Ways to accumulate miles in the American Airlines AAdvantage program

American Airlines AAdvantage miles rank among the most valuable rewards offered by U.S. airlines. With a wide array of Oneworld and non-alliance partners, you can use AAdvantage miles to book travel across numerous airlines and destinations. This guide will delve into various ways to earn American Airlines AAdvantage miles for your upcoming trips.

To start earning AAdvantage miles, sign up for a free AAdvantage account on the American Airlines website. It's essential to have an account, as not all American Airlines miles qualify for Loyalty Points—check out our guide on earning Loyalty Points if you aim for American Airlines elite status.

Accumulate American miles through flying

While earning AAdvantage miles through flying might seem straightforward, the way you accumulate these miles has evolved over time. Here’s how to earn AAdvantage miles when flying with American Airlines and its partners.

Traveling with American Airlines

When you fly with American Airlines, your miles are usually based on the base fare of your ticket (excluding taxes and fees). Your earning potential also differs depending on your AAdvantage elite status. Naturally, the higher your status, the more miles you will earn.

Here’s the mileage earned for each status tier per dollar spent:

• No status: 5 miles
• Gold: 7 miles
• Platinum: 8 miles
• Platinum Pro: 9 miles
• Executive Platinum: 11 miles

For an American Airlines ticket priced at $120, which includes $20 in taxes, a standard AAdvantage member without elite status would accumulate 500 miles (earning 5 miles for each dollar spent on the $100 base fare). In contrast, an Executive Platinum member would earn 1,100 miles on the same ticket.

Be cautious with American's "special fares," as these earn miles based on a percentage of the distance traveled rather than the fare paid. American Airlines defines special fares as those booked through a specialized agent, third-party services, or as part of a package that includes air travel and accommodation.

Please note: American recently announced significant alterations to their frequent flyer mile accumulation system, set to begin on July 11; however, those changes have now been retracted by the airline.

Traveling on partner airlines

When you travel with a partner of American Airlines, there are two ways to earn AAdvantage miles. If you book your flight through American and it’s ticketed on American Airlines ticket stock, you will earn miles as if you were on an American Airlines flight. This usually applies when you purchase a ticket for a flight operated by a partner airline via the American Airlines website.

The way you earn American miles might vary when you book a flight on a partner airline's website and include your AAdvantage number in the reservation. For certain airlines, you’ll earn miles similarly to those earned on American-operated flights. However, in some instances, miles may be awarded based on the distance traveled rather than the fare paid, with the earning rate influenced by the fare class of your ticket. Here’s an example of the earning chart for Japan Airlines-operated flights:

You can find your fare class on your electronic ticket or by contacting the airline directly.

After determining your fare class, visit American's list of partner airlines, select the operating airline for your flight, and locate the corresponding fare class. Then, multiply the distance flown (you can use Great Circle Mapper for quick calculations between airports) by the percentage shown in the "Base miles" column.

When traveling in a premium fare class, you will also receive the bonus indicated in the "Cabin bonus" column. Additionally, AAdvantage elite members earn extra bonus miles at the following rates when flying on eligible partner airlines:

• Gold: 40%
• Platinum: 60%
• Platinum Pro: 80%
• Executive Platinum: 120%

For instance, imagine you are a regular AAdvantage member flying in business class on Japan Airlines in the C fare class from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to London Heathrow Airport (LHR). According to the chart provided, you would earn 100% base miles along with a 150% cabin bonus. Given that the one-way distance is 5,456 miles, you would accumulate a total of 13,640 AAdvantage miles for that leg of the journey. An Executive Platinum member on the same ticket would earn an additional 6,547 miles each way due to the 120% elite bonus.

Accumulate American miles through credit cards

Aside from flying, one of the simplest ways to earn American AAdvantage miles is by taking advantage of sign-up bonuses and spending on American Airlines cards. Currently, Citi and Barclays offer cobranded cards that allow you to earn AAdvantage miles with your purchases.

If you’re looking to earn miles through everyday credit card spending, Citi's American AAdvantage card lineup is the most appealing of the two. Here are some options available:

• Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 70,000 bonus miles after spending $7,000 on purchases within the first three months of opening your account. You'll earn 4 miles for every dollar spent on eligible American Airlines purchases. Additionally, if you reach $150,000 in purchases during a calendar year, you will earn 5 miles per dollar on American purchases for the remainder of that year. (See rates and fees.)
• Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending $2,500 on purchases within the first three months of account opening, plus earn 2 miles per dollar spent on eligible American Airlines purchases.
• Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 75,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first five months of account opening. (See rates and fees.)
• American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp®: Earn 15,000 bonus miles after spending $500 on purchases within the first three months of account opening, plus earn 2 miles per dollar on eligible American Airlines purchases.

The details for the Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select and AAdvantage MileUp cards have been independently gathered by Dinogo. The card information presented on this page has not been reviewed or endorsed by the card issuer.

Barclays has one American AAdvantage card that is currently available for new applicants:

• AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®: Earn 60,000 bonus miles after completing your first purchase and fully paying the $99 annual fee within the first 90 days. You will earn 2 AAdvantage miles for every dollar spent on eligible American Airlines purchases and 1 mile per dollar on all other purchases.

The information regarding the AAdvantage Aviator Red card has been independently sourced by Dinogo. The details provided on this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the card issuer.

If you're aiming for American Airlines status, keep in mind that miles earned from sign-up bonuses and category-specific spending bonuses do not count as Loyalty Points—meaning you'll only earn 1 Loyalty Point for every dollar spent on any of the aforementioned credit cards.

Accumulate American miles through partners

You can also earn American miles (and in some cases, Loyalty Point-eligible miles) through AAdvantage partners. This allows you to earn miles for activities you’re likely already engaged in, such as shopping, dining, and banking.

AAdvantage eShopping mall

The American Airlines AAdvantage eShopping platform allows you to earn miles on your online purchases.

Using the portal is easy: Sign up for a free account on the site, then navigate to your preferred retailer through the portal before making your purchase. By accessing the merchant via the AAdvantage eShopping portal instead of directly visiting their website, you'll earn AAdvantage miles in addition to any rewards you receive from using a rewards credit card for your transaction.

AAdvantage Dining

Consider American Airlines AAdvantage Dining as a dining rewards program. Simply sign up using your current AAdvantage number and password, link your preferred credit cards, and earn miles whenever you use them at participating restaurants.

You can earn:

• 1 AAdvantage mile per dollar spent if you're a basic member (i.e., you choose not to receive email updates from AAdvantage Dining)
• 3 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent if you're a Select member (you can become a Select member by opting in to receive emails from AAdvantage Dining)
• 5 AAdvantage miles per dollar spent if you're a VIP member (achieve VIP status by completing 11 transactions in a calendar year and opting in for AAdvantage Dining emails, valid until the end of the next calendar year)

Similar to the shopping portal, the miles you earn through AAdvantage Dining are on top of the rewards you gain from the credit card you use, so make sure to pay with one of the best cards for dining options available.

Transfer points from hotel programs

You can transfer hotel points from a variety of programs directly into your AAdvantage account. While most of these options provide a relatively low value, one notable exception is Marriott Bonvoy.

Marriott Bonvoy points convert to American AAdvantage miles at a 3:1 ratio — and unlike with many partners, you won't receive an additional 5,000 miles for every 60,000 points transferred. While this transfer ratio may not be optimal, you will recover some value in the exchange since AAdvantage miles hold significantly more worth than Bonvoy points. For instance, 30,000 Bonvoy points are valued at $255 according to TPG's estimation of 0.85 cents each. If you convert those to AAdvantage, you’d get 10,000 miles valued at 1.7 cents each, totaling $170.

Hotel stays

There are multiple ways to earn AAdvantage miles when booking hotels.

The first option is to book directly with Hyatt, Marriott, and IHG. These hotel loyalty programs allow you to earn AAdvantage miles instead of hotel points if you set your earning preference to AAdvantage miles in your member profile. Here are the earning rates for American Airlines miles:

• Marriott Bonvoy: 1 to 2 miles per dollar spent, varying by hotel brand
• IHG One Rewards: 1 to 2 miles per dollar spent, depending on the hotel brand
• World of Hyatt: 1 mile per dollar spent on eligible Hyatt stays and experiences

Be sure to weigh the number of hotel points you'd accumulate against the AAdvantage miles you'd earn before adjusting your earning preference. Generally, you'll benefit more by earning hotel points instead of airline miles when staying at hotels.

If you hold American elite status, you can earn both Hyatt points and AAdvantage miles at the same time. Once you link your accounts, you'll receive 1 AAdvantage mile for every dollar spent on Hyatt stays in addition to the World of Hyatt points you would normally earn. For example, when TPG's Nick Ewen paid a base rate of $152 for a one-night Hyatt stay, he earned 152 AAdvantage miles (which also counted as Loyalty Points) along with his World of Hyatt points.

Keep in mind that World of Hyatt elite members can earn additional Hyatt points on American-operated flights (1 point per dollar on the base fare), in addition to the AAdvantage miles they typically accumulate. If you have elite status in both programs, this is an excellent opportunity to double dip — just ensure your accounts are linked.

Beyond the major hotel loyalty programs, you can earn AAdvantage miles by booking hotels through Rocketmiles. You can accumulate up to 10,000 miles per night, with higher-end and promoted hotels usually offering the most miles. However, be aware that Rocketmiles may sometimes charge more than if you booked directly, so always compare prices before making a reservation.

Additionally, booking through AAdvantage Hotels allows you to earn AAdvantage miles on your hotel stays. This platform is powered by Booking.com, providing a wide range of hotel choices. You will earn both AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points with each stay, though the amount varies by property. American status holders and cardmembers may receive bonus miles as well.

Book vacation packages with American Airlines Vacations

You can accumulate miles on vacation packages by booking through American Airlines Vacations. This platform allows you to bundle flights, hotels, and car rentals, enabling you to benefit from discounted rates.

For every package booked through American Airlines Vacations, you will earn at least 1,000 AAdvantage miles. You can earn even more miles (up to 30,000 per stay) by booking at featured hotels, which are regularly updated on the promotions page of American Airlines Vacations.

However, keep in mind that you probably won't earn hotel points or receive hotel elite status benefits when booking hotels through American Airlines Vacations, as these benefits typically require direct bookings with the hotel.

Book your cruise with American Airlines Cruises

You can earn additional miles by booking a cruise with American Airlines. General AAdvantage members earn 1 mile per dollar spent (up to 10,000 miles per booking) on select sailings that depart by December 31, 2025. Best of all, these miles are eligible for Loyalty Points. AAdvantage cardholders can earn an extra 1 mile per dollar (up to an additional 10,000 miles per booking), but these extra miles do not count towards Loyalty Points.

Keep an eye out for promotions available through American Airlines Cruises, which may offer additional benefits such as onboard credits and cabin upgrades during your voyage.

Other opportunities to earn miles with AAdvantage partners

This section highlights just a few of American Airlines' numerous partners. You can find the complete list on American's website, but here’s a brief overview of some other ways to earn AAdvantage miles with their partners:

In conclusion

Although AAdvantage doesn't collaborate with many transferable points programs, it boasts a wide array of travel partners you can utilize to earn miles on flights, hotel stays, rental cars, and more. There are also various other methods to accumulate miles, including flying, shopping, dining, and using cobranded credit cards.

If you opt for the credit card option, we suggest looking into the Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard and the Citi / AAdvantage Business World Elite Mastercard.

If you're seeking tips on redeeming American Airlines miles, be sure to check out our article on the top sweet spots in the American Airlines AAdvantage program.