A Complete Guide to Earning American Airlines Miles in the AAdvantage Loyalty Program
by Krish Patel
American Airlines AAdvantage is often considered to be one of the best airline loyalty programs because there are several ways to earn and redeem miles when flying on American or their OneWorld and non-alliance partners. Creating an AAdvantage account is free on the American Airlines website, and you’ll need one to earn your miles. In this guide, we’ll discuss a variety of ways to stack up on AAdvantage miles.
Earn AAdvantage Miles by Flying American
Earning miles on AA flights sounds pretty straightforward, however, there are a few ways you can earn miles on American and partner flights.
AA Flights
Whenever you fly American Airlines, you’ll earn miles based on the base price of your ticket, excluding taxes and fees. The earning rate also varies based on whether you have AAdvantage elite status.
The following tiers of status earn the following amount of AAdvantage miles per dollar spent:
General member with no elite status: Five miles
AAdvantage Gold: Seven miles
AAdvantage Platinum: Eight miles
AAdvantage Platinum Pro: Nine miles
AAdvantage Executive Platinum: 11 miles
Beware of American’s “special fares,” which earn AAdvantage miles at a separate rate based on a percentage of the distance flown instead of the amount paid for a flight. Special fares are typically bought through a specialized agent or third party.
Partner Airline Flights
There are two ways you can earn AAdvantage miles when flying AA’s partners. If the flight was booked through AA, you’d earn miles the exact same way as if you’d be flying on an American Airlines-operated flight. However, if you book your ticket through the website of a partner airline, then you’d have to apply your AAdvantage number in the booking. In some cases, you’ll earn miles based on your flight distance, rather than the dollar amount paid. The earning rate depends on the fare class of your ticket, which is visible on the e-ticket, or you can call the airline to confirm it.
When flying on qualifying partner airlines, elite status holders earn extra bonus AAdvantage miles at the following percentages:
AAdvantage Gold: 40%
AAdvantage Platinum: 60%
AAdvantage Platinum Pro: 80%
AAdvantage Executive Platinum: 120%
Earn AAdvantage Miles by Spending on Credit Cards
Earning AAdvantage miles is possible without even stepping on a plane. One of the easiest ways to accumulate miles is to spend on credit cards. Currently, Citi and Barclays issue co-branded AA credit cards. However, applying for one of Citi’s American AAdvantage credit cards is the way to go if you’re looking to earn the most miles through welcome bonuses and on everyday purchases.
Some of AA’s co-branded credit cards include:
Citi/AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard ($595 annual fee)
Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard ($0 intro annual fee, then $99)
Citi/AAdvantage Business World Elite Mastercard ($0 intro annual fee, then $99)
Be sure to click on the name of the credit card listed above to view the earning rates and welcome offers.
Earn AAdvantage Miles Through Retail and Travel Partners
American Airlines miles (as well as Loyalty Points towards elite status in some cases) can be earned through the AAdvantage partners. Miles can be earned through partners for basic activities such as shopping, banking, and dining.
Listed below are some of the many AAdvantage partners that you can earn miles with:
Rental Cars: Avis and Budget are AA’s car rental partners
Banking: Bask Bank and AA have a partnership that allows AAdvantage members to earn interest in the form of airline miles
Donate to Charity: You can earn AAdvantage miles by donating to Stand Up to Cancer (you’ll earn 10 miles per dollar when donating over $25)
Book Vacation Packages Through AA Vacations
You can earn AAdvantage miles by booking vacation packages through the American Airlines Vacations portal, where you can book flights, hotels, and rental cars while enjoying discounted rates. On all packages booked through AA Vacations, you’ll earn at least 1,000 miles. It’s possible to earn up to 30,000 miles per stay by booking stays at featured hotels.
Book Cruises Through American Airlines Cruises
American Airlines has its own portal for booking cruise itineraries. On select sailings departing by December 31, 2025, general AAdvantage members earn one mile per dollar spent, on up to 10,000 miles per booking. Plus, earning miles by booking cruises is Loyalty Point-eligible. On up to 10,000 additional miles per booking, AAdvantage cardholders can earn an additional one mile per dollar spent, however, these extra American miles don’t qualify as Loyalty Points.
Make Dining Purchases Through AAdvantage Dining
AAdvantage Dining is similar to a shopping portal, but it’s for eating out. You’ll need to enroll by using your AAdvantage number and password, link some of your favorite credit cards, and earn miles by simply swiping your card at participating restaurants.
It’s possible to earn miles at the following rates when making dining purchases:
Basic members earn 1 mile per dollar
Select members earn 3 miles per dollar
VIP members earn 5 miles per dollar
Make Purchases Through the AAdvantage eShopping Portal
The AAdvantage shopping portal gives customers miles on online purchases. You’ll need to register for a free account on the site and then click through the merchant you select before purchasing. If you click through the AAdvantage eShopping Portal, you’ll earn AAdvantage miles in addition to the rewards you’ll earn by using a points-earning credit card to make a purchase.
Booking Hotel Stays
Earning AAdvantage miles can also be done by booking hotel stays, and there are many ways to earn miles by booking a hotel, however, we’ll discuss two of the main ways to do this.
American Airlines has its AAdvantage Hotels platform that provides customers with multiple hotel options. On your stay, you’ll earn both AAdvantage miles and Loyalty Points, though the amount earned varies by the hotel property. AAdvantage cardholders and members with elite status earn extra miles.
Besides booking through AA’s hotels platform, you can boom stays directly with Hyatt, Marriott, and IHG. If you set your earning preference to AAdvantage miles in your member profile, you can earn miles instead of hotel points at the following rates:
World of Hyatt: Earn 1 mile per dollar spent on eligible Hyatt property stays and Hyatt experiences
IHG One Rewards: Earn 1 to 2 miles per dollar spent on stays, however, this varies based on the hotel brand
Marriott Bonvoy: Earn 1 to 2 miles per dollar spent on stays, however, this varies based on the hotel brand
Note that you’ll usually come out ahead and earn more rewards if you earn hotel points rather than airline miles on stays.
Conclusion
American Airlines offers numerous ways to earn miles by spending on credit cards, making purchases through its partners, and by flying the carrier and its codeshare and OneWorld partner airlines. However, knowing the best ways to earn miles is crucial, as you’ll want to gain as much value as possible.