This exciting cruise promotion could earn you a wealth of American AAdvantage miles

On Tuesday, American Airlines Cruises unveiled a promotion that allows customers to earn 2 AAdvantage miles for each dollar spent on cruise fares (excluding taxes and fees). This is double the standard offer of 1 mile per dollar spent.

For example, spending $10,000 on a cruise fare during this promotion would earn you 20,000 AAdvantage miles.

That's a significant amount of AAdvantage miles. As per TPG's September 2024 valuations, each AAdvantage mile is worth 1.6 cents, meaning 20,000 miles would provide $320 in value.

That's a solid number of AAdvantage miles. As of TPG's September 2024 valuations, AAdvantage miles are worth 1.6 cents each, meaning 20,000 miles would get you $320 in value.

In other terms, those 20,000 miles could secure you two complimentary flights within the continental U.S. and Canada when booking an award ticket at the lowest rate of 7,500 miles per ticket in the AAdvantage program — leaving you with plenty of miles to spare.

An opportunity to earn even more miles

Notably, the new double miles promotion can be stacked with a long-standing American Airlines Cruises offer that grants extra miles for customers using an American Airlines AAdvantage credit card.

As has been the norm with bookings through American Airlines Cruises, you can earn 1 extra AAdvantage mile for every dollar spent on a cruise when using an American Airlines AAdvantage card.

By combining the two promotions, you can earn 3 miles for every dollar spent on a cruise fare. This means you could accumulate 30,000 AAdvantage miles on a $10,000 cruise.

Keep in mind that you need to book quickly to take advantage of the bonus miles. The double mileage offer is valid only until October 22, 2024, and applies to new cruise bookings scheduled from now until December 31, 2025.

Overview of the bonus miles offer

Some important notes about the new double miles offer: Bonus miles are granted per cabin and are limited to one passenger per cruise booking. To be eligible, customers must make their reservations through the American Airlines Cruises portal.

Additionally, the miles earned from the promotion are calculated based on the total cost of the cruise, excluding port charges, fees, taxes, and insurance.

The details also mention that:

• There is no cap on the number of miles you can earn.
• You must enter your American Airlines AAdvantage number before boarding.
• Miles will be credited to your account six to eight weeks after the cruise concludes.
• Cruise payments must be made in U.S. dollars.
• AAdvantage members will accumulate Loyalty Points based on base miles earned when booking through American Airlines Cruises, but not for bonus miles earned during this promotion.

What credit card should I use for booking?

To maximize your rewards, consider using an American Airlines AAdvantage credit card, like the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees). As mentioned, this card offers extra bonus miles for bookings made through American Airlines Cruises. Currently, it provides 70,000 bonus miles after you spend $7,000 in the first three months of opening your account.

If you don’t have an American Airlines card, opt for a card that offers bonus points for cruises. A great choice is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, which provides 2 points for every dollar spent on travel, including cruises. Right now, you can earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 within the first three months of account opening.