A Complete Guide to American Airlines AAdvantage Program – 2022

If you are a frequent traveler with AA (American Airlines) for business or pleasure, you probably have a vague knowledge of the frequent flyer American Airlines loyalty scheme called the AAdvantage Program. If you haven't yet joined Frequent Flyer Program, this is a scheme you should definitely be looking further into if you are looking to get the most benefits and perks while you travel.

American Airlines is one of the biggest flight networks in the US and have an extremely popular and rewarding loyalty program for their frequent flyers. With the AAdvantage Frequent Flyer Program, you can earn points to build towards free flights to travel to some amazing destinations on the most prestigious airlines in the world, such as Japan Airlines and Qatar Airlines.

In this guide, we will talk you through all aspects of the American Airlines AAdvantage Program in 2022. We will tell you how to join the Frequent Flyer American Airlines Loyalty Program, how you can start earning miles, and how you can go about redeeming them.

What is the American Airlines AAdvantage Program?

You can join the American Airlines AAdvantage Program to begin collecting points when you fly on American Airlines flights, which you can trade-in for free flights and other benefits.

Is the American Airlines AAdvantage program free?

The AAdvantage Loyalty Program is free to join, and you can start building up loyalty points at once. You can use these points to pay for national and international flights with American Airlines and their partner airlines. You can also use them to pay towards an American Airlines Cruise.

Did American Airlines change its rewards program for 2022?

On March 1, 2022, American Airlines abandoned its old elite membership levels scheme in favor of a simpler, streamlined loyalty program where you simply collect points (miles).

How to Earn Points/Miles with the American Airlines Loyalty Program?

You can earn points as a member of the American Airlines AAdvantage Program every time you book a flight with American Airlines. If you often travel for business or habitually take your vacation flights with AA, you will be able to build up these points to redeem against flights with AA or their international Onestar partnership airlines. Additionally, the AAdvantage dining program allows you to earn points by dining at participating restaurants. Moreover, American Airlines offers a Category bonus, where you can earn extra points when you book flights in specific fare classes. Furthermore, staying updated with the Award chart will help you understand how many points are needed for different types of flights. There are also many other ways for you to earn points in your daily life, such as using American Airlines co-branded credit cards, shopping through their online portals, and participating in various promotions and partnerships.

Earn Points while you Travel:

Book flights with one of AA's Partner Airlines.

You can collect AA loyalty points when you book with one of the Onestar Partner airlines such as British Airways, Japan Airlines, Qatar Airlines, and many other international flight providers.

Stay at an AA partner hotel.

Earn more points when you book in at one of the AA partner Hotels. Stay in luxurious, comfortable rooms, lay back, and imagine all the wonderful places you are earning points towards as you sleep!

Rent a car from one of AA's partners.

You will earn at least 500 points when you rent a car from American Airlines' partners, including Avis and Budget. You will also be able to take advantage of discount codes to drive down your rental cost!

Book your Vacation with American Airlines Vacations.

You can book a holiday to a wide variety of wonderful destinations across the globe and earn AAdvantage points when you do so. You will earn 1,000 points when you book your vacation flights and can earn a further 30,000 miles if you book with one of the AA partner hotels.

You can also choose to use the miles you have gained so far to pay for your American Airlines Vacation.

Take an American Airlines Cruise.

When you book an American Airlines Cruise, you can gain one point per $1 spent, up to 10,000 miles. So, you can earn some points towards your next vacation as you enjoy a luxurious time on your current one!

Multiply your points.

You can buy bonus miles when you fly with American Airlines by using the Mileage Multiplier when you book your flight on the AA website.

Ways to earn points in your Daily Life:

You can also earn some substantial points if you are canny with your purchases in your daily life. AA has partnerships with a wide range of big brand retail and service companies, and you will earn more points if you choose to spend your dollars with them.

Shop Online

If you shop at one of AA's partner retail stores, you can earn some points as you go about your daily online purchases. Once you are a member, you can download the AAdvantage e-shopping browser button which will alert you if you are browsing on a site that you can earn miles on if you make a purchase. Increase your points even further by buying with an American Airlines credit card! There are currently 1,200 online stores where you can earn points such as Bloomingdales, Hulu, and Home Depot.

Earn Miles While You Dine

You can also earn more miles towards your next vacation by dining out at some big brand restaurants and diners. You can build up your miles as you enjoy some delicious meals and nights out! A list of eligible restaurants can be found here.

Join Simply Miles

If you own a Mastercard, as an AAdvantage member, you can log into simplymiles.com to activate personalized offers for you with a wide range of AA partners such as SimpliSafe, 1800Flowers, Levi's, and BP. Each time you make a purchase, you will earn some more miles towards your next trip.

Buy Miles

If you want to build up your points quickly then you can choose to buy miles to top up your total. You can buy miles as a gift for a family member or friend as an extra special treat. You can also transfer the miles built up from another member's account.

Earn More Points by Making Purchases using an American Airlines Credit Card

Another way to top up your points is to apply for an American Airlines AAdvantage Credit Card. When you make purchases using one of these cards, you will rack up more points for your next flight. Here is a breakdown of the available cards:

AAdvantage Mile Up Mastercard

• No annual fee.
• Earn 10,000 miles if you spend $500 within 3 months of getting the card.
• Earn 2 miles for every dollar you spend at a grocery store.

AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard

• Annual fee is $99 (waived for the first year).
• Earn 50,000 points when you spend $2,500 within the first 3 months.
• No fees for Foreign Transactions.

Citi AAdvantage Executive Mastercard

• Annual fee is $450
• Earn 50,000 points when you spend $5,000 within the first three months.
• Includes Admirals Club Membership (value $650)

Citi Business AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard

• Annual fee is $99
• Earn 65,000 points when you spend $4,000 within the first four months.
• Earn 2 miles for every dollar spent on AA purchases

How much are American Airlines AAdvantage Loyalty Points worth?

While you are busy building up your miles in all these separate ways, it might occur to you to wonder exactly how much each of these points will buy you when you redeem them for a flight purchase. Well, as of 2022, the consensus is that they are worth about 1.34 cents per mile. This may not seem like a lot, but as you are traveling and making these purchases anyway, you will find that the points will soon start to rack up.

When do American Airlines Miles Expire?

Your American Airlines miles expire if there is no activity on your membership for 24 months.

What are the Pros and Cons of the American Airlines AAdvantage Program?

The Pros of the AA Loyalty Program

• It is free to join.
• You can earn points while traveling, online shopping, and dining out.
• AA has a large number of flight hubs and international airline partners which you can use to collect points.
• Use your miles to redeem flights with Oneworld partners such as Qatar Airlines and Japan Airlines.
• You can also use your points to redeem against vacation bookings with American Airlines.
• New streamlined membership scheme without complicated levels system.

The Cons of American Airlines Loyalty Program

• You don't collect points based upon the miles you fly but the cost of the flight.
• It can be hard to build up a satisfactory level of points if you take cheaper flights.
• American Airlines miles expire if there is no activity for 24 months.

Summary: A Complete Guide to American Airlines AAdvantage Program – 2022

So, as you can see, there are many reasons for you to consider becoming a member of the AAdvantage Loyalty Program, the least being that it is free! If you are a frequent flyer with American Airlines, there really isn't any reason for you not to begin collecting points while you travel.

However, if you don't fly that often and take economy class, you will find it a lot harder to build up a substantial level of points to redeem. There are however a wide variety of ways for you to top up your points by shopping with American Airlines partners and installing the American Airlines E-shopping browser so you can spot opportunities to collect points and use discounts. So, if you are committed to using all the tools available to you, you will still be able to build up points to redeem against your flights.