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American Airlines miles are some of the most valuable and versatile rewards you can earn. You can redeem them for travel on two dozen different AAdvantage® partner airlines to reach over 1,000 destinations around the world.
No matter the type of redemptions you're looking for— from economy to premium cabins — AAdvantage® miles should be a key part of your rewards-earning strategy. And if you're looking to earn elite status, you'll want to pay attention to Loyalty Points, too.
In this post, we'll cover how to build your balance of American Airlines miles and earn Loyalty Points. With the right strategy, you'll have a steady flow of miles and Loyalty Points from spending on co-brand credit cards, online shopping, dining out, and flying with American and its partners.
Here are all the ways you can earn American Airlines AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points.
Page Contents
Earn American Airlines Miles by Flying
The most obvious way to earn AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points is by flying with American Airlines (sometimes called “butt-in-seat” miles).
The first step to earning American Airlines miles is to create a 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.
American Airlines-marketed flights
Rather than basing mileage earnings on distance flown, American awards redeemable miles based on ticket price (before taxes and fees) and your AAdvantage elite status. As American Airlines puts it:
“The more you spend, and the higher your AAdvantage status, the more 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
- AAdvantage Gold: 7 miles per U.S. dollar spent (40% bonus)
- AAdvantage Platinum: 8 miles per U.S. dollar spent (60% bonus)
- AAdvantage Platinum Pro: 9 miles per U.S. dollar spent (80% bonus)
- AAdvantage Executive Platinum: 11 miles per U.S. dollar spent (120% bonus)
The number of Loyalty Points you'll earn is identical to the number of base miles earned. Here's an example:
It's important to note that AAdvantage members without status earn just two miles per dollar when booking basic economy fares instead of the typical 5X miles on fares. If you have AAdvantage elite status, you'll receive your mileage bonus on top of the 2X miles — but that means no more than 4.4X miles earned on basic economy tickets.
American partner flights
For flights marketed by Oneworld and non-alliance partners, American applies carrier-specific earning rates to determine the miles earned per flight. These rates differ for each airline and depend entirely on the distance flown and the fare class purchased.
For example, here is the earning chart for international flights on Oneworld partner Qatar Airways:
Let's say you book a business-class ticket on Qatar Airways from New York (JFK) to Doha (DOH) to try out the famous QSuite. The total flight distance is 6,704 miles, and high-fare business-class bookings (in classes J, C, and D) earn mileage equal to 250% of the distance flown. If credited to AAdvantage, the total number of redeemable miles you'll accrue as a non-elite would be 250% of 6,704 miles = 16,760.
If you have elite status, keep in mind that your elite bonus only applies to the base earning rate of 100%. It does not apply to cabin bonuses. This means AAdvantage elites will earn:
- Gold: 6,704 base miles + 10,056 cabin bonus + 2,682 elite bonus = 19,442 miles
- Platinum: 6,704 base miles + 10,056 cabin bonus + 4,022 elite bonus = 20,782 miles
- Platinum Pro: 6,704 base miles + 10,056 cabin bonus + 5,363 elite bonus = 22,123 miles
- Executive Platinum: 6,704 base miles + 10,056 cabin bonus + 8,045 elite bonus = 24,805 miles
However, if you only book a P-class discount business class fare, your earnings will be significantly less:
- Member: 6,704 base miles + 1,676 cabin bonus = 8,380 miles
- Gold: 6,704 base miles + 1,676 cabin bonus + 2,682 elite bonus = 11,062 miles
- Platinum: 6,704 base miles + 1,676 cabin bonus + 4,022 elite bonus = 12,402 miles
- Platinum Pro: 6,704 base miles + 1,676 cabin bonus + 5,363 elite bonus = 13,743 miles
- Executive Platinum: 6,704 base miles + 1,676 cabin bonus + 8,045 elite bonus = 16,425 miles
Either way, you'll also earn 1 Loyalty Point for each AAdvantage mile you earn.
Regrettably, not every partner earns Loyalty Points, so be careful which partners you book before counting on specific earnings. For a deeper dive, check out the “Flying with Non-Alliance Partners” section in our guide to Loyalty Points.
American Airlines claim miles request
Don't forget to claim any miles missing after you fly! If you forgot to add your AAdvantage number before traveling, that doesn't mean you're out of luck. If 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.
Earn American Miles with Travel Partners
American Airlines offers a variety of other ways to earn miles via its travel partners. You can earn AA miles when booking hotels, rental cars, and even cruises.
Book your hotel through AAdvantage Hotels
Hotel stays can be an excellent way to supplement your American Airlines miles and boost your Loyalty Point-earning capabilities. However, you may have to sacrifice some benefits or points you could have enjoyed by booking directly with the hotel.
American offers a hotel booking service powered by Rocket Travel called AAdvantage Hotels. AAdvantage elite members can earn up to 5X more base miles on hotels, as can AAdvantage credit cardholders — and those with both can earn up to 10X more base miles on hotels.
All members will earn 1 Loyalty Point for each base mile earned, and any bonuses or mileage buy-ups will only reflect as redeemable miles — not Loyalty Points.
Remember that you likely won't receive hotel points or status recognition for stays booked through third-party booking services like AAdvantage Hotels. If you're earning a ton of AAdvantage miles from a stay, this might not matter. But if you hold a hotel elite status that would usually entitle you to suite upgrades or complimentary breakfast, you might be better off booking directly with that hotel.
Earn AAdvantage miles instead of hotel points
Three major hotel brands will let you earn AAdvantage miles instead of points from their loyalty program.
| Hotel Partner | AA Earning Rate |
|---|---|
| Hyatt | Earn 500 miles each stay at participating Hyatt Hotels and Resorts. |
| Marriott | Earn up to 2 miles for every dollar spent on qualifying charges. |
| IHG | Earn up to 2 miles for every dollar spent on qualifying charges. |
Generally, the best return on hotel bookings comes when crediting the stay to the respective hotel loyalty program. However, if you are not interested in earning a hotel's points, you can earn American Airlines miles and Loyalty Points instead — at a 1:1 ratio of 1 mile and Loyalty Point per $1 spent.
With any of AA's hotel partners, you'll want to select “Earn Miles” as your preference in your hotel account and select American Airlines. Here's what IHG's earning preference selection looks like:
Unlike AAdvantage Hotels bookings, these can be made directly with the hotel brand. The only downside is that you won't earn points with the hotel's loyalty program.
Pro tip: Keep an eye on AAdvantage eShopping when making hotel bookings. Marriott, IHG, Choice, and Best Western are eligible “merchants” on AA's shopping portal, which means you can earn extra AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points on your hotel bookings made through the portal. You can learn more about stacking multiple promotions in our shopping portals guide.
AAdvantage car rental partners
Much like AA's hotel booking service, American also offers a third-party booking site for rental cars, called AAdvantage Cars. Members who rent through this site will earn both AAdvantage miles and loyalty points with their car rental at the following rates:
The car rental companies included on this platform are Avis and Budget. But you can also earn miles by adding your AAdvantage number to your car rental booking made directly with other AA partners.
For non-preferred partners, the earning rates will vary, but all miles earned will earn an identical number of Loyalty Points. Here's the earning structure for AA's other car rental partners:
| Rental Agency | Miles Earned | Discount Code (If Applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| Alamo | 1 mile per dollar spent | |
| Dollar | 50 miles per rental day | |
| Hertz | 1 mile per dollar spent | CDP 217692 |
| National | 1 mile per dollar spent | |
| Avis/Budget/Payless | 1 mile per dollar spent | K817118 |
| Thrifty | 50 miles per rental day |
To earn miles for a car rental, you must remember 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.
Earn American miles with vacation packages
Need to put together a whole vacation? Save time and money by booking everything at once! AAdvantage 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 be modified to incorporate rental cars as well.
The number of AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points you'll earn on these bookings depends on whether or not you have elite status. AAdvantage members without status will earn 1 American mile and 1 Loyalty Point per $1 spent on the total package value (before taxes and fees), while AAdvantage members with status will earn 5x American miles and 5x Loyalty Points per $1 spent.
There are also bonus-earning opportunities available with featured packages, such as this offer through AAdvantage Vacations:
Earn AAdvantage miles with cruises
If cruising is your thing, check out American Airlines Cruises — AA's cruise booking platform. It allows AAdvantage members to earn miles and Loyalty Points every time they set sail.
Typically, the program offers one mile and Loyalty Point per dollar spent on cruise bookings.
If you're an avid cruiser, it's worth signing up for the email subscription. American Airlines Cruises regularly offers increased bonuses for booking certain voyages, sometimes giving away tens of thousands of additional miles. The email subscription ensures you don't miss out on a great deal.
Earning AAdvantage Miles with Credit Cards
The easiest and most efficient way to earn AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points is through co-branded credit cards issued by Citi and Barclays. Besides the high-value sign-up bonuses and mileage earnings 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
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 AA Platinum Select review for more details.
Best card for earning elite status
- Complimentary Admirals Club® membership for the primary cardholder
- Admirals Club® membership 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 Loyalty Points after you spend $40,000 in purchases within the year
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- Earn 10X miles for every $1 spent on eligible hotels booked at aa.com/hotels and eligible rental cars booked through aa.com/cars
- Earn 4X miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases (increased to 5X miles through the end of the calendar year after you pass $150,000 in purchases annually)
- Earn 1X mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases
- Admirals Club® membership: Cardholders get an 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 also receive complimentary access.
- Up to $360 in annual statement credits: These include purchases with Avis or Budget, GrubHub, and Lyft.
- 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 AA Executive Card review for more details.
Earn American miles with no annual fee
- 15,000 AAdvantage® miles 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, 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 card.
Best American Airlines card for small businesses
- 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 Citi AAdvantage Business Card review for more details.
Barclays co-branded credit cards
American Airlines also offers co-branded cards with Barclays. For now, one of these cards is open to new applicants (and you can product change to other consumer cards in the lineup), but the business card is not. And in 2026, Citi will become the sole issuer of all AA cards, so that's something to keep in mind before you apply.
- AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®: This card offers the easiest sign-up bonus to achieve, requiring applicants to make only one purchase and pay the annual fee within the first 90 days of account opening.
- AAdvantage® Aviator® World Elite Business Mastercard®: The small business version of the Aviator Red consumer product earns 2X bonus miles on office supply stores, telecom merchants, and car rental agencies. It also receives a 5% mileage bonus per year based on the number of miles earned using it. However, Barclays paused applications on the card in early October 2023.
Earn American Miles for the Things You Already Buy
American Airlines Shopping Portal
The AAdvantage eShopping Mall is American Airlines' online shopping portal. It offers bonus miles and Loyalty Points just for clicking through AA's link before making a purchase. The portal can be an easy way to supercharge your earnings without going out of your way to spend more than you normally would. The miles rack up fast!
AAdvantage Dining Program
Did you know that you can earn bonus miles and Loyalty Points when dining out? With the AAdvantage Dining Program, members earn bonus miles and Loyalty Points for dining at partnered restaurants. Simply use your linked credit card for the purchase, and you'll earn an extra 1x–5x AAdvantage miles per dollar — and an identical sum of Loyalty Points.
Joining takes only a few minutes, and AAdvantage Dining regularly offers bonus miles to new dining rewards members when signing up.
SimplyMiles
If you have a valid Mastercard, SimplyMiles can help you earn more American Airlines miles. All you have to do is sign up with your AAdvantage number, activate the offers, and shop with your favorite brands.
If this process may sound familiar, it'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. It's a good idea to activate all the offers you could see yourself fulfilling and then forget about them. That way, any American Airlines miles you earn are a genuine bonus.
Eligibility is limited for the Amex Offers discussed in this post. Enrollment is required in the Amex Offers section of your account before redeeming.
Related: Earn AAdvantage Miles From Everyday Mastercard Purchases Through SimplyMiles
Other Ways to Earn American Miles
Transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to American Airlines miles
Another option is to transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to AAdvantage miles at a rate of 3:1. Marriott no longer offers the 5,000-point bonus for transferring 60,000 Bonvoy points that used to apply — making this transfer slightly less valuable. Note that transfers from Marriott to American Airlines AAdvantage will reflect as redeemable miles but not Loyalty Points.
This transferability can be helpful when topping off your AAdvantage account for a specific redemption, but we don't recommend using many Bonvoy points this way. You can achieve much better value for your Bonvoy points when you redeem them for Marriott stays.
In recent history, the Marriott website hasn't always worked properly for AAdvantage transfers. The easiest workaround if you run into a similar issue is to call Marriott for manual processing.
Related: American Airlines Transfer Partners: Here’s Which Points You Can Convert to AAdvantage Miles
Earn AAdvantage miles on your savings
Bask Bank offers a unique savings account that earns American Airlines AAdvantage miles instead of interest.
With a Bask Mileage Savings Account, you can earn 2 AAdvantage miles 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.
Unfortunately, Bask Bank savings accounts only earn redeemable miles — not Loyalty Points.
If you're interested in learning more, here's a closer look at when earning American miles could be better than cash interest.
Buy AAdvantage miles
One of the quickest and easiest ways to earn American Airlines miles is to buy them outright. American allows loyalty members to buy up to 150,000 AAdvantage miles annually, often with a discount or bonus. Note that purchased miles don't count as Loyalty Points.
However, just because it's quick and easy doesn't mean it's always a great idea. American Airlines typically sells miles at a price point much higher than the value most members can redeem them for. 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 American 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. Make sure the trip you want to book is available with miles before pulling the trigger!
Related: Which Flights Can I Book with Miles?
Miles for Opinions
If you want to earn AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points for your opinions, it's worth signing up for Miles for Opinions. All AAdvantage members are eligible to join, fill out surveys, and watch the miles and Loyalty Points pile up. You'll earn 1x Loyalty Points for every mile you earn.
Energy companies
Depending on your location, you may be able to earn extra AAdvantage miles by switching your utility provider. American Airlines currently partners with three home energy providers: Xoom, Reliant, and NRG. These partners offer sizable bonuses for signing up and paying your bills.
- Xoom: You can earn a 10,000-mile bonus for enrolling your residential electric account or a 5,000-mile bonus for enrolling your residential natural gas account with Xoom. You'll also earn 2X AAdvantage miles per $1 spent on the supply portion of your electric or natural gas bills.
- Reliant: Earn 15,000 AAdvantage miles for signing up and 500 bonus miles monthly for 24 months. You can earn a maximum of 27,000 miles over the length of your plan.
- NRG: Enjoy introductory pricing for three months and earn AAdvantage bonus miles for switching your electric service to NRG. You can earn 12,500 bonus miles for electricity, 2,500 bonus miles for natural gas, and 2X miles for every $1 spent on electricity supply.
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 if you're paying more in the long run.
Fuel up at Shell
Unless you drive an electric vehicle, fueling up at Shell is another way to earn AAdvantage miles without going out of your way. After you join the Fuel Rewards program, you'll earn 3X AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points for every gallon purchased. To make this even sweeter, you can earn 250 bonus miles when you join Fuel Rewards and complete your first fill-up. The bonus of 250 miles ends on October 3, 2026.
Final Thoughts
Travelers have dozens of ways to boost your American Airlines AAdvantage miles balance and accrue a hefty sum of Loyalty Points — enough that you'll be well on your way to earning American Airlines elite status. However, a good general practice is this: Before making a purchase, ask yourself if there's any way to earn more — whether that be with stacked offers or elsewhere.
Overall, the best long-term methods to earn American Airlines miles continue to be:
- Spending on one of the many co-branded American Airlines credit cards.
- Taking advantage of AAdvantage eShopping.
- Earning miles instead of interest with Bask Bank.
- Flying on American Airlines and partner airline flights.
The first three are especially valuable, as they are doable even when you only travel a few times yearly. Use as many of these methods as possible and watch your balances continue to grow. Before you know it, you'll have more than enough miles for that next trip.
What's your favorite method for earning more AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points? Let us know in the comments.
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.
