Best American Airlines Card for Small Business

CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®
CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®
Annual Fee$99, waived for first 12 months
Welcome Offer Earn 65,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending $4,000 in purchases within the first 4 months of account opening.
The AA Business Card is a great card to hold for any business owner that travels at least a few times per year with American Airlines. Get a free checked bag on domestic itineraries, priority boarding and a 25% discount on in-flight purchases.With these perks, it's easy to justify the annual fee of $99, waived for first 12 months.
  • Free checked bags for you and up to 4 companions on domestic itineraries
  • Priority boarding to help you win the race for overhead bin space
  • A 25% discount on inflight food, beverage, and Wi-Fi purchases
  • Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on cable and satellite providers
  • Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent at gas stations
  • Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on select telecommunications merchants
  • Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on car rentals
  • Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases
  • Earn 1X mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases

  • First checked bag free — The primary cardholder and up to four (4) companions will receive the first checked bag free of charge on domestic flights operated by American Airlines.
  • Preferred boarding — The primary cardholder and up to four (4) companions will be invited to board American-operated flights before economy class travelers.
  • See our full card review

Barclays Co-branded Credit Cards

Transfer Marriott Bonvoy Points to American Airlines Miles

Another option is to convert Marriott Bonvoy points to AAdvantage miles. Transfers are done at a rate of 3:1. Plus, you'll score a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points transferred. This transferability can come in handy, but we don't recommend you use a lot of Bonvoy points this way. You can achieve much better value for your Bonvoy points by using them for free nights at one of Marriott's many high-end properties.

Earn American Miles for the Things You Already Buy

American Airlines Shopping Portal (eShopping)

The AAdvantage eShopping Mall is American Airlines' online shopping portal, offering bonus miles just for clicking through AA's link before making a purchase. This can be an easy way to supercharge your mileage earnings without spending any more than normal. Click here to join. The miles rack up fast!

For more details, check out our full guide to AAdvantage eShopping. You can also learn how to maximize every online purchase with our beginner's guide to shopping portals.

AAdvantage Dining Program

Screen-Shot-2020-07-23-at-4.14.38-PM-300x136

Did you know that you can earn bonus miles on your take-out orders?

With the AAdvantage Dining Program, loyalty members earn bonus miles for dining at partnered restaurants. Simply use your linked card for the purchase, and you'll earn an extra 1-5 AAdvantage miles per dollar.

Joining takes only a few minutes. Moreover, you can currently earn a 1,000-mile bonus for spending $25 at a partnered restaurant within 30 days of joining.

SimplyMiles

If you have a valid MasterCard, SimplyMiles is a program that could offer yet another way to earn American miles for free. All you have to do is sign-up with your AAdvantage number, activate the offers, and shop with your favorite brands.

Screen-Shot-2020-07-23-at-10.00.59-AM-300x182

This process may sound familiar. That's because it's essentially the same idea behind Chase Offers, Amex Offers, and Capital One Offers. Like these programs, it's important to avoid the compulsion to overspend in the pursuit of more miles. That's why I recommend activating all offers you could ever see yourself fulfilling, then simply forgetting about them. That way, any AA miles you earn are a genuine bonus.

Related Post: Earn AAdvantage Miles From Everyday Mastercard Purchases Through SimplyMiles

SimpliSafe

Not to be confused with SimplyMiles, SimpliSafe is a company that provides innovative plug-and-go home security systems with no long-term contracts. Thanks to its partnership with American Airlines, new users can receive 7,000 AAdvantage miles for meeting certain purchase requirements.

If you're in the market for home security, 7,000 AAdvantage miles can go a long way.

LifeLock

LifeLock is one of the world's leading companies in identity theft protection, offering two subscription levels with varying degrees of security. AAdvantage members who subscribe will receive discounted credit and social security monitoring while also earning up to 12,000 bonus miles.

Screen-Shot-2020-07-23-at-11.48.50-AM-300x162

Other Retail Partners

You don't have to travel to earn AAdvantage miles. American Airlines has partnerships with several retail merchants that offer services like flower delivery, show ticket sales, and wine club memberships. Therefore, each of these partnerships presents a unique way to boost your mileage balance.

Here are some of AA's current retail partners:

  • FTD Earn up to 30 miles per dollar spent (plus 100 bonus miles per order for AAdvantage Elites)
  • Vinese Wines Earn 5,000 bonus miles on your first order, and five miles per dollar on all future wines
  • Vivid Seats Earn 1-3 miles per dollar on all ticket purchases
  • Emergency Assistance Plus — A travel assistance service that offers supplemental coverage for medical evacuation and other emergency needs. Earn 1,200 bonus AAdvantage miles at signup and after each annual renewal.

Other Ways to Earn American Miles

Earn AAdvantage Miles Instead of Interest

Screen-Shot-2020-07-21-at-8.03.39-AM-300x152

Bask Bank offers a unique savings account that earns American Airlines AAdvantage® miles instead of interest.

With a Bask Bank Savings Account, you can earn one AAdvantage® mile per dollar saved annually. Depending on the interest rate you currently get on your savings and the value you assign to American miles, parking your cash with Bask Bank could give you a much better return on investment.

For example, here's the return you get for saving $25,000 for a year at 0.10% APY versus with a Bask Savings Account:

  • Typical Savings Account (earning 0.1% interest) — $25,000 x 0.10% APY = $25 interest per year
  • Bask Bank Savings Account — $25,000 saved = 25,000 AAdvantage miles (worth ~ $350 if conservatively valued at 1.4¢ each)

Buy AAdvantage Miles

One of the quickest and easiest ways to acquire AA miles is to simply buy them. That's because American Airlines allows loyalty members to purchase up to 150,000 AA miles per calendar year.

However, just because it's quick and easy doesn't mean that it's always a great idea. AA typically sells miles at a price point much higher than the value most members can redeem them for. This means that without a discount, it's generally better to hold onto your cash.

On the other hand, the AAdvantage program gives members frequent opportunities to buy AA miles at a significant discount. The best deals offer a cost per mile below two cents—creating solid opportunities to book business- and first-class awards for far less than the retail price. Just make sure the trip you want to book is available with miles before you pull the trigger.

Related: Which Flights Can I Book with Miles?

e-Rewards Surveys

AA also partners with e-Rewards, the online data collection company that rewards people for having opinions. All you have to do is fill out surveys. The site rewards you with ‘e-Rewards', which are exchangeable for other things, including AAdvantage miles and cash. The more surveys you fill out, the more miles you can earn.

Unfortunately, there's no direct link to register for this feature. AAdvantage has to invite you to participate. So, if you fly AA regularly, keep an eye on your inbox.

Miles for Opinions

If you were excited to earn bonus miles for your opinions but didn't get an invite from e-Rewards, never fear! Miles for Opinions is a new exclusive community just for AAdvantage members. Simply fill out surveys and watch the miles rack up. Unlike e-Rewards, there's no need to deal with any other currency, and all AAdvantage members are eligible to join.

Screen-Shot-2020-07-22-at-10.41.48-PM

Energy Companies (Xoom, Reliant)

Depending on your location, you may be able to earn extra AA miles by switching your utility provider. American Airlines currently partners with two home energy providers: Xoom and Reliant. Both of these partners offer a sizable bonus for signing up and paying your bills.

Screen-Shot-2021-01-13-at-2.17.43-AM-300x183

Energy ProviderAAdvantage Mile Earning StructureService Area
XoomEnroll Your Residential Electric Account and Earn: 10,000 AAdvantage miles as a bonus after your second month as a Xoom Energy customer, plus two miles per dollar spent on the supply portion of your monthly electric bill.
Enroll Your Residential Natural Gas Account and Earn:
5,000 AAdvantage miles as a bonus after your second month as a Xoom Energy customer, plus 2 miles for every $1 spent on the supply portion of your natural gas bill.
Xoom Electric: Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island
Xoom Natural Gas: California, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, and Virginia
ReliantEarn 15,000 AAdvantage miles for signing up and 500 bonus miles each month for the next 24 monthsTexas

Pro Tip — Make sure you consider the cost difference between your local provider and these partners before making the switch. The bonus miles could make the decision a no-brainer initially. However, after the first few months, the extra miles may not be worth the price difference.

Buy/Sell a Home

Screen-Shot-2020-07-23-at-11.42.45-AM-300x110

Miles from Home is a program that matches potential home buyers and sellers with real estate professionals. The benefit of its partnership with AA is that AAdvantage members can earn a boatload of miles through the process.

For every $10,000 of your home's sale or purchase price, you'll earn 2,000 AAdvantage bonus miles. For example, if you sell a home valued at $400,000, you can earn 80,000 AAdvantage miles. Above all, be sure to compare the rates with other real estate agencies to confirm that they're competitive.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are dozens of ways to boost your balance of American Airlines AAdvantage miles. A good rule of thumb is this: before making a purchase, ask yourself if there's any way to earn more.

Overall, the best long-term methods to earn AA miles continue to be:

  1. Co-branded Credit Cards
  2. AA eShopping Mall
  3. Bask Bank Savings Account
  4. Flying

The first three of these are especially valuable, as they can be done even when you only travel a few times per year. Use as many of these methods as you can and watch your balance grow and grow. Before you know it, you'll have more than enough miles for that next trip.

Where will all of your miles take you next?

The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments

  • Is there no longer an option to earn miles by posting on the Award Wallet forum?

    • JT Genter says:

      Unfortunately not. American Airlines forced AwardWallet to stop tracking American Airlines accounts. So, we can no longer link your comment to an AAdvantage account and reward miles.

  • This is a great article, but I’m a little disappointed that AA’s “Miles for Opinions” program isn’t open for members outside of the US (ie. Canadians) to join and participate in. But most of the other options sound like great ways to add to my total to contribute towards future travels on that airline and its partners.

  • EDWIN JORGE KING says:

    In Argentina, the AAdvantage program ceased to operate with banks.

    It would be good if they can make a new agreement.

    Thank you very much.

  • Anne-Marie Bourdeau-Lamothe says:

    Sure hope this comment section keeps on ticking so that we may continue to keep our miles active when we can’t travel.

  • Alfredo Frutos says:

    thanks for this very complete and detailed explanation

  • Lot of partners for AAdvantage. So it is quite straightforward same miles with American Airlines.
    The only thing I do with American Airlines and also with other Airlines and credit their flights to some other programme if this allow me to earn more miles.
    Of course I don’t flight enough to reach any status and so some other people have no interest to do this.

  • There certainly appear to be a number of ways to earn miles, without taking a flight…and this is especially helpful in times of Covid. AwardWallet makes it even easier too with some important dialogue within its community

  • Excellent summary post! Sadly in Argentina AA ended cobranding with Santander leaving.

    Does anyone know any way to keep earning AAdvantage miles in Argentina ?

    Besides this, the best airline program.

  • Jorge Fabian Gonzalez says:

    I am a member of advantage programm for more than 20 years , and I think it is the best millage program.

    Every time I have to fly , I try to book the ticket in a one world member airline or when i rent a car i always use an associated company in order to keep earning miles in my account.

    I fully recommed everybody to join this program.

  • Sharka12345 says:

    Would you not be better off accruing Marriott Bonvoy points from Marriott stays and then transferring them to AA (or any other airline) in 20,000 clips to get the 5,000 bonus in so doing?

    • Since the SPG merger, it requires 60K Marriott points to receive 25K AA miles (20K at 3:1 ratio + 5K bonus). Our mile value tracker has Marriott points at 1 cent per point. If you use the AA miles for biz class, you might do better converting Marriott to AA, but many folks will get more savings using Marriott for hotel stays.

  • Luís Gustavo Souza Gomes says:

    Como funciona os cartão de crédito aqui no Brasil? Ele pontua normalmente?

  • Fernando Martuccu says:

    This blog has a wide and clear detail on how to get miles.
    I will take this into account every time I have to choose a hotel, rent a car or make a purchase, prioritizing those providers that allow me to accumulate more AA miles.
    Taking into account the problems to enter or leave the countries, and although I have seen that they have extended the miles that expire until 12/31/2021, it would be good to do something similar for those that expire during 2022.
    Thanks for providing these recommendations and allowing us to continue accumulating miles

    • My AAdvantage miles were scheduled to expire on 24/12/2021. AA has extended the expiration date by one month to 31/01/2022… I don’t mean to be ungrateful for this extension, but it’s not exactly very helpful. I would’ve flown already again at least twice to the US from Europe since this summer, but borders are still closed. Well… I hope that transatlantic travel will be possible again soon. And I hope that AA will see this and extend milage expiration further. At least a few months after travelling has been made possible again.

  • Award Wallet is a great way to keep the accounts open while we wait out COVID.

  • Great summary of all the ways to earn points. Remember, even if you didn’t buy the plane ticket, as long as your name is on it you can earn points for it. I used a tour service to travel to Japan. They booked the flight through Japan Air and months after I came back, I did a request for miles through AA for my flight.

  • Harvey Kwan says:

    It would be nice if one of the major currencies transferred to American Airlines.

  • Or you can comment on this blog and get 5 miles. Not a huge amount but good to top up if you’re just short a few miles.

  • AA was the first American airline I ever flew. I still enjoy flying with them.

  • Jesica Nieva says:

    Excellent post! Super complete and clear.

    Here in Argentina the AAdvantage program works very well, specially in comparison with other airlines.

    Unfortunatly they left the partnership with the Santander Rio, so it’s more complicated to earn miles, and specially now with the COVID and the travel restrictions, but I’m totally satisfied with the program.

    And I’ll use all the information from the post with the hotels and other shops for my future trips. Many of them had no idea they existed!

    Thanks for the information!!

  • Me parece una muy buena opcion la gestion de poser sumar millas aadvantage a traves de estos post.
    Muchas gracias

  • This is a good complete overview of how to earn American miles. I didn’t know about theEnergy Companies (Xoom, Reliant) which could be useful if you already use the companies.

  • American Airlines is an airline that whenever I fly, I find it really good. Thanks for the information!

  • Luís Gustavo Souza Gomes says:

    òtimas dicas. Gostaria de obter informações sobre transferência de milhas.

  • Hiraclis Nicolaidis says:

    This is very helpful. In my situation, I usually have to fly with AA’s partners and I have nothing to complain. Every AA miles count!

  • Thanks for this great summary of the different options for earning AA miles. I started using the shopping portal after learning about it here and now I’ll give the survey route a try.

    • The shopping portal is so underrated. I’ve missed out on tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of miles by not being aware of its existence. 🙁

      • Yes, any time one buys anything online, even online for local in person pickup, even for takeout, always start by checking offers at shopping portals. Just realize almost every loyalty program has one, that there are countless standalone portals that give straight cashback and that it’s worth comparing their current offers.

  • Looks like Bask Bank Savings Account is really a great option! Also didn’t realize there is an AA Citi credit card with no annual fee. Thank you for the helpful info!

  • linda teresa laura says:

    Todas estas maneras de obtener millas de AAdvantage facilitan la posibilidad de hacer vuelos.

  • carlos levin says:

    Este informe es una maravilla! Muchas gracias.

  • It would be nice if AA hore earning included Hilton. Also the survey sites have super horrible customer service.

  • Very comprehensive and useful summary. I wish AA miles did not expire but they do it’s important to keep them active.

  • This is impressively comprehensive. It reminds me I’ve missed out on some of these chances to earn before!

  • You can also earn AA miles for posting comments on award wallet blog posts 🙂

  • Most people overlook PointsHound and RocketMiles.

  • very useful info, one can get AA 5miles per day for leaving a note to posts here too. 🙂

  • The Barclays Aviator card with no minimum spend requirement beyond the first initial purchase of ANY amount is one of my fave ways to get AA miles. I also find the Bask Bank offer intriguing if you can spare the cash for a few months. Lastly, don’t forget the AwardWallet blog – it’s a great way to reset the clock on your miles expiring….still the Achilles heel of AA’s program – so many other programs (Delta, Southwest, JetBlue, etc) have done away with mileage expiration – are you listening AA?

  • I do some of the surveys. 🙂 Really comes in handy if I’m waiting for something and am just wasting time – may as well earn some miles too.

  • I generally like American’s program, unfortunately they take forever to post points from partners.

  • Martin Varcaro says:

    Excelent information! Lots of ways to get some extra miles!

  • Excelente información! Justo lo que estaba necesitando! Muchas gracias

  • Mariela Sciarra says:

    Really Useful info! Many ways to earn miles!

  • Regarding Xoom and Reliant, keep track of how long you need to stay a member of either of these. I believe the rates that are favorable will go up with time.

  • I’ve only did a couple of the options above, I’ll have to look into some of the other options.