The Complete Guide To Redeeming American Airlines Miles

American Airlines is among the largest airlines in the world in terms of passengers carried, fleet size and revenue. The airline operates approximately 6,700 flights across 350 cities in 50 countries every day.

American Airlines is one of the three legacy U.S. carriers (along with Delta and United), and is the only one out of the three to still publish a region-based award chart. The airline’s frequent flyer program is called American Airlines AAdvantage, and AA’s miles can be redeemed not only on its own flights but also on flights with Oneworld and other partner airlines.

All of this means that AAdvantage miles are very flexible. You can book some great awards whether you're flying domestically or internationally, economy or first class. In this post, we'll break down all the different ways to redeem your AAdvantage miles and show you how to get the maximum value out of every mile.

In January 2020, American removed its pesky 21-day close-in booking fee of $75. The removal of the fee was a welcome change, especially for travelers who like to book last-minute flights. And American took flexibility a step further in August 2020, when it announced that change fees for most main cabin fares (excluding basic economy) and all premium cabin fares on domestic and short-haul international flying would be eliminated.

» Learn More: American Airlines AAdvantage Program: The Complete Guide

Redeem for flights on American

One of the simplest ways to redeem your miles is on flights operated by American. The airline offer three types of award seats:

• MileSAAver awards are discounted award seats that can be purchased for as few as 7,500 miles. They are available only on select routes, which change periodically. They may be available in all classes, but these seats can be difficult to find as many flights don't offer them — and when they do, they sell quickly.

• AAnytime awards are available on nearly all flights but come at a higher cost (sometimes several multiples more than a MileSAAver seat).

• Web Special awards are offered on select routes and dates for as low as 5,000 miles. There is no official list of currently available awards, but when you are searching for an award flight, you will see the reduced mileage level when booking your trip. These award tickets do not allow any changes.

American still uses award charts for its redemption options. In recent years we've seen other domestic airlines get rid of their charts — so who knows how long these award charts will be good. But for now, American's charts still offer some pretty good value.

» Learn more: Your guide to the American Airlines award chart

Domestic flights offer a decent value for most American Airlines award options — especially if you can catch a MileSAAver seat. Flights under 500 miles can be redeemed for as little as 7,500 miles in economy and 15,000 miles in business/first class.

International flights are an even better value in most cases. You can get a round-trip economy ticket to Europe for as little as 22,500 in off-peak economy seats. Or if you want to travel more comfortably, you can get a first class ticket to Asia for as little as 80,000 miles.

What makes a redemption "worth it"? Well, NerdWallet values American miles at 1 cent each. So you can use that as a baseline for comparing your redemption options.

American isn't known for having tons of award seats available, but if you look far enough in advance, you should be able to take advantage of the AA award chart’s sweet spots.

Booking flights with your AAdvantage miles on American flights is simple: Just log on to the site and search for your award.

Redeem for flights on partner airlines

In general, redeeming your miles for a flight on a partner airline will cost you the same amount of miles as redeeming them for a flight on American. However, you need to pay close attention to the fees and surcharges each individual carrier imposes. For example, British Airways is notorious for adding on high surcharges, which are passed on to flyers who use American Airlines to book BA flights.

Even with these fees, there are some great redemption options available through American Airlines' extensive partner list. However, not all partner award flights are available through aa.com — for some you'll have to call a booking agent. Here’s the breakdown:

The list above includes 22 partner airlines. AA miles can be used to book award flights on all airlines except Interjet.

» Learn more: 7 Great ways to use 70K AAdvantage miles

Flights on China Southern Airlines, Etihad Airways and GOL Airlines are not redeemable on aa.com. You will need to call the American Airlines reservation desk at 800-882-8880.

American’s partnerships are especially valuable since these airlines offer some of the best premium flying experiences. Etihad, Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific and others are all known for stellar first class service. Luckily, there are a number of sweet spots on American's award charts that offer several ways to get the most out of your AAdvantage miles.

» Learn more: Your Guide to the Oneworld Alliance

Upgrade your seats

Another option for using your AAdvantage miles is to upgrade your seats on flights operated by American Airlines, American Eagle, British Airways or Iberia. The number of miles you'll use depends on where you're traveling and which cabin you're upgrading from/to. It can range from 5,000 to 25,000 miles with additional fees from $0-$550.

While this usually isn't the best value for your miles, it can be useful in certain situations, especially for elite status members. American Airlines' website hosts charts listing the upgrade costs for available flights on American Airlines, American Eagle, British Airways and Iberia.

Other ways to redeem

In addition to flights, there are a number of ways to redeem your AAdvantage miles, such as:

• Rent a car.

• Book a hotel.

• Book a vacation package.

• Buy or renew an Admirals Club membership.

• Buy products such as magazines, newspapers or gift cards.

• Donate to charity.

However, the redemption value of these options will virtually always be less than redeeming your AAdvantage miles for award flights, so they are hardly ever worth it.

The bottom line

AAdvantage miles are flexible and can score you some great award tickets on American and its partner airlines. Any other use will seriously devalue your miles, so award flights are the way to go with this loyalty program. Just be sure to book far in advance to be able to catch a seat that will get you the most value out of your miles.

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