Aadvantage how many miles to fly

There are more than 11, participating locations. Auto rentals: Most major car rental agencies offer an option to earn AAdvantage miles. See the rules here. Shopping: When you shop online through the AAdvantage eShopping mall, you earn miles for every dollar you spend at more than retailers. Vacations: When booking a flight and hotel through AA Vacations , you could earn extra miles. Purchasing miles through American's website can work to your advantage, particularly if you have certain international awards in mind.

But in most cases, we recommend you stay away from buying miles, as it's an expensive way to accrue them. Miles generally cost 2. However, even with any discounts, purchasing miles should be a last resort e.

AAdvantage miles are redeemable for flights through American Airlines and its partners in the Oneworld alliance. Some airlines do not show up on AA. MileSAAver award seats are bookable for as little as 7, miles on certain one-way trips in North America. MileSAAver awards may be available in all classes, but the price you'll pay for business or first-class award seats is often more expensive than economy seats. Given the low price of MileSAAver seats, there may be only a limited number of them available on a given flight.

AA also offers off-peak MileSAAver awards to Hawaii and international destinations based on dates the airline considers to be low-season for travel. In this instance, all that will show are AAnytime awards. Booking these awards is generally not advisable given the poor cent-per-mile value. Web Specials are extremely discounted awards as low as 5, miles to certain destinations. The miles price varies by region and date, and the award tickets have some restrictions.

Generally speaking, the best redemptions are in business and first class cabins. Why is this? Because the cash cost increase from an economy ticket to a business or first class ticket is less than the cost increase in miles from an economy ticket to a business or first class ticket.

For example, a round-trip award from the continental U. Economy award. After deducting the cost of taxes, you arrive at a 0. Business class. In business class, the redemption looks very different given the high cost of the flight. This redemption results in a value of 2. This disproportionate miles to money increase explains why a premium cabin award often provides a much higher redemption value.

Everyone has different travel preferences and destination goals, and some people may not care at all about a premium cabin experience. Remember that miles should be used for travel rather than hoarded for the best imaginable redemption. Using your AAdvantage miles to book a hotel with points yields a low value. In one search for a hotel in Miami, the value of using the miles for a hotel room was around 0. A better bet would be to use hotel points or rewards earned from a cash-back credit card for hotel bookings.

As seen below, this redemption would result in a valuation of only 0. In general, you can earn AAdvantage miles on flights with Oneworld partners and redeem your miles for flights on Oneworld airlines. On airlines outside the Oneworld alliance, your ability to earn or redeem miles is more limited. You may be able to earn miles but not redeem them, for example, or you may be able to redeem only for certain flights. Other partner airlines include:. Although you can redeem miles for most of these partners on AA.

Awards not bookable online include:. If you already have miles in the American AAdvantage program but want to rack up more, it makes sense to pick up an airline credit card. These cards can help you rack up more miles for each dollar you spend and score important frequent flyer perks like free checked bags and airport lounge access.

This card has no foreign transaction fees. If you want to see Europe with airline miles without having to pay exorbitant fuel surcharges, there are myriad options to consider. Holly Johnson is a credit card and travel expert with a focus on rewards and loyalty programs and family travel in Europe and the Caribbean. Follow Johnson on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Select Region.

United States. United Kingdom. Holly Johnson. Editorial Note: Forbes Advisor may earn a commission on sales made from partner links on this page, but that doesn't affect our editors' opinions or evaluations. Consider Alternate Arrival Destinations In addition to considering alternative airports for your departure, you can also consider a variety of destinations for your arrival. Bottom Line If you want to see Europe with airline miles without having to pay exorbitant fuel surcharges, there are myriad options to consider.

Was this article helpful? Share your feedback. Send feedback to the editorial team. Rate this Article. But if you know how to make it work, you can get value through premium seats on American or partner flights.

This card has a substantial welcome bonus after making a single purchase and paying the annual fee. Once miles are in your account, make sure to research the best ways to use them for low-cost domestic flights and international business and first-class. Terms Apply. Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser.

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Maximize your commute: The 6 best credit cards to use. American Airlines cuts 27 routes, slashes New York network. Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels. Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery and at U.

Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases. Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. These awards start at just 5, miles each way, making for awesome low-priced domestic and international redemptions. American also publishes reduced mileage awards every couple of months, allowing you to save miles on award flights to or from eligible cities that rotate every few months, so be sure to bookmark our American Airlines Reduced Mileage Awards page for up-to-date information.

To receive these deals, you must have an eligible American Airlines cobranded credit card in your wallet, including:. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. Interested in booking a Reduced Mileage Award? Just note that you must call to book these, and the discount only applies to saver-level awards though it can be used on both economy and premium class flights.

Redeeming AAdvantage miles for American flights is simple: head to the American Airlines website and search for your award ticket. Make sure to check out our articles on the best ways to redeem American miles and the best business-class awards you can book with AAdvantage miles.

Related: Choosing the best credit card for American Airlines flyers. For example, you can expect to pay 57, miles when flying to Europe in business class — no amazing deals, but no ,mile pricing, either. Also, watch for carrier-imposed fees and surcharges. As discussed earlier, American Airlines partners with many world-renowned airlines that offer stellar business and first class products with reasonable carrier-imposed fees.

You can book most of these partners online — only two China Southern Airlines and Interjet require you to call. Related: Searching Oneworld availability. When you call American, the phone agent will give you a quote for both mileage and taxes and fees.

There are steps you can take to succeed with airline agents. Make sure you note specific flight numbers when you locate an available partner award seat. Can you please help?