How to earn American Airlines miles

Writer’s note: Due to the current coronavirus situation, now may not be the best time to travel. Airlines have limited their route network and the lockdown may still be in place in many locations. Despite that, we are sharing this information to help you prepare for future travel once the situation has improved.

American Airlines has one of the most robust rewards programs you can find. That’s because you have a variety of ways to stack up American Airlines miles — including traveling with American Airlines and using either a Citi AAdvantage or a Barclays Aviator credit card. But to start earning miles, you need to create an AAdvantage account first.

Earn miles with credit cards

With Citi AAdvantage credit cards and the Aviator credit card by Barclays, you can earn miles on everyday purchases made at places such as grocery stores and gas stations, plus accelerated miles on American Airlines purchases. Some cards also offer generous signup bonuses to help you earn miles more quickly.

Compare the rewards rate of all other AAdvantage credit cards, if earning as many miles as possible is your priority.

	Annual fee	Rewards	Signup bonus
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite™ Mastercard®	$0 for the first year, $99 after that	2x miles on American Airlines purchases 2x miles at restaurants 2x at gas stations 1x on all other purchases	Earn 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,500 within your first 3 months
American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card	$0	2x miles on American Airlines purchases 2x miles at grocery stores and grocery deliveries 1x on all other purchases	Earn 10,000 and a 50 statement credit once you spend $500 in your first 3 months
Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard®	$450	2x miles on American Airlines purchases 1x on all other purchases	Earn 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $5,000 in your first 3 months
CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®	$0 for the first year, $99 after that	2x miles on American Airlines purchases 2x miles at telecommunications merchants, cable and satellite providers 2x at gas stations and car rental services 1x on all other purchases	Earn 65,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 within your first 4 months
AAdvantage® Aviator® Red World Elite Mastercard®	$95	2x miles on American Airlines purchases 1x on all other purchases	Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you make your first purchase
AAdvantage® Aviator® Business Mastercard®	$95	2x miles on American Airlines purchases 2x miles at office supply, telecom and car rental merchants 1x on all other purchases	Earn 65,000 bonus miles after you spend $1,000 in your first 90 days Earn an additional 10,000 bonus miles when a purchase is made with an employee card

The information about American Airlines AAdvantage MileUp℠ Card has been collected independently by Finder and and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer. The information about Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard® has been collected independently by Finder and and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer.

Use American Airlines co-branded credit cards to earn the highest number of AAdvantage miles on your purchases and other American Airlines perks. You can also choose hotel credit cards and transfer hotel points to American Airline miles.

Earn points for Million Miler status with credit cards through 2020

If you’re an AAdvantage cardholder, every dollar you spend between May 2020 and December 2020 will count toward your Million Miler status. This is excellent news, especially because you could only earn Million Miler status by flying with American Airlines.

Flying with American Airlines

Earn miles on American Airlines flights. The number of miles you earn depends on your American Airlines flight price. The more expensive your flight, the more miles you earn.

You can earn even more miles if you reach elite status. You’ll also earn Elite Qualifying Miles (EQMs), Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQDs) and Elite Qualifying Segments (EQSs) to help you climb the ladder of elite membership and unlock additional American Airlines perks.

Flying with American Airlines partners

You’re not limited to American Airlines flights to earn AAdvantage miles. You can also earn on flights with Oneworld Alliance airlines and partner airlines. This includes:

Additional ways to earn American Airlines miles

American Airlines dining program

Earn American Airlines miles by dining at any of the 10,000 participating restaurants, bars or clubs in AAdvantage’s dining program. Simply pay with your registered card.

American Airlines shopping program

Earn American Airlines miles by shopping through the AAdvantage eShopping mall program. You can purchase merchandise at 950 stores — including Staples, Home Depot, AT&T TV and Internet and Hulu. At some stores, you’ll earn a fixed number of miles, while, at other stores, you’ll earn up to nine miles per dollar. Subscribe to the program to receive emails on promotions and to earn additional bonus miles on purchases.

Buy American Airlines miles

Buying AAdvantage miles is an option if you need a certain number of miles to redeem a reward. You can buy a minimum of 2,000 miles and a maximum of 150,000 miles valued at 2.9 cents each upon purchase or 1.5 cents each upon redemption, according to American Airlines as of 2019.

Buying miles could be worth it as the value of purchased American Airlines miles could be close to the value of redeemed miles with certain offers. For example, a special offer may afford you 120,000 bonus miles when buying 150,000 miles valid until a specified date.

Earn with travel partners

You can also earn American Airlines miles by booking cruises or American Airlines vacation packages. If you prefer hotel stays, you can earn additional miles at partner hotels including:

Another way to earn American Airlines miles is with partner car rental companies:

• Avis
• Budget
• Payless
• Alamo

• National
• Dollar
• Hertz
• Thrifty

Loyalty program AAdvantage elite status tiers

When you purchase an American Airlines ticket, you can upgrade to an AAdvantage elite status by earning:

Qualification	Executive Platinum	Platinum Pro	Platinum	Gold
	oneworld® Emerald	oneworld® Sapphire	oneworld® Sapphire	oneworld® Ruby
EQMs	100,000	75,000	50,000	25,000
EQSs	120	90	60	30
EQDs	$15,000	$9,000	$6,000	$3,000

What are the benefits of the AAdvantage elite status tiers?

Bottom line

American Airlines offers a variety of ways to earn AAdvantage miles. But the fastest and easiest way to accumulate miles is to get a cobranded credit card and to fly often with American Airlines.

Compare your options until you find the best card for your financial needs. Try a general travel card or a cobranded airline credit card for different choices. And once you’ve built enough miles, compare your redemption options to find out which offer the best value.

Back to top

Frequently asked questions

• Do American Airlines miles expire?

  Yes. Your AAdvantage miles will expire if your account has been inactive for 18 months. If you redeem or earn miles at least once in 18 months, your miles’ experation date will be moved to another 18 months.

• What can be redeemed with my American Airlines miles?

  Once you accumulate enough miles, you can redeem:

  • American Airlines and partner airlines flights
  • Seat upgrades on American Airlines and some of their partners
  • Car rentals
  • Hotel stays

  • Admiral’s Club membership
  • Gift cards
  • Donations
  • Magazines and newspapers

• How much are American Airlines miles worth?

  According to the provider site at the time of writing, AAdvantage miles are worth up to 1.5 cents each, depending on your redemption options. MileSAAver flights have the highest redemption value.